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

Claim 0:
1. A consumable management system for laboratories, the consumable management system comprising:
a consumable storage cluster comprising a plurality of storage compartments, each storage compartment configured to receive one or more consumables, and a plurality of compartment indicators, a compartment indicator being associated with each storage compartment and configured to indicate one of the plurality of storage compartments to a user;
a control unit communicatively connected to a database for maintaining an inventory of consumables stored in the plurality of storage compartments, the database including records of at least one of the opening time, shelf life, or partial consumption of a particular consumable;
a detection unit communicatively connected with the control unit and configured to detect removal and replenishment of consumables from and into the storage compartments and signaling the removal and replenishment to the control unit; and
an interface communicatively connected with the control unit for receiving an input indicative of a consumable demand and/or consumable replenishment intent, wherein the control unit is programmed and configured to:
based on the database records of consumables, determine a demand for the replenishment of the inventory, the demand for the replenishment of the inventory based on at least one of the opening time, shelf life, or partial consumption of a particular consumable,
determine a particular consumable to be retrieved in accordance with the consumable demand and the inventory of consumables,
determine the storage compartment holding the particular consumable to be retrieved and control the plurality of compartment indicators to indicate the storage compartment holding the particular consumable to be retrieved,
based on the at least one of the opening time, shelf life, or partial consumption of the inventory of consumables, determine the particular storage compartment best suited to receive the consumable replenishment and control the plurality of compartment indicators to indicate the storage compartment best suited to receive a consumable replenishment,
process signals from the detection unit in order to validate removal of the particular consumable from the storage compartment indicated and replenishment into the storage compartment indicated,
generate an alert signal upon failure of the validation of the removal of the particular consumable from the storage compartment indicated and replenishment into the storage compartment indicated, and
process signals from the detection unit in order to update the inventory of consumables upon removal and upon replenishment of consumables,
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, in a priority order as follows with a highest priority item listed first and a lowest priority item listed last: (i) determine the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables with a nearest shelf life expiry, (ii) determine the particular consumable to be retrieved as the one of a plurality of like consumables with a nearest expiry date, and (iii) determine 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 during 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, and
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.