Mass Spectrometry Timing Alignment for Gap-Free Peak Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mass spectrometry systems experience wasteful time gaps between adjacent measurement intervals due to non-integer multiples of cycle times, leading to inefficiencies and degraded compound peak waveform quality.
Innovation Solution
A mass spectrometry apparatus and method that corrects the start and completion times of cycle measurement intervals to eliminate these gaps, ensuring actual start and completion times align to prevent wasteful periods, using a processor to manage compound peak observation periods and measurement intervals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If measurement intervals are set based on compound peak observation periods, then measurement coverage is improved, but wasteful blank periods occur between adjacent measurement intervals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the start time and completion time parameters of measurement intervals to eliminate blank periods. By modifying these temporal parameters, the system ensures that the completion time of one measurement interval aligns with the start time of the next, thereby eliminating wasteful blank periods while maintaining adequate measurement coverage of compound peaks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts measurement interval timing based on the relationship between cycle time and measurement interval duration. The processor calculates and modifies start/completion times to account for non-integer multiples of cycle time, creating an adaptive timing system that eliminates gaps without requiring fixed rigid intervals.
2Ease of operation
If cycle time is fixed for measurement sequences, then operational simplicity is improved, but remainder time causes inefficiency when measurement interval does not coincide with integer multiple of cycle time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of start and completion times before executing measurement sequences. By pre-calculating the timing parameters based on cycle time and measurement interval duration, the system prepares the optimal timing configuration in advance, eliminating remainder time waste without complicating the actual measurement execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor uses feedback from the relationship between cycle time and measurement interval duration to adjust timing parameters. By monitoring whether measurement intervals align with integer multiples of cycle time, the system automatically calculates correction values for start and completion times, creating a self-optimizing timing system.
Data Source
AI summary
A plurality of measurement intervals are set on a retention time axis based on a plurality of compound peak observation periods. A start time and a completion time of each measurement interval are corrected so as to prevent occurrence of a blank period (remainder time) between two measurement intervals which are timewise adjacent to each other, to thereby determine an actual start time and an actual completion time of each measurement interval after correction. Specifically, the actual start time of an ith cycle measurement interval is made to coincide with the actual completion time of an (i−1)th cycle measurement interval.