System, method, software architecture, and business model for an intelligent object based information technology platform

• US 7,702,639 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Melissa Data Corp
• Original Assignee: IO Informatics, Inc. (Melissa Data Corp)
• Inventors: Gombocz, Erich A., Stanley, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): To; Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US11/217,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20050289166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

In one aspect, the invention provides an architecture and query and processing methodology, advantageously implemented in software, for an information technology platform using Intelligent Molecular Objects or objects of a more general character. In another aspect, it provides intelligent molecular object data or other data for heterogeneous data environments with high data density and dynamic application needs. In yet another, it provides an Object State Engine for intelligent molecular object data technology. In still another, it provides an Object Translation Engine for intelligent molecular object data in heterogeneous data environments with dynamic application needs. In yet another aspect, it provides a handling device including an Intelligent Object Handler for intelligent molecular object data in heterogeneous data environments with high data density and dynamic application needs. In even still another aspect, the invention provides a data pool architecture and an Intelligent Object Pool for intelligent molecular object data in heterogeneous data environments with high data density and dynamic application needs. An architecture for an information technology platform using Intelligent Molecular Object software is provided, which addresses all steps of data processing from data acquisition through diverse sources and instrumentation to final output of diverse data analysis results.

Claims

1. A method of using a data presentation system including a graphical user interface that displays data to a user and accepts inputs from the user, the method comprising:

a) importing at least one ontology into an ontology data storage accessible by the data presentation system, the ontology representing a formal identity of the data describing relationships in common vocabularies for the data, in order to contextualize the data to allow uniform query of the data;

b) mapping the at least one ontology onto a presentation layer to provide a reference from data elements to one or more known schemas, which represent dependencies and similarities between data elements, based on meta-data associated with the data elements;

c) displaying the presentation layer, the presentation layer comprising a subset workspace of the displayed data and the mapped ontology from the ontology data storage, the subset workspace comprising a set of data elements having a common relationship;

d) accepting a first set of inputs from the user, wherein the first set of inputs specify selections of positions within the subset workspace; and

e) generating an ontology element comprising at least some of the displayed data, based at least in part on the first set of inputs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is imageable data, and wherein displaying the data to a user comprises presenting the data in a graphical format.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the imageable data is organized into a plurality of data grouping objects, and wherein each data grouping object comprises a portion of the imageable data and a corresponding set of one or more non-graphical data elements.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a first data grouping object comprises a first portion of imageable data and a first set of one or more non-graphical data elements, and wherein the first set of one or more non-graphical data elements is generated by an analysis of the first portion of imageable data.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the ontology element comprises a data grouping object.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising allowing the user to perform an operation on the set of one or more non-graphical elements in the data grouping object, based on the ontology.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the operation is an operation selected from a group consisting of:

a normalized comparison of the set of one or more non-graphical elements with a second set of one or more non-graphical elements associated with a second ontology element, the normalized comparison showing similarities between the ontology element and the second ontology element;

a normalized comparison of the set of one or more non-graphical elements with a second set of one or more non-graphical elements associated with a second ontology element, the normalized comparison showing differences between the ontology element and the second ontology element;

an operation showing that at least part of the set of one or more non-graphical elements falls within a specified range;

an operation showing that at least part of the set of one or more non-graphical elements does not fall within a specified range;

an operation showing that the ontology element is related to a second ontology element according to a relationship specified by one or more algorithms;

an operation showing that the ontology element is not related to any other ontology element;

an operation showing that the ontology element is part of another ontology element;

an operation showing that the ontology element is a parent of another ontology element;

an operation showing that the ontology element is a child of another ontology element;

an operation showing that the ontology element is similar to a second ontology element; and

an operation showing that the ontology element is not similar to a second ontology element.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed data is data derived from life science instrument outputs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed data is data derived from life science instrument images.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified selections in the first set of inputs are derived from mouse clicks at specified locations on a display in the graphical user interface.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the ontology element is selected from the group consisting of:

a subject subset;

an object subset; and

a relationship definition defining a relationship between a subject subset and an object subset.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the ontology element comprises a subject subset, and wherein an ontology statement comprises:

the ontology element;

a second ontology element comprising an object subset; and

a third ontology element comprising a relationship definition defining a relationship between the ontology element and the second ontology element.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first set of inputs identify the subject subset.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

f) performing an iterative query, wherein at least one of the subject subset, the object subset and the relationship definition is defined by the iterative query.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

f) accepting a second set of inputs from the user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second set of inputs comprise annotations, wherein an annotation is a metadata label associated with a position within the subset workspace.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein an ontology statement comprises a subject subset, an object subset, and a relationship definition defining a relationship between the subject subset and the object subset, and wherein the object subset comprises the annotations.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the second set of inputs identify the object subset.

19. A method of using a data presentation system including a graphical user interface that displays imageable data to a user and accepts inputs from the user, wherein the imageable data is organized into a plurality of data grouping objects, each of the data grouping objects comprising a portion of the imageable data and a corresponding set of one or more non-graphical data elements, the method comprising:

a) importing at least one ontology into an ontology data storage accessible by the data presentation system, the ontology representing a formal identity of the data that describes relationships in common vocabularies for the data, in order to contextualize the data to allow uniform query of the data;

b) mapping the at least one ontology onto a presentation layer to provide a reference from data elements to one or more known schemas, which represent dependencies and similarities between data elements, based on meta-data associated with the data elements;

c) displaying the presentation layer, the presentation layer comprising a subset workspace of the displayed data and the mapped ontology from the ontology data storage, the subset workspace comprising a set of data elements having a common relationship;

d) accepting a first set of inputs from the user, wherein the first set of inputs specify selections of positions within the subset workspace;

e) selecting a data grouping object from the plurality of data grouping objects, based on the first set of inputs, the data grouping object comprising a first portion of the imageable data and a corresponding first set of one or more non-graphical data elements; and

f) performing an operation on the first set of one or more non-graphical elements.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving a second set of inputs from the user, wherein the second set of inputs specify an operation to be performed, and wherein performing an operation on the first set of one or more non-graphical elements comprises performing the operation specified by the second set of inputs.