Mass Spectrometry Intensity Determination With Background Thresholding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mass spectrometry instruments generate large amounts of data during high-throughput analysis, leading to increased storage, bandwidth, and processing requirements, as well as bottlenecks in manual review and result generation.
Innovation Solution
Determining a background count rate threshold for mass spectrometry data, accumulating ion counts above this threshold, and storing the total ion count as intensity for each well, reducing the need to store full time-series data and enabling on-instrument processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If full time-series data is stored for each well, then measurement precision is maintained, but data storage requirements and processing complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information (total ion counts above background threshold) from the full time-series data, storing only these extracted values rather than the complete raw data. This reduces storage requirements while maintaining the precision needed for intensity determination by capturing the critical signal information above background noise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of the mass spectrometry data by calculating total ion counts and subtracting background thresholds in real-time during data acquisition. This preliminary action converts raw time-series data into processed intensity values immediately, reducing the need to store and process large volumes of raw data later while preserving measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive mass spectrometry data is collected and stored, then analysis accuracy is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the critical information needed for intensity determination (ion counts above background threshold) and discards redundant data. This extraction approach maintains analysis accuracy by preserving the signal information that matters while eliminating unnecessary data processing, thereby reducing computational time and resource requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by focusing computational efforts only on the relevant portion of the data - specifically, ion counts that exceed the background threshold. Rather than processing all collected data equally, the method selectively processes only the excess ion counts that contribute to the signal, reducing overall processing time while maintaining determination accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If raw data is exported for external analysis, then comprehensive review is enabled, but bandwidth requirements and processing bottlenecks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary data processing and analysis within the mass spectrometry system itself, calculating intensities and generating results before data export. This preliminary action reduces the need to transfer and process large volumes of raw data externally, lowering bandwidth requirements and eliminating processing bottlenecks while still enabling comprehensive review of the processed results.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates processed copies of the data (intensity values, total ion counts) that can be exported for external review without needing to export the complete raw time-series data. These copied processed values maintain the essential information needed for analysis while dramatically reducing the data volume that requires bandwidth for transfer and storage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the total data generated, improving storage, bandwidth, and processing efficiency while generating well-plate reports that indicate intensity for each well, facilitating faster analysis and reducing the need for raw data export.
Implementation Method 1
The acoustic ejection system includes an acoustic transducer configured to eject droplets from the wells of the well plate
Implementation Method 2
ionizing the first sample and the transport fluid to generate first ions
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for performing mass analysis. An example method may include ejecting, from a first well of a well plate, a first sample into a transport fluid; ionizing the first sample and the transport fluid to generate first ions; detecting the first ions over a first period of time; and when a count rate of the detected first ions is above a background count rate threshold, accumulating a count of the detected first ions. The method may also include ejecting, from a second well of the well plate, a second sample into the transport fluid; ionizing the second sample and the transport fluid to generate second ions; detecting the second ions over a second period of time; and when a count rate of the detected second ions is above the background count rate threshold, accumulating a count of the detected second ions.