Data Router Publisher-Subscriber Format Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data router systems in healthcare laboratory automation rely on publisher-specific formatting, creating a dependency where new publishers require new versions of subscribers to interpret data, limiting the ability to integrate new publishers without system modifications.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a data router that generates and transmits data packets in a publisher-independent format, allowing subscribers to receive and process actionable information without specific formatting knowledge, using a format like the one described in Table 1, which includes fields like Date/Time of Occurrence, Alert ID, Device ID, Alert Category, Alert Severity, and Alert Status.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If publisher-specific formatting is used for data packets, then each publisher can transmit data in its native format, but new publishers require new versions of subscribers to interpret the data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (data router or format translation layer) that receives publisher-specific data packets and converts them into a standardized format before transmission to subscribers. This intermediary absorbs the complexity of handling multiple publisher formats, allowing subscribers to remain unchanged while new publishers are integrated. The intermediary acts as a buffer that decouples the publisher and subscriber sides of the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the data format parameter from publisher-specific to standardized/universal. By transforming the data packets into a common format with standardized fields and structures, the system enables any publisher to communicate with any subscriber without requiring version-specific adaptations. This parameter change fundamentally resolves the contradiction by making the format independent of the publisher identity.
2Productivity
If publisher-specific data formats are used, then data can be transmitted in native format, but subscribers must be updated to process data from new publishers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-defining a standardized data format and pre-configuring the data router with translation rules for multiple publisher formats. This preparation work is done in advance, so when new publishers are added or actionable data needs to be processed, the system can immediately handle the data without time-consuming modifications. The standardized format acts as a pre-established framework that eliminates the need for reactive system updates.
3Reliability
If new versions of subscribers are created for each publisher, then data interpretation is accurate, but system complexity and maintenance burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the subscriber universal by designing it to handle a standardized data format that can accommodate data from any publisher. The single subscriber version performs multiple functions by processing standardized packets that contain publisher-identifying information and format-specific data. This universality maintains data interpretation accuracy through standardized field definitions while eliminating the need for multiple subscriber versions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the data packet structure into standardized portions (header, body, footer) with clearly defined fields. This segmentation allows the subscriber to process each segment systematically using standardized parsing logic, ensuring accurate interpretation without needing publisher-specific code. The segmented structure separates the variable publisher-specific content from the fixed processing framework.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatus for publisher-independent auxiliary communications in data router-mediated publisher/subscriber transmission architectures provide faster processing of actionable information by subscribers and increased flexibility to add publishers to a system. Publisher-originated information in a publisher-specific format is used by either the publisher, or a data router coupled to the publisher, to generate information, based on the publisher-originated information, in a publisher-independent format recognized by subscribers, and provided by the data router to subscribers. Publishers may include analyzers such as blood, immuno-assay, and clinical chemistry analyzers, IoT devices, and automation systems.