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Systems and methods of heating a conductive ribbon for sample collection and/or sample processing comprises coupling conducting pads to the conductive ribbon, applying a signal across the conducting pads to cause the conductive ribbon to heat up, taking a measurement of at least one electrical prope

Systems and methods of heating a conductive ribbon for sample collection and/or sample processing comprises coupling conducting pads to the conductive ribbon, applying a signal across the conducting pads to cause the conductive ribbon to heat up, taking a measurement of at least one electrical property associated with the conductive ribbon in response to the applied signal, computing a correction for the applied signal to achieve a desired temperature suitable for fixing a sample to the heated conductive ribbon, and adjusting the applied signal to regulate the heat of the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature for a predetermined time.

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1. A method of heating a conductive ribbon, the method comprising: clamping a conductive ribbon to a surface of a non-conductive base using conducting pads such that a selected section of the conductive ribbon is bound by the conducting pads;applying a voltage signal from a variable power supply acr

1. A method of heating a conductive ribbon, the method comprising: clamping a conductive ribbon to a surface of a non-conductive base using conducting pads such that a selected section of the conductive ribbon is bound by the conducting pads;applying a voltage signal from a variable power supply across the conducting pads to cause the selected section of the conductive ribbon to heat up;taking a measurement of at least one electrical property associated with the conductive ribbon in response to the voltage signal applied across the conducting pads;placing a biological sample on the conductive ribbon between the conductive pads applying a voltage signal from the variable power supply across the conducting pads to cause the selected section of the conductive ribbon to heat up;computing, based on the measurement and Ohm's law, a correction for the voltage signal applied across the conducting pads to achieve a desired temperature of the selected section of the conductive ribbon, wherein the desired temperature is selected for processing the biological sample on the conductive ribbon and the correction accounts for a variance in the selected section of the conductive ribbon;adjusting the applied voltage signal based upon the computed correction to regulate the selected section of the conductive ribbon at the desired temperature; andholding the selected section of the conductive ribbon at the desired temperature for a predetermined time. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying a signal comprises applying a low voltage to the conductive ribbon through the conducting pads. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein taking a measurement comprises reading a current flowing through the selected section of the conductive ribbon. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein computing a correction comprises: computing a resistance of the selected section of the conductive ribbon based upon the applied voltage and the measured current; andcomputing a desired current based upon a target heat generated and the computed resistance. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the desired current is computed as the square root of the result of dividing the target heat generated by the computed resistance. 6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising utilizing calibration data to correlate a desired temperature to the target heat generated. 7. The method according to claim 4 further comprising fixing a distance between the pair of conducting pads. 8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising collecting the biological sample as a biological sample containing proteins to be analyzed. 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising: clamping the conductive ribbon to the non-conductive base using the conductive pads such that a different selected section is bound between the conducting pads;applying the signal across the conducting pads to cause the different selected section, which is now bound between the conducting pads, of the conductive ribbon to heat up;taking a measurement of at least one electrical property associated with the different selected section of the conductive ribbon in response to the applied signal;computing, based on the measurement of the different selected section of the conductive ribbon, a correction for the applied signal to achieve a desired temperature suitable for processing a biological sample on the conductive ribbon, wherein the desired temperature is based on the processing and the biological sample to be processed;adjusting the applied signal to regulate the heat of the different selected section of the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature; andholding the different selected section of the conductive ribbon at the desired temperature for a predetermined time. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein: adjusting the applied signal to regulate the heat of the selected section of the conductive ribbon comprises utilizing a controller to control a variable power supply to apply current to the selected section of the conductive ribbon. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing, in a loop, the operations of taking a measurement, computing, based on the measurement, a correction for the applied signal to achieve a desired temperature of the selected section of the conductive ribbon, and adjusting the applied signal to regulate the heat of the selected section of the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the biological sample on the conductive ribbon includes fixing the sample to the conductive ribbon using a fixing solution and heating the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the biological sample on the conductive ribbon includes incubating the biological sample by heating the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the biological sample on the conductive ribbon includes drying the biological sample by heating the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein computing, based on the measurement, a correction for the applied voltage signal to achieve a desired temperature of the selected section of the conductive ribbon, comprises: computing the correction for the applied voltage signal to achieve a desired temperature, wherein the correction accounts for a variance in a thickness of the section of the conductive ribbon. 16. A method for heating a section of a ribbon comprising: providing a non-conductive base having a surface for receiving a conductive ribbon;applying a pair of conducting pads across the conductive ribbon such that each conducting pad of the pair of conducting pads contacts a conductive portion of the conductive ribbon when the conductive ribbon is positioned on the surface of the non-conductive base, defining a section of the conductive ribbon between the pair of conducting pads;providing a variable power supply to form a circuit with the pair of conducting pads and the section of the conductive ribbon between the pair of conducting pads;providing a sensor that measures at least one electrical characteristic of the circuit; andproviding a controller coupled to the variable power supply, wherein the controller is operative for: controlling the variable power supply to apply a signal to the conductive ribbon to cause the section of the conductive ribbon between the pair of conducting pads to heat up;collecting a measurement taken using the sensor in response to the applied signal;computing a correction for the applied signal to achieve a desired temperature selected for processing a sample on the heated section of the conductive ribbon; andadjusting the applied signal to regulate the heat of the conductive ribbon to the desired temperature for a time that is suitable for processing the sample on the section heated conductive ribbon. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein: controlling the variable power supply to apply a signal to the conductive ribbon comprises controlling the variable power supply to apply a voltage signal to the conductive ribbon; andcollecting a measurement taken using the sensor comprises collecting the measurement by sensing a current in the circuit. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein computing a correction comprises: computing a resistance of the section of the conductive ribbon between the pair of conducting pads based upon the voltage signal and measured current;computing a desired current for a target amount of heat generated, wherein the target amount of heat is correlated to the desired temperature; andcomputing a necessary voltage to achieve the computed desired current. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein computing a desired current comprises computing the desired current as the square root of the result of dividing the target amount of heat by the computed resistance. 20. The method of claim 18 further comprising: spacing the pair of conducting pads a fixed distance from one another and clamping the conductive ribbon to the surface or the non-conductive base;defining the heat per unit area that is fixed based upon width and length; andusing resistance to account for variation in thickness.