Assay information management methods and devices
First Claim
1. A method of using an assay consumable in an assay system, wherein said assay consumable comprises a consumable identifier on a first assay consumable and a plurality of test sites and said assay system comprises a reader adapted to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of (i) read information from said consumable identifier;
- (ii) erase information from said consumable identifier;
(iii) write information to said consumable identifier; and
(iv) combinations thereof, wherein the read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises calibration data and-multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, said method comprising the steps of (a) reading information from said consumable identifier, wherein the information comprises identification information of one or more other consumables associated with the first assay consumable, and wherein the assay system determines the presence of consumable identifiers of the one or more other consumables in the assay system;
(b) conducting an assay in said assay system using said assay consumable;
(c) writing information resulting from said assay conducted in step (b) to said consumable identifier; and
(d) tracking use of said assay consumable, wherein said read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises;
authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii);
(i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor;
(ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges,wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is not a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to methods, devices and systems for associating assay information with an assay consumable used in a biological assay. Provided are assay systems and associated consumables, wherein the assay system includes a reader adapted to read/erase/write information from/to an assay consumable identifier associated with the assay consumable. Various types of assay information are described, as well as methods of using such information in the conduct of an assay by an assay system.
31 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of using an assay consumable in an assay system, wherein said assay consumable comprises a consumable identifier on a first assay consumable and a plurality of test sites and said assay system comprises a reader adapted to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of (i) read information from said consumable identifier;
- (ii) erase information from said consumable identifier;
(iii) write information to said consumable identifier; and
(iv) combinations thereof, wherein the read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises calibration data and-multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, said method comprising the steps of (a) reading information from said consumable identifier, wherein the information comprises identification information of one or more other consumables associated with the first assay consumable, and wherein the assay system determines the presence of consumable identifiers of the one or more other consumables in the assay system;
(b) conducting an assay in said assay system using said assay consumable;
(c) writing information resulting from said assay conducted in step (b) to said consumable identifier; and
(d) tracking use of said assay consumable, wherein said read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is not a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. - View Dependent Claims (19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 33)
- (ii) erase information from said consumable identifier;
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2. A method of tracking use of an assay consumable comprising an assay consumable identifier and a plurality of test sites, said method comprising (a) reading test site usage information from said assay consumable identifier, wherein the information comprises identification information of one or more other consumables associated with the first assay consumable, and wherein the test site usage information comprises calibration data and multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, and wherein the assay system determines the presence of consumable identifiers of the one or more other consumables in the assay system;
- (b) identifying, based on said test site usage information, an available test site on said consumable;
(c) carrying out an assay using said available test site; and
(d) writing updated test site usage information to said assay identifier, wherein said assay consumable identifier comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is not a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 23, 28, 34)
- (b) identifying, based on said test site usage information, an available test site on said consumable;
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8. A method of tracking the manufacture of an assay consumable, wherein said assay consumable comprises an identifier and a plurality of test sites and one or more component parts and said manufacturing process includes one or more operations conducted by one or more manufacturing consumables each comprising a reader adapted to perform an operation of (i) reading manufacturing information from said identifier, wherein the information comprises identification information of one or more other consumables associated with the first assay consumable and wherein the manufacturing information comprises calibration data and multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, and wherein the assay system determines the presence of consumable identifiers of the one or more other consumables in the assay system;
- and optionally an operation selected from the group consisting of (ii) erasing manufacturing information from said identifier;
(iii) writing manufacturing information to said identifier; and
(iv) combinations thereof;
said method comprising (a) affixing said identifier to a first component of said consumable;
(b) performing an operation of said manufacturing process;
(c) writing manufacturing information to said identifier, wherein said manufacturing information comprises information related to the operation performed in step (b);
(d) performing an additional step in said manufacturing process; and
(e) writing manufacturing information to said identifier, wherein said manufacturing information comprises information related to the operation performed in step (d), wherein said reading manufacturing information, erasing manufacturing information, and/or writing manufacturing information comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(ii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is not a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. - View Dependent Claims (9, 29, 35)
- and optionally an operation selected from the group consisting of (ii) erasing manufacturing information from said identifier;
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10. A method of using an assay consumable in an assay system, wherein said assay consumable comprises a consumable identifier and a plurality of test sites and said assay system comprises a reader adapted to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of (i) read information from said consumable identifier;
- (ii) erase information from said consumable identifier;
(iii) write information to said consumable identifier; and
(iv) combinations thereof, wherein the read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises calibration data and multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, said method comprising the steps of (a) reading information from said consumable identifier, wherein said assay system determines whether the first assay consumable is a correct assay consumable by confirming the presence or absence of at least one of a digital signature of the first assay consumable, a placement of the first assay consumable in the assay system, and a defect in the first assay consumable;
(b) conducting an assay in said assay system using said assay consumable;
(c) writing information resulting from said assay conducted in step (b) to said consumable identifier; and
(d) tracking use of said assay consumable, wherein said read information, erase information, and/or write information comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 30, 36)
- (ii) erase information from said consumable identifier;
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11. A method of tracking use of an assay consumable comprising an assay consumable identifier and a plurality of test sites, said method comprising (a) reading test site usage information from said assay consumable identifier, wherein said assay system determines whether the first assay consumable is a correct assay consumable by confirming the presence or absence of at least one of a digital signature of the first assay consumable, a placement of the first assay consumable in the assay system, and a defect in the first assay consumable, and wherein the test site usage information comprises calibration data and multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site;
- (b) identifying, based on said test site usage information, an available test site on said consumable;
(c) carrying out an assay using said available test site; and
(d) writing updated test site usage information to said assay identifier, wherein said assay consumable identifier comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). - View Dependent Claims (31, 37)
- (b) identifying, based on said test site usage information, an available test site on said consumable;
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17. A method of tracking the manufacture of an assay consumable, wherein said assay consumable comprises an identifier and a plurality of test sites and one or more component parts and said manufacturing process includes one or more operations conducted by one or more manufacturing consumables each comprising a reader adapted to perform an operation of (i) reading manufacturing information from said identifier, wherein said assay system determines whether the first assay consumable is a correct assay consumable by confirming the presence or absence of at least one of a digital signature of the first assay consumable and wherein the manufacturing information comprises calibration data and multiplexing information to identify at least one assay test site and a component thereof in said plurality of test sites, wherein the multiplexing information further comprises at least one of (A) the configuration of the plurality of test sites, (B) assay format, (C) specific processing steps and (D) analytical methods that should be applied by the system once an assay is conducted to analyze the output of an assay in a given test site, a placement of the first assay consumable in the assay system, and a defect in the first assay consumable;
- and optionally an operation selected from the group consisting of (ii) erasing manufacturing information from said identifier;
(iii) writing manufacturing information to said identifier; and
(iv) combinations thereof;
said method comprising (a) affixing said identifier to a first component of said consumable;
(b) performing an operation of said manufacturing process;
(c) writing manufacturing information to said identifier, wherein said manufacturing information comprises information related to the operation performed in step (b);
(d) performing an additional step in said manufacturing process; and
(e) writing manufacturing information to said identifier, wherein said manufacturing information comprises information related to the operation performed in step (d), wherein said reading manufacturing information, erasing manufacturing information, and/or writing manufacturing information comprises;authorization information for said consumable or a test site thereof or a domain thereof, said authorization information comprising whether a user has a valid license to use said consumable, the number of times the user is permitted to use said consumable, or the limitations on said use of the consumable by the user, if any, and at least one of the following (i)-(iii); (i) a digital signature indicating the consumable was manufactured by a designated vendor; (ii) data regarding how one or more steps in an assay protocol may be adjusted to account for lot to lot or consumable to consumable differences;
or(iii) lot-specific analysis parameters comprising the revision level that determines the schema used to interpret the assay results, a cross-talk correction matrix to account for chemical cross-reactivity, a threshold for assays to be conducted in the consumable and each internal negative control, a range for each internal positive control, ranges for each assay to be conducted for the positive control sample, a software checksum to ensure integrity of the data, in-well or in-test site control acceptance ranges, negative and positive quality control materials that are used to verify the operation of said consumable, master calibration curve information, or assay calibrator acceptance ranges, wherein said assay consumable is a multi-well plate or a cartridge, and wherein said consumable identifier is an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). - View Dependent Claims (18, 20, 32, 38)
- and optionally an operation selected from the group consisting of (ii) erasing manufacturing information from said identifier;
Specification