Systems, Devices, and Methods for Automated Sample Thawing

A method of thawing a sample within a vessel, the method comprising:

• equilibrating the sample and vessel to an intermediate temperature, wherein the intermediate temperature is below a sample melting temperature;
• contacting sides of the vessel with a solid material mass that is maintained at a thawing temperature, wherein the thawing temperature is greater than 5 degrees above the melting temperature of the sample plus or minus two degrees;
• predicting a completion of a phase change of the sample contained in the vessel by calculating a time interval for a duration of the phase change based on the equilibrating temperature and the heating temperature;
• outputting a signal to interrupt thawing of the sample contained in the vessel at the predicted completion of the phase change of the sample contained in the vessel.

A system for thawing a cryogenic sample in a sample container, the system comprising:

• a sample holder coupled with a heater, the sample holder configured to receive the sample container;
• one or more transducers for measuring at least a temperature of the sample container as the sample container is heated within the sample holder;
• a processor coupled with the one or more transducers, the processor configured to:
• determine a thaw start time of the sample based on the temperature of the sample container;
• determine a thaw end time of the sample based on the thaw start time.