Systems and methods for tracking and providing workflow information

• US 9,767,425 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dako Denmark A/S (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chirica, Laura, Grahn, Mats, Jones, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jonathan K
• Application Number:
  US14/143,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20140188545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A tangible computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable program instructions that generate a user interface for displaying workflow information associated with a tissue specimen in a pathology laboratory. The program instructions may be configured to perform a method including displaying a virtual laboratory component representing a physical pathology laboratory having one or more laboratory stations for processing the tissue specimen, wherein the tissue specimen is processed by the one or more laboratory stations according to a workflow, and displaying a specimen indicator that indicates a current specimen state based on a current relationship of the tissue specimen to the workflow. The method may further include enabling a first active component associated with the virtual laboratory component, wherein the first active component is configured to receive a user selection of a laboratory station and generating a supplemental view component of the selected laboratory station in response to the user selection, wherein the supplemental view provides supplemental information on processing by the selected laboratory station of the tissue specimen.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a physical laboratory station based on data related to a physical laboratory, the system comprising:

a workflow server configured to communicate with the physical laboratory station located within the physical laboratory to receive data related to the physical laboratory station;

a display device; and

an interface component configured to;

control display of a virtual laboratory configured to provide a graphical representation of the physical laboratory, the virtual laboratory having one or more virtual laboratory stations graphically representative of one or more corresponding physical laboratory stations, wherein relative positions of the virtual laboratory stations within the virtual laboratory reflect the corresponding physical laboratory stations within the physical laboratory;

receive a user selection of a selected virtual laboratory station displayed within the virtual laboratory that corresponds to the physical laboratory station;

generate a supplemental view of the selected virtual laboratory station in response to the user selection, wherein the supplemental view provides supplemental information on processing of a tissue specimen by the corresponding physical laboratory station graphically represented by the selected virtual laboratory station;

control display of a specimen indicator positioned to overlap a location within the virtual laboratory that corresponds to a location of the tissue specimen within the physical laboratory, the specimen indicator configured to change a graphical characteristic based on a qualified current specimen state of the tissue specimen as the tissue specimen is processed according to a workflow within the physical laboratory,

if a selected warning event occurs at the physical laboratory station, detect a warning event at the physical laboratory station, and

in response to detection of any warning event display a supplemental view of warning data related to the warning event, and enable control of the physical laboratory station during said warning event;

wherein enabling control of the physical laboratory station during said warning event includes shutting down a laboratory device at the physical laboratory station.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is further configured to control the display of the specimen indicator to be animated to demonstrate a history of being processed at different virtual laboratory stations within the virtual laboratory.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a database in communication with the workflow server and configured to store the data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the supplemental information includes at least one of an average labor time, an average machine time, a success rate, a cost, laboratory device service information, laboratory device status information, physical laboratory economic data, lean workflow data, and potential improvement data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the workflow server is configured to communicate with the physical laboratory station through a network.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the network is the Internet.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising a remote access server configured to provide specimen data related to at least one biologic specimen to a location remote from the physical laboratory.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the specimen data includes at least one of a specimen status and a specimen image.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is configured to cause the display device to display a visual indication of a workflow through the physical laboratory.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the visual indicator includes at least one of a zoom-in effect, a zoom-out effect, a popup dialog, a drilldown effect, a text cue, an arrow, or a motion effect.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the supplemental view component includes a second active component configured to receive a second user selection, wherein the second active component indicates a predetermined number of processing stages associated with a selected second virtual laboratory station graphically representative of a corresponding second physical laboratory station.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the supplemental information relates to at least one of laboratory device service information, laboratory device status, physical laboratory economic data, lean workflow data, and potential improvement data.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the supplemental information includes at least one of an average labor time, an average machine time, a success rate, and a cost.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is further configured to enable modification of the workflow to generate modified information, the modified information including at least one of an estimated labor time, an estimated machine time, an estimated success rate, and an estimated cost.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the interface component is further configured to compare the supplemental information with the modified information.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the supplemental information includes an economic summary related to the physical laboratory.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is further configured to cause the display device to display a text component having information related to the selected virtual laboratory station based on a subsequent user selection.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is further configured to provide a third active component enabling a third user selection to review management data associated with the physical laboratory.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the management data includes at least one of a specimen status and a specimen image associated with the tissue specimen.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface component is further configured to model the workflow in a virtual laboratory diagram as a first result;

receive information related to a proposed workflow associated with the physical laboratory;

model a proposed workflow in the virtual laboratory diagram based on the information related to the proposed workflow as a second result;

compare the first result and the second result; and

provide a summary based on the comparison.