Systems and methods for assessing bays on diagnostic devices

Inventors

Jensen, Tyler David • Nguyen, Michael • Harshman, Dustin K.

Assignees

Roche Molecular Systems Inc

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, systems and apparatuses in which a diagnostic instrument analyzes data collected over time, and based on that information, disables a bay, suggests a bay, puts a bay on standby or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the method, system and apparatus allows the diagnostic instrument to have higher validity rates in the field and allows the provider to set up service calls, schedule maintenance and perform remote maintenance, as well as other functions based on the data collected over time.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a diagnostic instrument that monitors the performance of a bay over time by producing disable bay data, standby bay data, and suggest bay data using a control unit. A processor evaluates whether one or more of the disable bay data, standby bay data, or suggest bay data meet a predefined baseline, and in response to the evaluation, the processor disables the bay, or can also put the bay on standby or suggest the bay based on the evaluation results.

The diagnostic instrument includes a disable bay rule engine configured to produce disable bay data, a standby bay monitoring rule engine configured to produce standby bay data, and a suggest bay rule engine configured to produce suggest bay data. The processor compares the produced bay data to the predefined baseline to determine whether the bay operation data does not meet the predefined baseline, and the disable bay determination can be used to disable the bay when the disable bay data does not meet the predefined baseline.

In a further aspect, the invention includes a graphical user interface that includes at least one icon corresponding to a processing unit. The icon is configured to change from a first color to a second color in response to a determination that an operation of the processing unit data does not meet a predefined baseline, and the graphical user interface provides evaluation-driven bay state actions, including disabling the bay, putting the bay on standby, or suggesting the bay.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover a diagnostic instrument that evaluates multiple bay-related datasets against a predefined baseline and then selects a corresponding bay action. The claims define the core structure as a bay plus control unit with multiple rule engines and processor-based evaluation, with an additional claim requiring a graphical user interface with icon color changes and explicit disable, standby, and suggest actions.

Together, the independent claims define a diagnostic instrument that uses separate rule engines to produce disable, standby, and suggest bay data, evaluates that data against a predefined baseline using a processor, and selects a bay state accordingly. The additional claim further requires a graphical user interface where an icon changes color in response to baseline failure and supports disabling, standby, and suggesting actions based on the respective evaluation results.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications