Maintenance Alert Fair Queueing for Multi-Criteria Ranking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current alert ranking systems for medical imaging devices primarily rely on priority, which fails to consider other critical factors such as deadline, hospital impact, and service contract type, leading to missed alerts and suboptimal scheduling, especially in scenarios where hospitals have multiple or single systems of a modality.

Innovation Solution

Adaptation of fair queuing methods, specifically credit-based and multi-criterion fair queuing, to rank alerts based on normalized shares of criteria such as predictive model priority, deadline, service contract, and modality, ensuring that all relevant factors are accounted for in the ranking process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If alerts are ranked solely by priority, then high-priority alerts are reviewed first, but alerts with lower priority may never be observed and critical factors such as deadline and hospital impact are ignored

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvealert review efficiencyVSAvoidcompleteness of alert review
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms the alert ranking system from using a single parameter (priority) to using multiple parameters including priority, deadline, and hospital impact. This multi-parameter approach ensures that alerts are comprehensively evaluated based on various critical factors rather than being filtered out by low priority alone.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds new dimensions to the alert ranking problem by introducing deadline and hospital impact as additional ranking criteria beyond priority. This dimensional expansion creates a more nuanced ranking system that captures the complexity of real-world alert evaluation scenarios.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Loss of time

If alerts are ranked using earliest-deadline-first algorithm, then deadline is emphasized, but priority is not considered

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedeadline adherenceVSAvoidranking criteria complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple ranking criteria (priority, deadline, hospital impact) into a unified multi-criteria ranking system. Rather than using separate algorithms for each criterion, the system integrates them into a single comprehensive ranking mechanism that considers all factors simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If multiple criteria are used for ranking, then comprehensive evaluation is achieved, but the ranking system becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of alert evaluationVSAvoidranking system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a service contract type criterion that acts as an intermediary factor in the ranking system. This criterion captures hospital-specific requirements and constraints, serving as a mediator between the alert's technical characteristics and the hospital's operational needs, thereby simplifying the overall evaluation process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4232877B1Multi-criteria fair queueing of alerts
Publication Date: 2024.12.18 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS NV
  • EP4232877B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4232877B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4232877B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A method (100) of generating a ranked list (42) of alerts (30) from files (32) of electronic devices (12) includes: applying predictive models (34) to data of the files to generate maintenance alerts for the electronic devices; assigning discrete values for a set of criteria (36) to each maintenance alert whereby the maintenance alert has a share computed as a product of the assigned discrete values; performing a credit-based queuing process (38) to assign the maintenance alerts to slots of a ranked list, wherein in the credit-based queuing process the maintenance alerts accumulate credits in accord with the shares computed for the respective maintenance alerts; and displaying, on a display device (24) operatively connected with the at least one electronic processor, the maintenance alerts as the ranked list in accordance with the assignments of the maintenance alerts to the slots of the ranked list.