EP-4741828-A1 - LABORATORY DEVICE FOR PROCESSING OF PATIENT SAMPLES AND METHOD OF OPERATING A LABORATORY DEVICE FOR PROCESSING OF PATIENT SAMPLES

EP4741828A1EP 4741828 A1EP4741828 A1EP 4741828A1EP-4741828-A1

Abstract

Proposed is a laboratory device for processing of patient samples comprising a portable scanning unit for scanning a code of a consumable container and furthermore 'for providing provide a data signal indicating the code, multiple container slots, each of the container slots operable to hold a respective consumable container and furthermore comprising a respective associated sensor. Each container slot is associated with a specific consumable type. Each sensor is operable to provide a respective sensor signal indicating a potential presence of a respective container in the container slot associated to the sensor. A processing unit is operable to determine a scanned consumable type based on the code and furthermore to determine, based on the scanned consumable type and the sensor signals, whether the scanned consumable type matches a specific consumable type associated with that container slot, into which a consumable container has been lastly placed.

Inventors

VIÉ, Romain
PIRES, Sylvie
SEGUIN, RICHARD

Assignees

Immunodiagnostic Systems France SAS

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241108

Claims (14)

Laboratory device for processing of patient samples comprising - a portable scanning unit (OSC), operable to scan a code (OC) of a consumable container (CO) and furthermore operable to provide a data signal (DS) indicating said code (CO), - multiple container slots (SL), each of said container slots (SL) operable to hold a respective consumable container (CO) and furthermore each of said container slots (SL) comprising a respective associated sensor (SE), wherein each container slot (SL) is associated with a specific consumable type, and wherein each sensor (SE) is operable to provide a respective sensor signal (SI) indicating a potential presence of a respective container (CO) in the container slot (SL) associated to the sensor (SE), furthermore comprising a processing unit (PU) that is operable - to determine a scanned consumable type based on said code (OC) - and furthermore to determine, based on said scanned consumable type and said sensor signals (SI), whether said scanned consumable type matches a specific consumable type associated with that container slot (SL2), into which a consumable container (COB) has been lastly placed.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein at least two of said container slots (SL1, SL2, SL3) have a same geometry and wherein said processing unit (PU) is furthermore operable to determine whether the actions of - scanning said code (OC) of a consumable container (CON) comprising a specific consumable type - and placing said consumable container (CON) in the container slot (SL2) are carried out in an order that is mandatory for the scanned consumable type.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit (PU) is furthermore operable to issue a warning message (W2; W6) in the case that said scanned consumable type does not match the specific consumable type associated with that container slot (SL2), into which a consumable container (COB) has been lastly placed.
Laboratory device according to claim 3, wherein said processing unit (PU) is furthermore operable to issue a warning message (W4; W3) in the case that the actions of - scanning said code of a consumable container comprising a specific consumable type - and placing said consumable container in the container slot are not carried out in an order that is mandatory for the scanned consumable type.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit (PU) is furthermore operable to determine, based on said scanned consumable type and said sensor signals, whether a placement of a consumable container containing said scanned consumable type is allowable.
Laboratory device according to claim 5, wherein said processing unit (PU) is furthermore operable to issue a warning message (W2) in the case that a placement of a consumable container containing said scanned consumable type is not allowable.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein said sensors (SE) are pressure sensors or floating sensors or optical sensors.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein at least two of said container slots (SL1, SL2, SL3) have a same geometry.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, wherein said code (OC) is an identification code.
Laboratory device according to claim 1 or 9, wherein said scanning unit (OSC) is an optical scanning unit and wherein said code (OC) is an optical code readable via said optical scanning unit.
Laboratory device according to claim 1 or 9, wherein said scanning unit (OSC) is a scanning unit using transmission and reception of electromagnetic radiation for reading said code (OC), wherein said code (OC) is a code element readable via electromagnetic radiation, wherein furthermore said electromagnetic radiation is preferably not visible light.
Laboratory device according to claim 11, wherein said code element is an RFID code element or an NFC code element.
Laboratory device according to claim 1, furthermore comprising a memory unit (M), operable to provide for each consumable type a data element (STI) indicating at least three different statuses comprising - a container slot associated with the specific consumable type is empty, - a container slot associated with the specific consumable type contains a consumable container that has not yet been associated to a code - a container slot associated with the specific consumable type contains a consumable container that has already been associated to a code
Method of operating a laboratory device, comprising the steps of - scanning a code (OC) of a consumable container (CO) via a portable scanning unit (OSC) by a user, - providing a data signal (DS) indicating said code (OC), - providing at said laboratory device (LD) multiple container slots (SL), each of said container slots (SL) operable to hold a respective consumable container (CO) and furthermore each of said container slots (SL) comprising a respective associated sensor (SE), wherein each container slot (SL) is associated with a specific consumable type, providing by each sensor (SE) a respective sensor signal (SI) indicating a potential presence of a respective container in the container slot associated to the sensor, furthermore, by a processing unit (PU), - determining a scanned consumable type based on said code (OC) - and determining, based on said scanned consumable type and said sensor signals (SI), whether said scanned consumable type matches a specific consumable type associated with that container slot (SL2), into which a consumable container (COB) has been lastly placed.

Description

The invention is directed to a laboratory device for processing of patient samples and a method of operating a laboratory device for processing of patient samples. Laboratory devices, in particular automatic laboratory devices, are well known for the purpose of processing of patient samples using an assay kit. Such an assay kit comprises one or more reagents, preferably liquid reagents, wherein at least one of the reagents comprises biological molecules such as nucleic acids, peptides, polypeptides, for example antigens or antibodies. The components of the assay kit are processed on the device together with a patient sample. This processing is carried out for detecting or capturing an antibody or an antigen - or in particular a strand of a deoxyribonucleic acid or of a ribonucleic acid - that potentially is present within the patient sample. The patient sample is preferably a liquid patient sample, in particular in the form of blood, serum, urine, semen, CSF or saliva. The processing of the patient sample using the assay kit may apply one or more of the techniques from the following list: Chemiluminescence immunoassay (ChLIA), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Indirect Immunofluorescence Test (IIFT), Immunoblot, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). For the processing of the patient sample and the assay kit, pipetting devices may be used on the laboratory device for dispensing and/or aspirating reagent liquids and/or the liquid patient samples into a reaction vessel or out of the reaction vessel. Typically, a specific assay kit comprises specific components that are specific for capturing/detecting a specific antibody or a specific antigen - or in particular a specific strand of a deoxyribonucleic acid - potentially present within the patient sample. Therefore, a specific assay kit may be used for aiding a clinician in handling a specific diagnostic task or question. For processing the patient sample together with the assay kit, further components not comprised within the assay kit may be used on the laboratory device. Such components are so-called consumable components or consumables. A consumable may be a so-called ancillary reagent or a reagent vessel. An ancillary reagent may in particular an ancillary reagent liquid. Examples of ancillary reagents as consumables are washing liquids, in particular for washing pipette needles, or buffer liquid, in particular for diluting a liquid patient sample. Such ancillary reagents are not specific when aiming for the task of capturing/detecting a specific antibody or a specific antigen - or in particular a specific strand of a deoxyribonucleic acid - potentially present within the patient sample and therefore may be used for a variety of different assay kits. Within a laboratory device for processing of patient samples, consumables in the form of ancillary reagents or reagent vessels may be provided via respective consumable containers comprising the respective consumables. The containers are placed within respective container slots of the laboratory device. A laboratory device may for example make use of a liquid ancillary reagent comprised within the consumable container via a pipe system and a pump that extracts portions of the reagent liquid and transports the portion into a reaction vessel. The overall volume of a reagent liquid present within a consumable container is typically much larger than the individual volume of an individual portion of the reagent liquid necessary for processing a specific patient sample together with one specific assay kit. Thus, during operation of the laboratory device within a laboratory environment, replacing the consumable container before it is empty by a new consumable container is a task to be carried out by a user or laboratory personnel working in the laboratory environment. Processing one specific processing assay kit together with one specific patient sample usually takes place within one specific reagent vessel. A consumable container comprising consumables in the form of reagent vessels may thus also be placed within a container slot, wherein the laboratory device may comprise a picking device that is able to extract one individual reagent vessel out of the consumable container. In particular, a laboratory device comprises multiple container slots, wherein each container slot may be associated with a specific, different consumable type. Since multiple, different consumables, in particular multiple, different ancillary reagent liquids, have to be provided via respective consumable containers within respective container slots of the laboratory device, a correct placement of consumable containers within respective container slots has to be insured. Correct placement is a major issue for ensuring proper processing of the assay kit together with the patient sample and for avoiding false results. In particular, at least two of the container slots may have a same geometry. Thus, misplacement of two different consumable cont