Host apparatus and method providing calibration and reagent information to a measurement apparatus which makes use of a consumable reagent in a measuring process
First Claim
1. A measurement system comprising:
- a network;
a measurement apparatus provided with a first set of lot data files containing calibration data and lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, said measurement apparatus uses a consumable reagent in a measurement process, said consumable reagent having an associated lot data file containing calibration data and associated lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, wherein said measurement apparatus transmits over said network said associated lot data file of said consumable reagent when said associated lot identification codes fail to match any of said lot identification codes of the first set of lot data files provided on the measurement apparatus; and
a host apparatus provided with a second set of lot data files containing calibration data and lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, said host apparatus receives said associated lot data file containing the associated lot identification codes each associated with respective calibration data of said consumable reagent transmitted from said measurement apparatus over said network, to subsequently identify whether the associated lot identification codes in the received lot data file match any of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files, and to distribute said lot data file of said consumable reagent containing the calibration data and the lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data via the network when one of said associated lot identification codes matches one of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods providing data such as, for example, calibration and reagent information (30) over a network (6) to a measurement apparatus (4) which makes use of a consumable reagent (18) in a measuring process are disclosed. The present invention permits a measurement apparatus (4) to download the necessary code assignment (24) and calibration data (32) of the consumable reagent (18) by means of an electronic communication protocol from a host (33). The host (33) can be a software application running on a host computer (34), another measurement apparatus (50, 58) with or without a code-key slot used to read a memory device providing the above mentioned information (30), a dedicated connectivity device, such as a docking station (44), a portable memory reader (48), a remote computer (54), and combinations thereof.
34 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A measurement system comprising:
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a network; a measurement apparatus provided with a first set of lot data files containing calibration data and lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, said measurement apparatus uses a consumable reagent in a measurement process, said consumable reagent having an associated lot data file containing calibration data and associated lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, wherein said measurement apparatus transmits over said network said associated lot data file of said consumable reagent when said associated lot identification codes fail to match any of said lot identification codes of the first set of lot data files provided on the measurement apparatus; and a host apparatus provided with a second set of lot data files containing calibration data and lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data, said host apparatus receives said associated lot data file containing the associated lot identification codes each associated with respective calibration data of said consumable reagent transmitted from said measurement apparatus over said network, to subsequently identify whether the associated lot identification codes in the received lot data file match any of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files, and to distribute said lot data file of said consumable reagent containing the calibration data and the lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data via the network when one of said associated lot identification codes matches one of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files. - 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, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of deriving a test result using a measurement apparatus and a consumable reagent, the method comprising:
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providing a network; providing a consumable reagent together with an associated lot data file containing calibration data and associated identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data; providing said measurement apparatus with a first set of lot data files containing calibration data and identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data provided therewith; providing a host apparatus with a second set of lot data files containing calibration data and identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data provided therewith; reading said associated lot data file of said consumable reagent with said measurement apparatus; transmitting over said network said associated lot data file of said consumable reagent to said host apparatus when said associated lot identification codes of said consumable reagent fail to match any of said lot identification codes of the first set of lot data files provided on the measuring apparatus; identifying with said host apparatus whether the associated lot identification codes of the received first set of lot data files match any of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files; distributing said lot data file of said consumable reagent via the network from the host apparatus when one of said associated lot identification codes matches one of the lot identification codes of the second set of lot data files; and deriving the test result using the measurement apparatus, the consumable reagent, and the calibration data associated with said associated lot identification code received from the host apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A measurement system using a consumable reagent, said system comprising:
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a machine-readable memory removable from one of the reagent, a test strip which provides the reagent, and a container which provides a plurality of test strips, said memory containing a lot data associated with a consumable reagent, said lot data file containing calibration data and lot identification codes each associated with respective ones of the calibration data provided therewith; a reader which interfaces with the machine-readable memory and reads said lot data file of said consumable reagent from said removable machine-readable memory; and a measurement apparatus remote from said reader and which uses said consumable reagent in a measurement process, wherein said measurement apparatus communicates with said reader to receive said lot data file associated with said consumable reagent. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58)
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Specification