A rapid exchange catheter comprises a guide wire lumen including a substantially sealed portion in which a lumen wall extends around an entire periphery thereof and a channel portion including a channel opening the lumen to an exterior of the catheter, wherein a width of the channel is less than a maximum width of the channel portion. The POS terminal and the declaration machine both communicate with the control center via a mobile telecommunication network. The apparatus and methods may be used with microplates, PCR plates, cell culture plates, biochips, chromatography plates, microscope slides, and other substrates for high-throughput screening, genomics, SNPs analysis, pharmaceutical research and development, life sciences research, and other applications.