Laboratory Analyzer Throughput and Spare Capacity Determination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining equipment throughput and spare capacity in service facilities, such as medical clinics and laboratories, often rely on manual visual monitoring, which can be incomplete and inaccurate, failing to accurately reflect the actual workload and spare capacity of expensive equipment.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented process that collects and analyzes detailed activity measures from various sources, including laboratory information systems, to determine equipment throughput and spare capacity characteristics, providing precise counts of activities and peak values to identify underutilization and available capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual visual monitoring is used to determine equipment throughput, then the monitoring process is simple to implement, but the measurement precision and completeness of equipment workload data deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual monitoring (mechanical/human system) with automated computer-based monitoring that interfaces directly with equipment and laboratory information systems. This substitution eliminates human error and incompleteness in data collection while maintaining ease of operation through automated data gathering from existing system interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a computer-based intermediary system that acts as a mediator between the equipment and the monitoring process. This intermediary automatically collects activity measures from multiple sources including laboratory information systems and equipment logs, transforming incomplete manual observations into comprehensive accurate data without requiring direct human observation.
2Loss of energy
If manual visual monitoring is used to track equipment activities, then the monitoring cost is low, but the reliability and completeness of workload information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system utilizes self-service by having equipment and laboratory information systems automatically generate and provide their own activity data through existing interfaces and logs. The computer-based system collects this self-reported information without requiring external manual observation, thereby maintaining low cost while significantly improving reliability through automated data capture from multiple independent sources.
3Measurement precision
If detailed activity measures are collected from multiple sources, then the measurement precision of equipment throughput improves, but the device complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by designing a computer-based monitoring system that simultaneously collects data from multiple sources (equipment interfaces, laboratory information systems, logs), processes different types of activity measures, and generates comprehensive throughput and spare capacity analysis. This universal approach consolidates multiple functions into a single integrated system, managing complexity while achieving high measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the data collection process into distinct components: collecting activity measures from equipment interfaces, collecting additional information from laboratory information systems, retrieving activity logs, and processing this segmented data to determine throughput. This segmentation allows each component to be managed independently while contributing to the overall precise measurement.
4Productivity
If automated computer-based monitoring is implemented, then the productivity of equipment utilization analysis improves, but the ease of operation and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual analysis methods with automated computer-based processing that efficiently collects, processes, and analyzes equipment activity data from multiple sources. This substitution dramatically improves productivity by automatically generating throughput and spare capacity determinations without manual intervention, while the system is designed to interface with existing equipment and information systems to maintain operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, a method comprises: retrieving, without direct observation, one or more activity measures recorded within a particular time period and associated with activities performed by a group of analyzers in a specimen analysis laboratory; transforming the activity measures into a count of activities performed by the group of analyzers within the particular time period; determining whether the count of activities for the group of analyzers is less than a peak value for the group of analyzers; in response to determining that the count of activities for the group of analyzers is less than a peak value: determining a spare capacity value for the group of analyzers for the particular time period as a difference between the peak value and the count of activities for the group of analyzers; causing generating a first display of the spare capacity value for the group of analyzers on a computer display unit.