Urgent Sample Prioritization in Automated Laboratory Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Automated laboratory systems face inefficiencies in managing urgent samples due to the presence of non-urgent samples occupying space and causing longer queues, which hinders the timely processing of urgent samples despite software and hardware features that attempt to provide priority.
Innovation Solution
A process that identifies urgent and non-urgent test tubes using recognition devices, physically removes non-urgent tubes from the system until urgent samples are processed, and temporarily stores them on waiting benches, allowing urgent samples to be prioritized by moving them directly to processing modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If FIFO rule is applied in automation installation, then processing order is simple and systematic, but urgent samples cannot be prioritized over non-urgent samples
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts processing priorities based on sample urgency classification. The conveyor system can switch between FIFO mode and priority-based mode, where urgent samples are identified through recognition devices and routed to expedited processing lanes, while non-urgent samples continue through standard FIFO processing. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple FIFO operation for routine samples while enabling urgent sample prioritization when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing system is segmented into multiple independent lanes: urgent sample lanes and non-urgent sample lanes. Once samples are classified by urgency, they are routed to appropriate segments. This segmentation allows urgent samples to be processed in dedicated lanes without being blocked by non-urgent samples in other lanes, thus maintaining simple operation within each segment while achieving priority processing for urgent cases.
2Loss of time
If priority features are provided at software and hardware level, then urgent samples can be assigned priority, but non-urgent samples occupy physical spaces and generate longer queues
Solution Approach 1:
Non-urgent samples are extracted from the main processing flow and placed in temporary holding areas or separate queues. This extraction removes the blocking effect that non-urgent samples have on urgent sample processing. The system maintains separate physical or virtual storage spaces where non-urgent samples wait without occupying critical processing resources needed for urgent samples, thus reducing queue lengths for urgent cases while maintaining overall system productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Temporary holding areas or buffer zones act as intermediaries between sample intake and processing modules. Non-urgent samples are placed in these intermediary spaces, allowing the main processing flow to continue uninterrupted. This intermediary storage decouples the processing of urgent and non-urgent samples, enabling urgent samples to access processing modules immediately while non-urgent samples wait in the intermediary zone, thus resolving the conflict between priority processing and overall productivity.
3Loss of time
If non-urgent samples are removed from the installation, then urgent samples can be processed faster, but physical spaces must be provided for temporary storage
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes vertical space or multi-level storage structures for temporary holding of non-urgent samples rather than expanding horizontal footprint. By moving storage to another dimension (vertical stacking, multi-tier racks), the system provides adequate temporary storage capacity without significantly increasing the overall floor area occupied by the automation installation, thus enabling urgent sample prioritization while minimizing space requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Temporary storage areas are nested within existing structural elements of the automation installation. Holding zones for non-urgent samples are integrated into unused spaces within the conveyor system, processing module housings, or along the sides of existing equipment. This nesting approach provides necessary temporary storage capacity while utilizing already-available space, thus minimizing the additional area required for storing non-urgent samples during priority processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A process for prioritizing urgent test tubes in a test tubes (50) transport installation is disclosed, the test tubes (50) being loaded on transport devices (4) of single test tubes (50) in an automated analysis laboratory, comprising the loading of test tubes (50) classified as urgent and non urgent on transport devices (4) for transporting single test tubes (50), moving said loaded transport devices (4) on a conveyor belt until they interact with an identification device (5) identifying the test tube upstream of processing modules (6) of the test tubes (50), removal of the test tubes (50) that are recognized to be non-urgent from the respective transport device (4) and discharging of the non-urgent test tubes (50) onto a wait bench (10) for non-urgent test tubes (50), moving transport devices (4) for transporting single urgent test tubes (50) towards the processing modules (6), the recall by a control unit (7) of the non-urgent test tubes (50) at the moment in which the availability of the processing modules (6) for non-urgent the test tubes (50) occurs and the consequent loading of the non-urgent test tubes (50) on the bench (10) onto transport devices (4) of the installation, the bench (10) providing means for locating the non-urgent waiting test tubes (50).