Reagent ID Obfuscation in Automatic Analyzers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reagent management systems face challenges in efficiently managing reagent information storage media, including high data transfer costs and difficulties in redistributing and updating reagent information, leading to potential misuse of unusable reagents.
Innovation Solution
The method involves rendering reagent IDs unidentifiable on storage media by performing bit operations between the stored reagent ID and additional information, using equations to create composite information that falls outside the defined value range, thereby preventing the reagent from being recognized as usable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If reagent information is stored on distributed storage media, then data transfer costs are reduced, but it becomes difficult to collect and redistribute storage media for updating reagent information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the state of the reagent ID information from readable to unreadable by performing bit operations. When reagent information needs to be updated or invalidated, the system modifies the readability parameter of the reagent ID on the storage medium, transforming it from an identifiable state to an unidentifiable state, thereby preventing reuse without requiring physical collection of storage media
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the reagent ID information from the storage medium and performs bit operations on it separately. By taking the reagent ID out of its original readable form and transforming it through logical operations, the system can invalidate reagent information on distributed storage media without needing to physically collect and redistribute the media
2Reliability
If reagent ID information is made unidentifiable to prevent misuse, then reagent security is improved, but the ability to reuse storage media is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies discarding and recovering by invalidating reagent ID information through bit operations when reagents are determined to be unusable. The system can later recover or reset the storage media by performing reverse bit operations or reinitialization, allowing the same physical storage media to be reused for different reagents while maintaining security through controlled invalidation and recovery cycles
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of physically destroying or collecting storage media to prevent misuse, the patent inverts the approach by making the reagent ID information itself unidentifiable through bit operations. This logical inversion maintains the physical integrity and reusability of storage media while achieving security through information obfuscation
3Quantity of substance
If auxiliary data areas are used to store new reagent information, then storage capacity is increased, but software modification is required for readers to access the information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the reagent information reader universal by enabling it to handle both original reagent ID formats and new formats stored in auxiliary data areas. Through bit operations and format conversion capabilities, a single reader software can access reagent information from various storage locations and formats without requiring separate software modifications for different storage configurations
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention provides an automatic analyzer suitable for efficient reagent management. The analyzer allows continued use of existing reagent information storage media because reagent ID information that is no longer needed is overwritten so that it is unrecognizable to any analyzer. The invention relates to a method for automatically analyzing particular properties of an analyte by putting the analyte and a reagent into a vessel and measuring the reacted analyte-reagent mixture. The analyzer of the invention comprises: an information reader/writer for reading or writing regent information to/from storage media attached to reagent vessels; means for managing reagent information read from the storage media; means for processing reagents based on the managed information; and means for overwriting reagent information that has been judged unnecessary based on the managed information so that the unnecessary information is unrecognizable to any analyzer.