Optical Lab Resource Sharing with Proprietary Data Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical lab management systems lack the ability for geographically remote clients to securely share large-scale resources and maintain proprietary financial and technical data, leading to inefficiencies in lens processing and pricing management.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that configures client accounts to access a global lens database and calculation program, allowing each optical lab to maintain proprietary data while sharing resources, enabling secure transmission of job and pricing information for individual prescription lenses across a distributed telecommunications link.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple optical labs share large-scale lens management software and resources, then resource utilization efficiency and economies of scale are improved, but security and confidentiality of proprietary financial and technical data deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments data into two distinct categories: global shared resources (lens database, calculation software) stored on the server, and proprietary client-specific data (financial records, equipment configurations, price lists) stored locally on each client's computer. This segmentation allows labs to share computational resources while maintaining strict separation and security of their proprietary information.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary that provides lens calculation services by receiving prescription data from clients, performing calculations using global resources, and returning results. The server does not access or store clients' proprietary financial or equipment data, thus mediating the interaction between shared resources and client-specific information without compromising security.
2Reliability
If each optical lab maintains separate proprietary data locally, then data security and customization are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of integration deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and separates the proprietary data elements (financial records, equipment configurations, price lists) from the shared lens management functionality. These proprietary elements are taken out and stored locally on each client's computer, while the core lens management software and global lens database are hosted on the server, simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The server provides universal lens calculation services that can be accessed by multiple clients through standard communication protocols. The system uses universal data formats and interfaces that allow different clients with varying proprietary requirements to interact with the same global resources without increasing system complexity.
3Loss of information
If proprietary financial and technical data are maintained separately for each client, then data confidentiality is improved, but ease of operation and user interface complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates and maintains copies of proprietary data locally on each client's computer. This allows the user interface to operate with local data copies, providing a simple and familiar experience, while the actual proprietary information remains secure in its local storage. The server maintains the master copy of global data, and clients work with their own copies of proprietary information.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for allowing multiple geographically distributed optical labs to share global resources over a telecommunications network. Each optical lab is set up as a client account on the server with privileges to access the global recourses. Each lab has its own equipment set, the settings and configuration of which, are recorded in one of the client account databases. Other proprietary databases contain price lists, financial information and patient data. The lens calculation software encounters a sequential stream of job requests from different client accounts. The corresponding proprietary account data, allows uniform pricing rules to be applied to lens processing jobs. As jobs are completed, each lab receives an individual packet of printable job ticket data, printable invoice data, electronic interface files for the lens generating equipment, and an extract file for importing into the labs accounting software.