ORGANIZING PATHOLOGY ASSETS
First Claim
1. A method for handling pathology samples, comprising:
- receiving a set of unordered pathology samples, each pathology sample having an identifier including multiple designation values provided in respective multiple designation fields; and
sorting the pathology samples into multiple sets of bins defined at respective physical locations on a sorting apparatus, each set of bins defined for a different one of the multiple designation fields, each individual bin in each set of bins providing a sorting location for a different value range of the designation field provided for the respective set of bins.
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Abstract
A technique for organizing pathology samples includes sorting the samples into bins defined at different physical locations of a sorting apparatus, based on a set of designations applied to the samples. With such an arrangement, unorganized pathology samples may be grouped so that all the same accession numbers are grouped together for efficient filing or re-filing with reduced error. An apparatus suitable for use according to this technique includes a support structure and multiple dividers defining multiple sets of bins on the apparatus. A different set of bins is provided on the apparatus for each of the set of designations applied to the samples.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for handling pathology samples, comprising:
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receiving a set of unordered pathology samples, each pathology sample having an identifier including multiple designation values provided in respective multiple designation fields; and sorting the pathology samples into multiple sets of bins defined at respective physical locations on a sorting apparatus, each set of bins defined for a different one of the multiple designation fields, each individual bin in each set of bins providing a sorting location for a different value range of the designation field provided for the respective set of bins. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for sorting pathology samples, comprising:
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a support structure; a set of physical dividers that divide the support structure into multiple bins, the bins including; a first set of bins disposed on one side of the support structure and labeled for providing sorting locations for pathology samples according to a first sorting criterion; a second set of bins disposed adjacent to the first set of bins on the support structure and labeled for providing sorting locations for pathology samples according to a second sorting criterion; a third set of bins disposed adjacent to the second set of bins on the support structure and labeled for providing sorting locations for pathology samples according to a third sorting criterion, wherein the bins in the third set of bins are each smaller than each of the bins in the second set of bins and wherein the number of bins in the third set of bins is greater than the number of bins in the second set of bins. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of organizing pathology assets, the method comprising:
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receiving a group of pathology assets, each pathology asset including (i) a sample portion which stores a pathology sample and (ii) an asset identification portion which identifies that pathology asset among other pathology assets; performing an iterative sorting operation to sort the group of pathology assets into smaller subgroups; and based on results of the iterative sorting operation, storing the smaller subgroups in respective container files; wherein the iterative sorting operation includes; distributing the pathology assets of the group of pathology assets among a set of first dividers based on application of a first sorting criteria to the asset identification portions of the pathology assets to separate the group of pathology assets into subgroups, and distributing a subgroup of pathology assets from one of the first dividers among a set of second dividers based on application of a second sorting criteria to the asset identification portions of the pathology assets to separate the subgroup of pathology assets into the smaller subgroups.
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Specification