Patient Sample Tracking With Multi-Orientation Machine-Readable Labels
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Solution Overview
Problem
The traditional process of collecting and analyzing patient samples is cumbersome, inefficient, and prone to errors, leading to increased operating costs and eroded trust due to misidentification and mislabeling issues, particularly in regulated environments involving personal health information.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for sample collection and tracking that includes a housing with machine-readable images positioned in multiple orientations to ensure readability, a label with overlapping readable content, and a communication architecture for secure and timely sample analysis, using mobile devices for immediate access to results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional sample collection and tracking processes are used, then the process is simple, but it is cumbersome, inefficient, and prone to errors resulting in misidentification and mislabeling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking processes with automated optical scanning systems. Machine-readable images (barcodes, QR codes) are positioned on sample containers and labels, allowing automated optical readers to capture and process sample identification data, thereby eliminating manual data entry errors and improving tracking reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of machine-readable identification images on sample containers and labels. These redundant visual copies ensure that sample identification information is consistently available across different components of the tracking system, enabling reliable data capture regardless of which specific label or container surface is scanned.
2Ease of operation
If multiple machine-readable images are positioned on the label, then readability is ensured in various orientations, but the label design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions machine-readable images asymmetrically on the label surface, with images oriented at different angles (e.g., 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees) to accommodate various scanning orientations. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that at least one image remains readable regardless of how the label is positioned, improving ease of operation without requiring symmetric repetition of all images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds orientational dimensionality to the label design by incorporating images rotated at multiple angles rather than a single uniform orientation. This dimensional variation allows the label to be read from different angular perspectives, effectively adding an orientational degree of freedom to the reading process.
3Reliability
If manual sample tracking processes are used, then the system is simple, but errors in sample labeling frequently result in hardships and litigation driving up operating costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual tracking processes with automated optical scanning and digital data processing systems. Machine-readable images on sample containers are scanned by automated readers that capture identification data, eliminating manual data entry and reducing human error while improving operational efficiency through automated workflow processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where scanned sample identification data is immediately processed and verified against the tracking system database. This real-time feedback allows for immediate error detection and correction, preventing misidentification from propagating through the workflow and reducing the need for costly rework or litigation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for collection and tracking of a sample for testing is provided, which includes a kit having a housing configured for storing a sample therein and a label for adhering to the housing upon contact. The label further includes images orientated both horizontally and vertically, each displaying the same readable context able to be scanned. The images are positioned such that the position of the label on the housing and the orientation of the reader scanning the images minimally affects the ability to read the images.