Patent ID: 11940455
Assignee: ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS OPERATIONS, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B | IPC G

Claim 14:
15. A method of operating a consumable management system, the method comprising:
maintaining an inventory of consumables stored in a plurality of storage compartments of a consumable storage cluster in a database communicatively connected to a control unit of the consumable management system, each storage compartment having a compartment indicator, the indicator being a light source, and the consumables comprising laboratory system elements designated for carrying out analytical laboratory tests;
receiving an input indicative of a consumable demand and a consumable replenishment intent via an interface communicatively connected with the control unit;
based on the database records of consumables, determining a demand for the replenishment of the inventory of consumables;
determining a particular consumable to be retrieved in accordance with the consumable demand and the inventory of consumables by the control unit;
determining by the control unit the storage compartment holding the particular consumable to be retrieved and controlling the plurality of compartment indicators;
indicating the storage compartment holding the particular consumable to be retrieved by one of the plurality of compartment indicators;
based on the determined demand for the replenishment of the inventory of consumables, determining by the control unit the particular storage compartment best suited to receive the consumable replenishment;
indicating the storage compartment best suited to receive a consumable replenishment by one of the plurality of compartment indicators;
replenishing and removing one or more consumables into and from one of the plurality of storage compartments;
detecting removal and replenishment of consumables from and into the storage compartments by a detection unit and signaling the removal and replenishment to the control unit;
processing signals from the detection unit by the control unit and validating removal of the particular consumable from the storage compartment indicated and replenishment into the storage compartment indicated; and
generating an alert signal using one of the plurality of compartment indicators or an audio alarm upon failure of the validation of the removal of the particular consumable from the storage compartment indicated and replenishment into the storage compartment indicated,
wherein determining the particular consumable to be retrieved in accordance with the consumable demand and the inventory of consumables by the control unit comprises, in a priority order as follows with a highest priority item listed first and a lowest priority item listed last: (i) determining the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables with a nearest shelf life expiry, (ii) determining the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables with a nearest expiry date, and (iii) determining the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables with a most accessible position in a storage compartment,
wherein the nearest shelf life expiry corresponds to a nearest expiration of a period of time over which the one of the plurality of like consumables may be stored without becoming unfit for use,
wherein the nearest expiry date corresponds to a nearest point in time after which the one of the plurality of like consumables should no longer be used,
wherein to determine the particular consumable to be retrieved in accordance with the consumable demand and the inventory of consumables, the control unit is configured to: (a) first make the determination (i), then if no such determination is made, (b) make the determination (ii), and then if two or more of the plurality of like consumables are determined to have a same expiry date, (c) make the determination (iii) to retrieve the one of the plurality of like consumables with the most accessible position, and
wherein to determine the particular consumable to be retrieved in accordance with the consumable demand and the inventory of consumables in an event the particular consumable is not determined according to determinations (i)-(iii), the control unit is configured to then (iv) determine the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables which has been opened and has the least amount of left over quantity, and then if no such determination is made, (v) determine the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables which has been opened for the longest period of time.