DocumentCode :
2393841
Title :
A flexible system to capture sample vials in a storage box – the box vial scanner
Author :
Nowakowski, Steven E. ; Kressin, Kenneth R. ; Deick, Steven D.
Author_Institution :
Div. of Eng., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
fYear :
2009
fDate :
3-6 Sept. 2009
Firstpage :
1718
Lastpage :
1721
Abstract :
Tracking sample vials in a research environment is a critical task and doing so efficiently can have a large impact on productivity, especially in high volume laboratories. There are several challenges to automating the capture process, including the variety of containers used to store samples. We developed a fast and robust system to capture the location of sample vials being placed in storage that allows the laboratories the flexibility to use sample containers of varying dimensions. With a single scan, this device captures the box identifier, the vial identifier and the location of each vial within a freezer storage box. The sample vials are tracked through a barcode label affixed to the cap while the boxes are tracked by a barcode label on the side of the box. Scanning units are placed at the point of use and forward data to a sever application for processing the scanned data. Scanning units consist of an industrial barcode reader mounted in a fixture positioning the box for scanning and providing lighting during the scan. The server application transforms the scan data into a list of storage locations holding vial identifiers. The list is then transferred to the laboratory database. The box vial scanner captures the IDs and location information for an entire box of sample vials into the laboratory database in a single scan. The system accommodates a wide variety of vials sizes by inserting risers under the sample box and a variety of storage box layouts are supported via the processing algorithm on the server.
Keywords :
bar codes; biological techniques; mark scanning equipment; storage automation; barcode label; box vial scanner; sample vial capture; sample vials tracking; server application; storage box; Automatic Data Processing; Freezing; Specimen Handling;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2009. EMBC 2009. Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
Minneapolis, MN
ISSN :
1557-170X
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-3296-7
Electronic_ISBN :
1557-170X
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5333556
Filename :
5333556
Link To Document :
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