How to design an experimental protocol

Abstract

To accurately perform automatic analysis of an experiment protocol.SOLUTION: A method includes steps of designing an experiment protocol p3 in which a process order of at least one experimental device in a form of a directed graph DG3 according to a GUI operation by a user, and automatically performing the experiment protocol p3 by controlling at least one of experimental devices 121 to 126. At least one of the experimental devices 121 to 126 includes an analyzer 126. A plurality of node that can be selected as a vertex of the directed graph DG3 includes a data node D32 corresponding to output data of a process of the analyzer 126. The method further includes a step of displaying at least one of a chromatogram and a spectrum generated from the output data corresponding to the data node D 32 based on the selection of the data node D32 by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for designing an experimental protocol. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, configurations have been known in which experiments are performed according to an experimental protocol designed by a user on a computer. For example, a system disclosed in International Publication No. 2016 / 208623 (Patent Document 1) acquires and displays a graph in which a chain of experiments is formed in a mesh shape from a database containing information on the experimental protocol. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2016 / 208623 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to grasp the relationship between a plurality of experiments associated with a plurality of experimental protocols based on the hierarchical structure of the experimental protocols defined by the inheritance relationship between a certain experimental protocol and another experimental protocol in which the certain experimental protocol is partially modified. However, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the flow of multiple processes included in one protocol, and is unable to handle more advanced processes.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to accurately perform automatic analysis of an experimental protocol. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The method according to the present invention includes the steps of accepting a GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation for a specific application by a user, designing an experimental protocol in the form of a directed graph in which a processing sequence of at least one experimental device is defined according to the accepted GUI operation, and automatically executing the experimental protocol by controlling the at least one experimental device. The at least one experimental device includes an analytical device. A plurality of nodes selectable as vertices of the directed graph include data nodes corresponding to output data of processing of the analytical device. The method further includes the step of displaying at least one of a chromatogram and a spectrum created from the output data corresponding to the data node based on a selection of the data node by the user. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to design an experiment protocol in the form of a directed graph including data nodes, thereby providing a method for designing an experiment protocol that can handle more advanced processing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment management system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a GUI configuration of the experiment protocol design application in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a certain process is selected in the automated experiment system window of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a processing node corresponding to the processing selected in FIG. 4 has been added to the protocol design window. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a sample container corresponding to the container node in FIG. 5 is specified. [Figure 7]7 is a diagram showing a state in which the designation of a sample container corresponding to the container node in FIG. 6 has been completed. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a feature extraction node has been added to the protocol design window in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] 9 is a diagram showing a state in which output data corresponding to the data node in FIG. 8 is selected as data for which feature extraction processing corresponding to the feature extraction node is performed. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a conditional branch node has been added to the protocol design window of FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the conditional branch process of the conditional branch node in FIG. 10 has been determined. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a directed graph that is a design example of another experimental protocol. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a directed graph that is a design example of another experimental protocol. [Figure 14] 14 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed when a user performs a predetermined GUI operation on a node included in the directed graph shown in FIG. 13. [Figure 15] 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the server device in FIG. 1. [Figure 16] 2 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of an automatic experiment based on an experiment protocol that is performed in the automatic experiment management system of FIG. 1. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment management system according to a first modified example of an embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal device of FIG. 17. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment system according to a second modified example of the embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the control device shown in FIG. 19. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference characters and, in principle, descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment management system 1000 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic experiment management system 1000 includes an automatic experiment system 1, a server device 200, a database 300, and a terminal device 400. The database 300 is connected to the server device 200. For example, information about the automatic experiment system 1, information about samples, an experiment protocol, and output data (experiment results) resulting from the execution of the experiment protocol are registered in the database 300. The terminal device 400 includes an input / output unit 430. The input / output unit 430 includes a display 431, a keyboard 432, and a touchpad 433. The terminal device 400 is, for example, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet. The automatic experiment system 1, the server device 200, and the terminal device 400 are connected to each other via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a WAN (Wan Area Network), or a LAN (Lan Area Network). Note that the number of terminal devices connected to the network NW may be two or more, and the number of automated experiment systems may be two or more.

[0011] The server device 200 provides the terminal device 400 with an experiment protocol design application 500 (specific application) as a Web application. The experiment protocol design application 500 is displayed on the display 431 via the Web browser 600 in the terminal device 400. The keyboard 432 and touchpad 433 accept GUI operations on the experiment protocol design application 500 by the user. That is, the user of the terminal device 400 selects an automated experiment system in the experiment protocol design application 500 by GUI operations via the keyboard 432 and touchpad 433, and designs an experiment protocol to be executed by the automated experiment system. In the experiment protocol, the processing order of at least one experiment device included in the automated experiment system selected by the user is specified. The terminal device 400 transmits the experiment protocol designed by the user to the server device 200. The server device 200 transmits the experiment protocol to the automated experiment system designated by the user of the terminal device 400. By interposing the server device 200 between a terminal device that designs an experiment protocol and an automated experiment system that executes the experiment protocol, multiple terminal devices and multiple automated experiment systems can be managed collectively by the server device 200.

[0012] The automated experiment system 1 includes a control device 110 and multiple experimental devices 120. The control device 110 controls the multiple experimental devices 120 to automatically execute an experiment protocol from a server device 200. The multiple experimental devices 120 include a robot arm 121, an incubator 122, a liquid handler 123, a microplate reader 124, a centrifuge 125, and a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LCMS) 126. Note that the automated experiment system may include only one experimental device.

[0013] The robot arm 121 moves the plate Plt1 or Plt2, which is a container for accommodating a sample, to the experimental device corresponding to each of the multiple processes according to the order of the multiple processes defined in the experimental protocol. Each of the plates Plt1 and Plt2 accommodates agar containing cultured Escherichia coli, for example. The incubator 122 cultures cells while controlling the temperature. The liquid handler 123 automatically distributes (dispenses) a fixed amount of sample to each of multiple microplates (wells). The microplate reader 124 measures the optical properties of the sample in the microplate (for example, absorbance measurement and fluorescence intensity measurement). The centrifuge 125 separates the components of the sample by centrifugal force. The LCMS 126 performs mass spectrometry to separate the components of the sample separated by the liquid chromatograph according to mass-to-charge ratio (m / z).

[0014] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal device 400 in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the terminal device 400 includes a processor 421, a memory 422 and a hard disk 423 as storage units, a communication interface 424, and an input / output unit 430. These are connected to each other via a bus 440 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0015] The hard disk 423 is a non-volatile storage device. For example, an operating system (OS) program 41 and a web browser program 42 are stored on the hard disk 423. In addition to the data shown in Fig. 2, for example, settings and outputs of various applications are stored on the hard disk 423. The memory 422 is a volatile storage device and includes, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0016] The processor 421 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 421 loads a program stored in a hard disk 423 into a memory 422 and executes the program. The processor 421 is connected to a network NW via a communication interface 424.

[0017] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a GUI configuration of the experimental protocol design application 500 of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the experimental protocol design application 500 includes a cue list window 510, a protocol list window 520, a protocol design window 530, an automated experiment system window 540, a sample container window 550, a tool window 560, and a selection cursor Cr.

[0018] A queue in which multiple protocols are ordered is displayed in the queue list window 510. In Fig. 3, queues q1 and q2 are displayed in the queue list window 510. Experimental protocols are displayed in the protocol list window 520. In Fig. 3, experimental protocol p1 is displayed in the protocol list window 520 and selected.

[0019] In the protocol design window 530, an experimental protocol is designed in the form of a directed graph. In the directed graph, the connection relationships between a plurality of nodes are defined as edges. The directed graph is saved as graph structure data in accordance with a predetermined structured data format. The structured data format can be, for example, XML (eXtensible Markup Language) or Json (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation). A plurality of nodes that can be selected as vertices of the directed graph are formed as a GUI, and include a container node, a processing node, and a data node. The container node is a node corresponding to a container that contains a sample. The processing node is a node corresponding to each process of the devices included in the automatic experimental system. The data node is a node corresponding to output data of the process of the experimental device.

[0020] The protocol design window 530 is divided into a container area 531, a processing area 532, and a data area 533. In the initial state when starting the design of an experimental protocol, the processing area 532 displays a start node Ms indicating the start of the experimental protocol, an end node Me indicating the end of the experimental protocol, and an edge E10 leading from the start node Ms to the end node Me.

[0021] The automated experiment system window 540 displays processes that can be performed by at least one experimental device included in the automated experiment system selected by the user. In FIG. 3, the automated experiment system 1 is selected. "Container transportation" is displayed as a process that can be performed by the robot arm 121. "Cell culture" is displayed as a process that can be performed by the incubator 122. "Liquid dispensing" is displayed as a process that can be performed by the liquid handler 123. "Absorbance measurement" and "Fluorescence intensity measurement" are displayed as processes that can be performed by the microplate reader 124. "Centrifugation" is displayed as a process that can be performed by the centrifuge 125. "Mass spectrometry" is displayed as a process that can be performed by the LCMS 126.

[0022] Containers that contain samples are displayed in the sample container window 550. In Fig. 3, plates Plt1 and Plt2 are displayed as containers that contain Escherichia coli, which is an example of a sample.

[0023] The tool window 560 displays specific processes performed by the control device of the automated experiment system. In FIG. 3, "Feature Extraction", "Conditional Branching", "Iteration", and "Timer" are displayed. "Feature Extraction" corresponds to a process of extracting a feature specified by the user from data corresponding to a data node selected by the user. "Conditional Branching" corresponds to a process of performing branching processing based on the success or failure of a condition specified by the user. "Iteration" corresponds to a process of repeating a specified process a number of times specified by the user. "Timer" corresponds to a process of waiting for the progress of the experiment protocol for a time specified by the user.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a certain process is selected in the automated experiment system window 540 of Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 4, "Absorbance measurement" is selected by the user in the automated experiment system window 540 and dragged between the start node Ms and the end node Me.

[0025] 5 is a diagram showing a state where a processing node corresponding to the process selected in FIG. 4 is added to the protocol design window 530. As shown in FIG. 5, a processing node M1 corresponding to "absorbance measurement" is added between the start node Ms and the end node Me and selected. With the addition of the processing node M1, a container node C1 and a data node D1 are automatically added to the container area 531 and the data area 533, respectively. With the selection of the processing node M1, an information window 570 including information about the selected node is displayed. In FIG. 5, the measurement wavelength and the measurement target well are displayed as parameters of the absorbance measurement corresponding to the processing node M1.

[0026] The start node Ms and the processing node M1 are connected by an edge E1 from the start node Ms toward the processing node M1. The processing node M1 and the end node Me are connected by an edge E2 from the processing node M1 toward the end node Me. The container node C1 and the processing node M1 are connected by an edge E3 (first edge) from the container node C1 toward the processing node M1. The processing node M1 and the data node D1 are connected by an edge E4 (second edge) from the processing node M1 toward the data node D1. The edge E3 indicates that a container corresponding to the container node C1 is input to the process corresponding to the processing node M1. The edge E4 indicates that the output data of the process corresponding to the processing node M1 corresponds to the data node D1. When a processing node is added, a container node and a data node connected to the processing node are automatically added, thereby making it possible to efficiently design an experimental protocol. In FIG. 5, the container node C1 and the edge E3 are shown by dotted lines because the sample container corresponding to the container node C1 is not specified.

[0027] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a sample container corresponding to the container node C1 in Fig. 5 is specified. As shown in Fig. 6, a user selects "Plate Plt1" in the sample container window 550 and drags it to the container node C1. With the selection of "Plate Plt1" in the sample container window 550, the title of the information window 570 changes to "Container Information".

[0028] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the designation of the sample container corresponding to the container node C1 in Fig. 6 is completed. As shown in Fig. 7, the container node C1 is selected, and the container node C1 and the edge E3 are shown with a solid line. The information window 570 shows the sample contained in the container corresponding to the container node C1 and the container name.

[0029] Figure 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a feature extraction node T1 has been added to the protocol design window 530 of Figure 7. "Feature Extraction" is selected in the tool window 560 and dragged to the protocol design window 530. As a result, the feature extraction node T1 is added to the protocol design window 530. With the feature extraction node T1 being selected, the title of the information window 570 has changed to "Tool Information."

[0030] 9 is a diagram showing a state in which output data corresponding to the data node D1 in FIG. 8 is selected as data for which extraction processing of a feature corresponding to the feature extraction node T1 is performed. As shown in FIG. 9, an edge E5 from the data node D1 toward the feature extraction node T1 is added by a user's drag operation from the data node D1 toward the feature extraction node T1. The edge E5 indicates that a certain feature is extracted from the output data corresponding to the data node D1 by the feature extraction processing corresponding to the feature extraction node T1. The user can specify a feature to be extracted from the output data corresponding to the data node D1 in an information window corresponding to the feature extraction node T1. The feature may be selected from a predetermined feature template.

[0031] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state where a conditional branch node T2 is added to the protocol design window 530 of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10, "Conditional Branch" is selected in the tool window 560 and dragged to the protocol design window 530. As a result, the conditional branch node T2 is added to the protocol design window 530. The user can specify the condition of the conditional branch node T2 in the information window 570. The condition can be input, for example, as an equality or inequality. An edge E6 indicating that the condition of the conditional branch node T2 is satisfied and an edge E7 indicating that the condition is not satisfied extend from the conditional branch node T2. Each of the edges E6 and E7 is shown by a dotted line because the connection destination is not yet determined.

[0032] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state where the conditional branching process of the conditional branching node T2 in FIG. 10 is determined. In the directed graph DG1 shown in FIG. 11, the position of the end node Me is moved from the position of the end node Me in FIG. 10, and the edge E2 is deleted. An edge E8 is added from the feature extraction node T1 toward the conditional branching node T2 by a user's drag operation from the feature extraction node T1 toward the conditional branching node T2. The edge E8 indicates that a condition related to the feature extracted by the process corresponding to the feature extraction node T1 is specified as the condition of the conditional branching node T2. The tip of the edge E6 is connected to the end node Me by a user's drag operation on the tip of the edge E6. The tip of the edge E7 is connected to the process node M1 by a user's drag operation on the tip of the edge E7. Since the feature of the output data corresponding to the data node D1 can be directly used as the condition of the conditional branching node T2 via the feature extraction node T1, the design of the conditional branching process based on the output data can be made more efficient.

[0033] The directed graph DG1 includes a loop structure that circulates the processing node M1, the data node D1, the feature extraction node T1, and the conditional branch node T2 in this order. When the condition of the conditional branch node T2 is satisfied, the experimental protocol p1 is terminated. When the condition is not satisfied, the processing of the processing node M1 and the feature extraction node T1 are performed in this order, and then the conditional branch processing of the conditional branch node T2 is performed again. While the condition of the conditional branch node T2 is not satisfied, the processing of the processing node M1 and the feature extraction node T1 are repeated. That is, the condition of the conditional branch node T2 is a termination condition of the iterative processing including the processing of the processing node M1 and the feature extraction node T1. The condition of the conditional branch node can also be used as a continuation condition for the iterative processing. In this case, the iterative processing is continued while the condition of the conditional branch node is satisfied.

[0034] By including a conditional branch processing node among the multiple nodes that can be selected as vertices of the directed graph, the structure of the conditional branch processing and the structure of the iterative processing of the experimental protocol can be accurately reflected in the directed graph. As a result, a method for designing an experimental protocol that can handle more advanced processing can be provided. In addition, by designing the experimental protocol in the form of a directed graph, automatic analysis of the experimental protocol, such as tracking the process of sample change in the experimental protocol, can be accurately performed. An example of the process of sample change in the experimental protocol is the lineage of cells formed by repeating seeding and subculturing. In addition, the automatic analysis of the experimental protocol includes machine learning (e.g., principal component analysis or deep learning) on ​​the directed graph.

[0035] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a directed graph DG2 which is a design example of another experimental protocol p2. As shown in FIG. 12, "protocol p2" is selected in the protocol list window 520. The directed graph DG2 includes a start node Ms2, an end node Me2, a processing node M21 corresponding to absorbance measurement, a timer node T22, repetition nodes T23A and T23B, a container node C21, and a data node D21. The start node Ms2 and the repetition node T23A are connected by an edge E21 from the start node Ms2 to the repetition node T23A. The repetition node T23A and the processing node M21 are connected by an edge E22 from the repetition node T23A to the processing node M21. The container node C21 and the processing node M21 are connected by an edge E23 from the container node C21 to the processing node M21. Processing node M21 and data node D21 are connected by edge E24 leading from processing node M21 to data node D21.

[0036] The processing node M21 and the timer node T22 are connected by an edge E25 that goes from the processing node M21 to the timer node T22. The timer node T22 and the iteration node T23B are connected by an edge E26 that goes from the timer node T22 to the iteration node T23B. The iteration node T23B and the end node Me2 are connected by an edge E27 that goes from the iteration node T23B to the end node Me2. The iteration nodes T23B and T23A are connected by an edge E28 that goes from the iteration node T23B to T23A. The directed graph DG2 includes a loop structure that circulates in the order of the iteration node T23A, the processing node M21, the timer node T22, and the iteration node T23B. In the information window 570, an upper limit value of the number of iterations of the iteration process by the iteration nodes T23A and T23B is specified. The end condition of the iteration process is that the number of iterations is equal to or greater than the upper limit value. The condition for continuing the iterative process is that the number of iterations is less than an upper limit value.The iterative node makes it possible to efficiently design the iterative process in the experimental protocol.

[0037] 13 is a diagram showing a directed graph DG3 which is a design example of another experiment protocol p3. As shown in FIG. 13, "protocol p3" is selected in the protocol list window 520. The directed graph DG3 includes a start node Ms3, an end node Me3, processing nodes M31, M32, M33, M34, M35, and M36, container nodes C31 and C32, and data nodes D31 and D32. The processing nodes M31 to M36 correspond to "cell culture," "liquid dispensing," "absorbance measurement," "centrifugation," "liquid dispensing," and "mass spectrometry," respectively, shown in the automated experiment system window 540.

[0038] Start node Ms3 and processing node M31 are connected by edge E31 that points from start node Ms3 to processing node M31. Processing nodes M31 and M32 are connected by edge E32 that points from processing node M31 to M32. Processing nodes M32 and M33 are connected by edge E33 that points from processing node M32 to M33. Processing nodes M33 and M34 are connected by edge E34 that points from processing node M33 to M34. Processing nodes M34 and M35 are connected by edge E35 that points from processing node M34 to M35. Processing nodes M35 and M36 are connected by edge E36 that points from processing node M35 to M36. Processing node M36 and end node Me3 are connected by edge E37 that points from processing node M36 to end node Me.

[0039] The container node C31 and the processing node M31 are connected by an edge E41 that points from the container node C31 to the processing node M31. The container node C31 and the processing node M32 are connected by an edge E42 that points from the container node C31 to the processing node M32.

[0040] The container node C32 and the processing node M32 are connected by an edge E43 that points from the container node C32 to the processing node M32. The container node C32 and the processing node M33 are connected by an edge E44 that points from the container node C32 to the processing node M33. The container node C32 and the processing node M34 are connected by an edge E45 that points from the container node C32 to the processing node M34. The container node C32 and the processing node M35 are connected by an edge E46 that points from the container node C32 to the processing node M35. The container node C32 and the processing node M36 are connected by an edge E47 that points from the container node C32 to the processing node M36.

[0041] Processing node M33 and data node D31 are connected by edge E51 that points from processing node M33 to data node D31. Processing node M36 and data node D32 are connected by edge E52 that points from processing node M36 to data node D32.

[0042] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed when a user performs a predetermined GUI operation (e.g., double-clicking) on ​​a node included in the directed graph DG3 shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 shows an example of information displayed when the data node D32 (selected node) of FIG. 13 is double-clicked. FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) respectively show a liquid chromatogram and a mass spectrum created from the output data of the mass analysis corresponding to the processing node M36. When a processing node is double-clicked, for example, a description of the processing corresponding to the processing node is displayed. When a container node is double-clicked, for example, a detailed description of the sample included in the container is displayed. By displaying information about the node by a predetermined GUI operation on the node of the directed graph, it is possible to efficiently refer to information about the components of the experimental protocol designed in the form of a directed graph.

[0043] Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the server device 200 in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 15, the server device 200 includes a processor 201, a memory 202 and a hard disk 203 as storage units, a communication interface 204 as a communication unit, and an input / output unit 205. These are connected to each other via a bus 210 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0044] The hard disk 203 is a non-volatile storage device. For example, an operating system (OS) program 51 and an automatic experiment management program 52 are stored in the hard disk 203. In addition to the data shown in Fig. 15, for example, settings and outputs of various applications are stored in the hard disk 203. The memory 202 is a volatile storage device and includes, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0045] The processor 201 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 201 loads a program stored in a hard disk 203 into a memory 202 and executes it to realize various functions of the server device 200. For example, the processor 201 that executes the automatic experiment management program 52 provides an experiment protocol design application 500 to the terminal device 400. The processor 201 is connected to a network NW via a communication interface 204.

[0046] Fig. 16 is a flow chart explaining the flow of an automatic experiment based on an experiment protocol performed in the automatic experiment management system 1000 of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 16, in S11, the terminal device 400 designs an experiment protocol in the form of a directed graph, and transmits the experiment protocol to the server device 200. In S12, the server device 200 transmits the experiment protocol to an automatic experiment system selected by a user of the terminal device 400. In S13, the control device of the automatic experiment system automatically executes the experiment protocol received from the server device 200. In S14, the control device transmits output data of the processing included in the experiment protocol to the server device 200.

[0047] In the embodiment, a case has been described in which an experiment protocol designed in a terminal device is transmitted to the automated experiment system via a server device, but the experiment protocol may also be transmitted directly from the terminal device to the automated experiment system.

[0048] Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment management system 1100 according to a first variation of the embodiment. The configuration of the automatic experiment management system 1100 is the same as that of the automatic experiment management system 1000 in Fig. 1 except that the server device 200 and the database 300 are removed and the terminal device 400 is replaced with 400A. As the rest is the same, the description will not be repeated. An experiment protocol design application 500A is displayed on the display 431 of the terminal device 400A.

[0049] Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the terminal device 400A of Fig. 17. The configuration of the terminal device 400A is a configuration in which an automatic experiment management program 52A is added to the hard disk 423 of Fig. 2. Since the rest is the same, the description will not be repeated. The automatic experiment management program 52A is executed by the processor 421, thereby realizing automatic execution of the experiment protocol by the experiment protocol design application 500A and the automatic experiment system.

[0050] The experiment protocol may be designed in the control device of the automatic experiment system. Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic experiment system 1B according to a second modification of the embodiment. The configuration of the automatic experiment system 1B is the same as that of the automatic experiment system 1 in Fig. 1, except that the control device 110 is replaced with 110B. Since the rest of the configuration is the same, the description will not be repeated.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 19, the control device 110B includes an input / output unit 130 and a computer 140 (processing unit). The input / output unit 130 includes a display 131 (display unit), a keyboard 132 (input unit), and a mouse 133 (input unit). The display 131, the keyboard 132, and the mouse 133 are connected to the computer 140. The GUI of the experiment protocol design application 500B is displayed on the display 131. The keyboard 132 and the mouse 133 accept GUI operations on the experiment protocol design application 500B by the user. That is, the user performs desired GUI operations on the experiment protocol design application 500B by operating the keyboard 132 or the mouse 133 while referring to the display on the display 131.

[0052] Fig. 20 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the control device 110B in Fig. 19. As shown in Fig. 20, a computer 140 includes a processor 141, a memory 142 and a hard disk 143 as a storage unit, and a communication interface 144. These are connected to each other via a bus 145 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0053] The hard disk 143 is a non-volatile storage device. For example, an operating system (OS) program 61 and an automatic experiment management program 52B are stored on the hard disk 143. In addition to the data shown in Fig. 20, for example, settings and outputs of various applications are stored on the hard disk 143. The memory 142 is a volatile storage device and includes, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0054] The processor 141 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 141 loads a program stored in a hard disk 143 into a memory 142 and executes it. The automatic experiment management program 52B is executed by the processor 141, thereby realizing automatic execution of an experiment protocol by the experiment protocol design application 500B and the multiple experimental devices 120. The processor 141 is connected to a network via a communication interface 144.

[0055] As described above, the method and system according to the embodiment and the first modification, and the device according to the second modification of the embodiment can provide a method for designing an experimental protocol that can handle more advanced processing.

[0056] [Aspects] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are examples of the following aspects.

[0057] (Item 1) A method according to one embodiment includes the steps of accepting a GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation for a specific application by a user, designing an experimental protocol in the form of a directed graph in which a processing order of at least one experimental device is defined according to the accepted GUI operation, and automatically executing the experimental protocol by controlling the at least one experimental device. The at least one experimental device includes an analytical device. A plurality of nodes selectable as vertices of the directed graph include data nodes corresponding to output data of processing of the analytical device. The method further includes the step of displaying at least one of a chromatogram and a spectrum created from the output data corresponding to the data node based on a selection of the data node by the user.

[0058] According to the method described in Section 1, it is possible to design an experimental protocol in the form of a directed graph including data nodes, thereby providing a method for designing an experimental protocol that can handle more advanced processing.

[0059] With regard to the above-mentioned embodiments and modified examples, it has been intended from the outset of the application that the configurations described in the embodiments may be appropriately combined, including combinations not mentioned in the specification, to the extent that no inconvenience or contradiction arises.

[0060] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1,1B Automated experiment system, 110,110B Control device, 120 Experimental device, 121 Robot arm, 122 Incubator, 123 Liquid handler, 124 Microplate reader, 125 Centrifuge, 130,205,430 Input / output unit, 131,431 Display, 132,432 Keyboard, 133 Mouse, 140 Computer, 141,201,421 Processor, 142,202,422 Memory, 143,203,423 Hard disk, 144,204,424 Communication interface, 145,210,440 Bus, 200 Server device, 300 Database, 400,400A Terminal device, 433 Touch pad, 500,500A,500B Experiment protocol design application, 510 Queue list window, 520 Protocol list window, 530 Protocol design window, 531 Vessel area, 532 Processing area, 533 Data area, 540 Automated experiment system window, 550 Sample vessel window, 560 Tool window, 570 Information window, 600 Web browser, 1000, 1100 Automated experiment management system, C1, C21, C31, C32 Vessel node, Cr Selection cursor, D1, D21, D31, D32 Data node, DG1 to DG3 Directed graph, T2 Conditional branch node, M1, M21, M31 to M36 Processing node, T1 Feature extraction node, T23A, T23B Repeat node, Me, Me2, Me3 End node, Ms, Ms2, Ms3 Start node, NW Network, Plt1, Plt2 Plate, T22 Timer node, p1 to p3 Experiment protocol.

Claims

[Claim 1] 1. A method comprising: receiving a GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation for a specific application by a user; designing an experiment protocol in the form of a directed graph, in which a processing sequence of at least one experiment device is defined, according to the received GUI operation; and controlling said at least one experimental device to automatically execute said experimental protocol; the at least one laboratory device comprises an analytical device; the plurality of nodes that can be selected as vertices of the directed graph include a data node corresponding to output data of processing by the analysis device; The method further includes displaying at least one of a chromatogram and a spectrum generated from output data corresponding to the data node based on a user's selection of the data node.

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