System and method for discovery of biological instruments
First Claim
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1. A control and communications system for a biological laboratory having at least one sample analyzer and a biological data processor, the system comprising:
- a client component having a user interface that allows a user to gain access and control or monitor the operation of a plurality of biological instruments in the biological laboratory;
a plurality of instrument components associated with each of the plurality of biological instruments, wherein the plurality of instrument components include an instrument component for the at least one sample analyzer that receives commands selected from at least one pre-set list of commands from the client component and translates the commands into a format that induces the at least one sample analyzer to obtain identification information about a biological sample, wherein the plurality of instrument components further include an instrument component for the biological data processor that receives commands selected from the at least one pre-set list of commands from the client component and translates the commands into a format that induces the biological data processor to analyze the identification information obtained by the at least one sample analyzer and provides signals indicative of the analysis;
at least one directory that provides information to the client component as to the logical location of the plurality of instrument components such that the client component can determine how to access the plurality of instrument components by reference to the at least one directory, wherein the at least one directory includes information about the at least one pre-set list of commands that the client component can use to send signals to the plurality of instrument components to induce the sample analyzer to obtain the identification information and to induce the biological data processor to analyze the identification information;
a messaging service that transmits messages to and from the plurality of instrument components and the client component in a standardized format wherein the messaging service, the at least one directory and the client component are configured such that an additional instruments can be added to the laboratory by associating an instrument component with the additional instrument and updating the at least one directory with information about the logical location of the additional instrument component associated with the additional instrument so that the client component can become aware of the additional instruments by accessing the at least one directory.
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Abstract
A system and methods for integrating laboratory instrumentation and applications to provide a unified control and coordination architecture under a common interface. The system provides mechanisms for detection of various hardware and software components wherein the individual functionalities and input/output data types for each component are automatically recognized and incorporated into a centralized control system that provides live monitoring of the operational status of available components.
71 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A control and communications system for a biological laboratory having at least one sample analyzer and a biological data processor, the system comprising:
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a client component having a user interface that allows a user to gain access and control or monitor the operation of a plurality of biological instruments in the biological laboratory;
a plurality of instrument components associated with each of the plurality of biological instruments, wherein the plurality of instrument components include an instrument component for the at least one sample analyzer that receives commands selected from at least one pre-set list of commands from the client component and translates the commands into a format that induces the at least one sample analyzer to obtain identification information about a biological sample, wherein the plurality of instrument components further include an instrument component for the biological data processor that receives commands selected from the at least one pre-set list of commands from the client component and translates the commands into a format that induces the biological data processor to analyze the identification information obtained by the at least one sample analyzer and provides signals indicative of the analysis;
at least one directory that provides information to the client component as to the logical location of the plurality of instrument components such that the client component can determine how to access the plurality of instrument components by reference to the at least one directory, wherein the at least one directory includes information about the at least one pre-set list of commands that the client component can use to send signals to the plurality of instrument components to induce the sample analyzer to obtain the identification information and to induce the biological data processor to analyze the identification information;
a messaging service that transmits messages to and from the plurality of instrument components and the client component in a standardized format wherein the messaging service, the at least one directory and the client component are configured such that an additional instruments can be added to the laboratory by associating an instrument component with the additional instrument and updating the at least one directory with information about the logical location of the additional instrument component associated with the additional instrument so that the client component can become aware of the additional instruments by accessing the at least one directory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of controlling the operation of a biological laboratory, the method comprising:
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associating an instrument component with a biological sample analyzer wherein the instrument component is configured to translate instructions received by the biological sample analyzer so that the biological sample analyzer can be instructed to capture identification information about a biological sample and further, associating the instrument component with a biological data processor wherein the instrument componenet is configured to translate instructions received by the biological data processor so that the biological data processor can be instructed to analyze identification information captured by the biological sample analyzer;
maintaining a directory for the logical location of each of the instrument components within the biological laboratory such that a user interface can be configured to determine how to access an instrument to implement a process using the directory; and
wherein an additional instrument may be added to the biological laboratory by associating a suitable instrument component to the additional instrument and updating the directory as to the logical location of the instrument component such that the additional instrument can be discovered and accessed by the user interface to implement a process by using the directory. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39)
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38. The method of 24, further comprising:
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maintaining in the directory of information for each instrument a list of topics under which message will be published by at least one instrument component associated with each instrument;
registering the user interface with a messaging service such that the user interface can receive all messages published by an instrument component that correspond to topics selected by the user interface; and
transmitting messages under a listed topic name to the messaging service so that the messages will be sent to every user interface that registered to receive messages under the listed topic.
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Specification