Distributed automation apparatus for laboratory diagnostics

{
  "publication_number": "US2015169846A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Distributed automation apparatus for laboratory diagnostics",
  "abstract": "A distributed automation apparatus for laboratory diagnostics is described, comprising modules for processing biological products transported on an automatic conveyor and modules for interfacing with analysis devices, both said modules being connected to said automatic conveyor, each of said modules is independent of the other modules, it being provided with its own control board, which allows it to work autonomously and independently of a central control unit which provides a worklist to each node which is dynamically read and updated by said control unit, and said module reading and updating said, worklist.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A distributed automation apparatus for laboratory diagnostics comprising modules for carrying out operations of various types on biological product containers inserted in dedicated transport devices which are transported on an automatic conveyor and modules for interfacing with analysis devices of biological product specimens, both said types of modules being connected to said automatic conveyor, a central control unit providing worklists to respective modules dynamically read and updated by said central control unit, each of said modules being independent with respect to the other modules, and being provided with its own control board, said apparatus also comprises nodes between said central control unit and said modules, one node for each module, said central control unit transmitting a worklist to each node for each module, wherein each module reads and updates the respective worklist at the respective node by the results of its processing on the specimen, each node in turn communicating said results to the central control unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection between said modules, said nodes and said central control unit is realised through a CAM network and a related communication protocol of CANopen type. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the central control unit is connected to the nodes through an Automation Network, and is connected via Ethernet to a plurality of Graphical User Interfaces designed for an operator's management of the controls to be manually imparted to each of the modules or even for activities of log analysis or diagnostics of the single modules. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the results of the various tests on the specimens carried out by the analysis devices are provided to a Laboratory Information System suitable for interfacing with a whole Hospital Information System, intended as the set of ail the information instruments used in healthcare field for managing both administration and clinical flows of a hospital. 5. (canceled) 6. (canceled) 7. (canceled)"
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to a distributed automation apparatus for laboratory diagnostics.\n\nNowadays, in laboratories for testing biological material specimens it is typical to use motor-driven systems along which the specimens travel, inside dedicated containers of biological products, encountering various devices or modules along their path, adapted to carry out various treatments (uncapping, recapping of the containers themselves, centrifugation of their content and so on) on the specimens themselves, or other modules having a different function, i.e. interfacing the containers of biological products with the actual testing devices of the specimen itself.\n\nThe automated management of the addressing of the specimens present along the various modules is controlled by a central control unit, i.e. a computer provided with software designed to suitably sort the specimens according to the specific operating requirements of each one of them; such software actually contains all the information needed for the operations required by every single specimen in its path along the whole automation.\n\nIn this respect, the system architecture is a centralized architecture since the task of supervising the whole flow of operations as well as the step-by-step management of the various actuation steps of every single module are a prerogative only of such a central control unit.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01N 35/00871",
    "G01N 35/02",
    "G05B 15/02",
    "G06F 19/366",
    "G16H 10/40"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G05B 15/02",
    "G06F 19/00",
    "G01N 35/00",
    "G06F 19/22",
    "G06Q 50/22"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Inpeco Holding Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Gianandrea Pedrazzini"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2013-05-23",
  "publication_date": "2015-06-18",
  "priority_date": "2012-05-24",
  "application_number": "US-201314403466-A",
  "family_id": "46262199",
  "cited_by_count": 9,
  "citations": [
    "US20070254277A1"
  ]
}