US5594808A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and system for classifying agglutination reactions
Assignee: Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Inc
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Filing: 1993-12-08
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Granted: 1997-01-14
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Expires: 2013-12-08
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern. The method comprises the steps of producing an illustrated image of the solution on an array of pixels, and assigning to each pixel in the illuminated image, a data value representing the intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel. Those data values are then processed according to a predetermined program to determine if an agglutination pattern is present and, if so, to classify that pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes. With the preferred processing procedure, the pixel array is separated into a plurality of zones, and the data values for the pixels in each zone are processed according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables. Then, those determined values are processed to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution, and if so, to classify that pattern into one of the predefined classes.
Inventors
- 👤 Jian Shen
- 👤 Mykola Yaremko
- 👤 Rosemary Chachowski
- 👤 Josef Atzler
- 👤 Thierry Dupinet
- 👤 Daniel Kittrich
- 👤 Hansjoerg Kunz
- 👤 Karl Puchegger
- 👤 Reiner Rohlfs
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 21:42
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N33/00; G01N33/48; G01N33/483; G01N33/487; G01N33/49; G01N33/4905; G01N21/00; G01N21/75; G01N21/77; G01N21/82
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
219 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel in the array and on said illuminated image, a data value representing an intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine if an agglutination pattern is present in the solution; and if an agglutination pattern is present, classifying the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing step includes the steps of separating the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) processing the data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) processing said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is presented and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes; and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, a lower portion, and a filter disposed in said lower portion, and wherein the separating step includes the steps of: identifying a first zone of pixels adjacent a top of the filter; and identifying a second zone of pixels adjacent the bottom of the column.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
219 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel in the array and on said illuminated image, a data value representing an intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine if an agglutination pattern is present in the solution; and if an agglutination pattern is present, classifying the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing step includes the steps of separating the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) processing the data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) processing said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is presented and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes; and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, a lower portion, and a filter disposed in said lower portion, and wherein the separating step includes the steps of: identifying a first zone of pixels adjacent a top of the filter; and identifying a second zone of pixels adjacent the bottom of the column.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
77 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing the data values to determine values for the predefined set of variables includes the steps of: assigning to a first variable a value representing the number of pixels in the first zone having a data value less than a first value; assigning to a second variable a value representing the number of pixels in the second zone having a data value less than a second value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
119 words
A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of processing the data values to determine values for the predefined set of variables further includes the step of establishing a reference value; the step of assigning a value to the first variable includes the step of assigning to the first variable a value representing the number of pixels in the first zone having a data value less than a given percentage of the reference value; and the step of assigning a value to the second variable includes the step of assigning to the second variable a value representing the number of pixels in the second zone having a data value less than a given percentage of the reference value.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method according to claim 3, wherein the establishing step includes the steps of: defining a reference area on the pixel array; establishing as the reference value, the most common data value for the pixels in the reference area.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 4, wherein the defining step includes the step of defining the reference area in the image of the column on the pixel array.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method according to claim 5, wherein the step of defining the reference area in the image of the column further includes the step of defining the reference area in the image of the filter on the pixel array.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 2, wherein the separating step further includes the step of identifying a plurality of additional zones of pixels between said first and second zones.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of processing the data values to determine values for the predefined set of variables further includes the step of assigning to an additional set of variables values representing the numbers of pixels in the additional zones having data values less than a third value.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
234 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel in the array and on said illuminated image, a data value representing an intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine if an agglutination pattern is present in the solution; and if an agglutination pattern is present, classifying the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing step includes the steps of i) separating the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) processing the data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) processing said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is presented and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes; and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, and wherein: the step of processing the data values for the pixels includes the step of processing the data values to determine if a pellet of cells is located in the bottom of the column; and the predefined set of variables includes the size of the pellet, and the slope and shape of a top surface of the pellet.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
234 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel in the array and on said illuminated image, a data value representing an intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine if an agglutination pattern is present in the solution; and if an agglutination pattern is present, classifying the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing step includes the steps of i) separating the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) processing the data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) processing said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is presented and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes; and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, and wherein: the step of processing the data values for the pixels includes the step of processing the data values to determine if a pellet of cells is located in the bottom of the column; and the predefined set of variables includes the size of the pellet, and the slope and shape of a top surface of the pellet.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein the column includes left and right halves, and each of said halves includes a number of blood cells, and wherein the predefined set of variables further includes the difference between the numbers of blood cells on the left and right halves of the column.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
243 words
A system for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern comprising: means for holding the solution; a pixel array; illumination means for producing an illuminated image of the solution on the pixel array; means to assign to each pixel on the illuminated image, a data value representing the intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing means to process said data values according to a predetermined program to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution in the sample container; and if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing means includes i) means to separate the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) means to process data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) means to process said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present, and if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes, and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, a lower portion, and a filter disposed in said lower portion, and wherein the means to separate the array of pixels includes means to identify a first zone of pixels adjacent a top of the filter, and to identify a second zone of pixels adjacent the bottom of the column.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
243 words
A system for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern comprising: means for holding the solution; a pixel array; illumination means for producing an illuminated image of the solution on the pixel array; means to assign to each pixel on the illuminated image, a data value representing the intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; and processing means to process said data values according to a predetermined program to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution in the sample container; and if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the agglutination pattern into one of a plurality of predefined classes, wherein the processing means includes i) means to separate the array of pixels into a plurality of zones, ii) means to process data values for the pixels in each zone according to a respective predetermined procedure to determine values for a predefined set of variables, and iii) means to process said determined values to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present, and if an agglutination pattern is present, to classify the pattern into one of the predefined classes, and wherein the solution is in a column having a bottom, a lower portion, and a filter disposed in said lower portion, and wherein the means to separate the array of pixels includes means to identify a first zone of pixels adjacent a top of the filter, and to identify a second zone of pixels adjacent the bottom of the column.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
42 words
A system according to claim 11, wherein the processing means further includes means to define a reference area on the pixel array; and means to establish as a reference value, the most common data value for the pixels in the reference area.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
201 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel on the illuminated image, a data value representing the intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to identify the pattern as belonging to one of a multitude of predetermined classes, the processing step including the steps of i) processing the data values to determine if cells are present in the solution, ii) processing the data values according to a first routine to classify the solution preliminarily as being in one of two groups, iii) if the solution is classified in a first of the two groups, then processing the data values according to a second routine to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution, and iv) if the solution is classified in a second of the two groups, then processing the data values according to a third routine to classify the agglutination pattern into one of a first set of the predetermined classes.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
201 words
A method for analyzing a solution for an agglutination pattern, comprising: producing an illuminated image of the solution on an array of pixels; assigning to each pixel on the illuminated image, a data value representing the intensity of the illuminated image on the pixel; processing the data values according to a predetermined program to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution and, if an agglutination pattern is present, to identify the pattern as belonging to one of a multitude of predetermined classes, the processing step including the steps of i) processing the data values to determine if cells are present in the solution, ii) processing the data values according to a first routine to classify the solution preliminarily as being in one of two groups, iii) if the solution is classified in a first of the two groups, then processing the data values according to a second routine to determine whether an agglutination pattern is present in the solution, and iv) if the solution is classified in a second of the two groups, then processing the data values according to a third routine to classify the agglutination pattern into one of a first set of the predetermined classes.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined classes include: a negative reaction class, and a weak positive reaction class, and the step of processing the data values according to the second routine includes the step of distinguishing between the solution belonging in the negative reaction class and the weak positive reaction class.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
56 words
A method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined classes further include other positive reaction classes, and a strong positive reaction class, and the step of processing the data values according to the third routine includes the step of distinguishing between the solution belonging in the strong positive reaction class and the other positive reaction classes.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-01-14 | 2000-07-15 | 2001-01-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-01-14 | 2004-07-15 | 2005-01-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-01-14 | 2008-07-15 | 2009-01-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |