Result Upload

• Result Upload
  • Manual Result Entry
  • Electronic Result Capture
  • Assigning Instruments for Analysis
  • Searching for Analysis by Instrument or Instrument Group
  • Uploading Sample Run Lists to an Instrument
  • Capturing Results from an Instrument in Workbook
  • Operating an Instrument Widget
  • Maintaining Instrument File Uploads
  • Maintaining Instrument and Task Schedules
  • Reviewing QC History for Instrument QC Samples

In the laboratory, instruments are used to determine the result of an analysis of a sample for a given scheme and analyte.

The following processes are associated with result upload.

• Capturing results from an instrument
• Maintaining instrument file uploads
• Maintaining instrument and task schedules.

Results can be entered manually in CCLAS, or acquired from the testing instrument. Manual data entry is used when the testing method or instrument cannot be interfaced directly to CCLAS. Automatic data capture is preferred for tests with a high volume of samples.

Some test results can be captured directly or indirectly from analytical instrument that can generate the test results. CCLAS allows for instrument scripts to be configured for communication with instruments.

Manual Result Entry

In the most basis case, the instrument operator could have a screen with the results on it, and they have to manually transcribe these into the workbook. If the instrument is controlled by a computer that can also communicate with CCLAS, then the operator might be able to copy/paste the results into the workbook.

Electronic Result Capture

Many instruments, however, can export or transmit the results. In this case, an instrument connection can be configured and linked to a set of Groovy scripts that are used to detect transmissions and process the information. The transmission could be record-by-record down a Serial RS232 cable, or via file transfer after which the file is read record-by-record.

• Direct RS232 Serial Cable Transmission—This is used typically by electronic balances and other instruments. As each sample is measured or tested, a simple text transmission message is constructed by the instrument and sent down its RS232 port. The text transmission is then captured by the CCLAS computer through its RS232 Port (some computers might not have the older style RS232 port and may need to have it emulated into its USB port). When CCLAS detects the RS232 transmission, it pulls the content apart and assigns the data to the appropriate sample on the screen.

  Balances normally do not identify the sample in the transmission, so it is up to the operator to ensure that the appropriate sample in the workbook is in focus at the time that the result is captured.

  Other instruments can identify the sample in the transmission, so logic is required in the instrument script to separate the sample identification from the test results. In this case, typically the sample is identified within the current workbook, and its results associated with that sample. An advanced validation option on this provision of data might be to have logic in the instrument script to determine whether the current sample in focus in the workbook also matches the sample identification provided by the instrument.

• File Transmission – This is used typically with more complex or model instruments. Typically, as each sample is measured or tested, or at the end of the analysing all samples, the sample/s and results are exported to a file on the network, or on a local drive. Typically the export formats are more complex, so the instrument script needs to have logic to separate the sample identification and the test results. Where the results are self-contained and do not require the operator to ensure that the correct sample is in focus on the workbook screen, then the data capture can be configured to occur in the background where it polls for result files and processes them as they come available.

Assigning Instruments for Analysis

Instruments are assigned to laboratory batches based upon the sample scheme's Instrument Group which is inherited from the master scheme.

Searching for Analysis by Instrument or Instrument Group

Sample schemes can be searched by instrument or instrument group when searching samples for batching.

Uploading Sample Run Lists to an Instrument

Capturing Results from an Instrument in Workbook

The workbook menu script referenced by the WORKLIST_CMD_MENU or WORKLIST_RCLICK_MENU application preferences are used to add menu options to drive data capture from instruments.

Loading results from an instrument file into an interactive workbook session is configured to:

• Ensure that the instrument capture script automatically advances the selected cells to next row in the same column after a result is captured, and if in the last row, then the selection does not advance and the instrument capture stops.
• Ensure that the instrument capture script does not change the selected cell when data is captured.
• Change the selection in the workbook grid to the cell indicated by the given sample scheme analyte.
  • If the sample scheme analyte was not opened in workbook and is therefore not in the grid, the selection does not move.
  • If the sample scheme analyte is hidden (for example, is a sub-analyte) then either the selection does not move, or the selection disappears.
  • If the selected cell is not within the current view, the grid scrolls so that the cell is in view.
• Set the final value, analysed date and analysed by user. This allows the result to have an analysed date and analysed by user different to the current system date-time and user.

Operating an Instrument Widget

Since CCLAS is a web-based application, an instrument widget is required to communicate with the instrument on the local network.

Maintaining Instrument File Uploads

The instrument widget, workbook and file instrument capture locate files with a case-insensitive file mask.

When dealing with a network file system, often there are network latency issues, such that, the operating system delays the size and modified time statistics updates. Therefore, during instrument file capture, to ensure a file is fully copied before is is processed for result upload, at the start of the read, the file size and file modification date is determined by the system, then the system sleeps for a period denoted by the FILE_CHECK_DURATION_IN_MILLISECONDS application preference and wakes up after that, upon which the file size and file modification date is redetermined by the system. If the two determinations do not match, the file is ignored and the system sleeps for another period then wakes for another determination, etc. When the two determinations match, then the entire file is uploaded and is ready for the read, so the capture process starts.

The script referenced by the CALCULATE_FROM_READINGS application preference is used to receive or enter multiple readings from an instrument, select a sub-set of those readings, and then apply a calculation that can for example:

• Determine the average of the selected readings and update the final value with the result
• Deactivate particular readings
• Perform some other action.

Maintaining Instrument and Task Schedules

Collection of results from instrument files can be scripted and the process executed on the system batch queue. These tasks can be scheduled on the system scheduler also.

Reviewing QC History for Instrument QC Samples

QC samples that have their results save to QC history can be retrieved so that statistical analysis can be performed on them.