Modular Instructional Device for Sample Handling Error Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for an instructional point-of-care (POC) device that can provide professional healthcare training to untrained individuals and offer a low-cost, high-throughput community screening resource, especially in areas lacking trained healthcare workers, to improve healthcare services and reduce the risks associated with sample handling and diagnostic testing.
Innovation Solution
A modular instructional medical device with sensing elements and a display module that guides users through sample handling processes, detects errors, and provides training, using object sensing, motion sensing, and weight sensing to ensure accurate and safe handling of samples, and includes a system for sample pooling and container management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sample pooling processing is performed by untrained workers to reduce costs and increase accessibility, then healthcare access improves and costs decrease, but the risk of cross-contamination, biosafety issues, and human errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables untrained workers to perform sample pooling independently through interactive guidance. The system provides step-by-step instructions, real-time feedback, and automated error detection, allowing users to self-correct mistakes without trained personnel intervention. This maintains reliability while improving accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sample handling processes through sensing elements and provides immediate feedback to users. Error detection algorithms identify potential contamination risks and guide corrective actions, ensuring safety standards are maintained even by untrained operators.
2Productivity
If manual sample pooling protocols are used to increase testing throughput, then testing capacity increases, but the complexity of the protocol and training requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual mechanical operations with an automated instructional device that guides users through standardized motions. Sensing elements detect sample positions and transfer actions, substituting for complex procedural knowledge and reducing the cognitive load on operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The sample pooling protocol is divided into discrete, guided steps with clear transition criteria. The system breaks down the complex pooling process into manageable segments that users follow sequentially, reducing overall protocol complexity while maintaining throughput efficiency.
3Productivity
If automated high-throughput devices are deployed to increase testing capacity, then testing speed increases, but the cost of individual tests increases and CLIA certification requirements limit accessibility
Solution Approach 1:
The instructional device can guide multiple types of sample handling protocols beyond just pooling, including individual testing and various transfer procedures. This multi-functionality justifies the investment by providing versatile capabilities across different testing scenarios, reducing per-test costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The device serves as an intermediary between automated high-throughput systems and manual low-cost systems. It provides the guidance and error detection of automated systems while using simpler, more affordable hardware components, bridging the gap between speed and accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An interactive modular device for instructing and assisting users on sample handling processes using features to guide a user through the processes in real time. The modules of the device include a processing module (e.g., pooling module), a sample-container module (e.g., tube module), a container-closure module (e.g., cap module), a sample-transfer module (e.g., pipette module), a scanning module (e.g., single barcode module), a multi-scanning module (e.g., multi-barcode module), a waste container module, and a display module. The features include mechanisms to determine presence and absence of items used for sample handling and visual, audible, and tactile indicators in real time.