1. A method for analyzing hemolysis of blood product or patient blood to obtain data for a fragility profile having at least two data points, comprising:
counting red blood cells in a first sample of blood or blood product, when said sample has not been intentionally subjected to significant stress;
subjecting said first sample, or a second sample representative of the same source, to at least two different extents of physical stress, said stress causing lysis of at least a portion of said cells; and
counting unlysed red blood cells in the sample that was subjected to said different extents of physical stress, thereby determining an approximate extent of hemolysis occurring under at least two respective extents of physical stress.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said physical stress is mechanical stress, and is applied in two or more distinct and variable parameters.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said distinct and variable parameters comprise stress intensity and stress duration.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said counting is performed utilizing light microscopy.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said counting is performed utilizing fluorescence.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein said counting is performed utilizing an image analysis algorithm.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said counting is performed utilizing electrical impedance or resistance or changes thereof.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an average cell size or a distribution of cell sizes within said blood product or patient blood.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein said hemolysis is determined for cell subpopulations, said subpopulations being characterized by different cell sizes within the stressed sample.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein said profile is obtained as part of a method for obtaining fragility-based quality information about specific units of blood product.
11. A method for analyzing hemolysis of blood product, as part of a method for obtaining fragility-based quality information about specific units of blood product, comprising:
counting red blood cells in a first sample of blood product, when said sample has not been intentionally subjected to significant stress;
subjecting said first sample, or a second sample representative of the same source, to physical stress, said stress causing lysis of at least a portion of said cells;
counting unlysed red blood cells in the sample that was subjected to said stress, to create results which indicate how much hemolysis occurs under said stress, said results comprising what fraction of cells did or did not lyse under given stress condition(s); and
generating from said results a representation of red blood cell quality for a specific unit of blood product, said representation of quality being based wholly or partially on red blood cell fragility data reflecting said results or subset(s) thereof.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said stress is mechanical stress, and is applied in two or more distinct and variable parameters.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said distinct and variable parameters comprise stress intensity and stress duration.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein said counting is performed utilizing light microscopy.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said counting is performed utilizing fluorescence.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein said counting is performed utilizing an image analysis algorithm.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein said counting is performed utilizing electrical impedance or resistance or changes thereof.
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining an average cell size or a distribution of cell sizes within said blood product or patient blood.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein said hemolysis is determined for cell subpopulations, said subpopulations being characterized by different cell sizes within the stressed sample.
20. The method of claim 11, wherein said method utilizes a fragility profile, said profile comprising at least two data points representing an approximate fraction of said cells that had lysed under respective extents of said stress.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A web-based, training method for an instrument or piece of equipment, comprising:
accessing a web-based portal operable on a server system;
accessing an e-training module via the web-based portal, the e-training module including a collection of one or more e-training courses directed at attaining a competency on the instrument or piece of equipment;
selecting one or more e-training courses from the collection of one or more e-training courses to generate an e-learning plan;
engaging in learning with at least one of the one or more selected e-training courses, the learning involving completion of a knowledge portion and validation of completion of a practical portion; and
generating at least one selected from the group of:
a status report of the e-learning plan,
a certificate of completion for at least one e-training course from the e-learning plan, and
a transcript of at least some e-training courses from the e-learning plan.
2. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising:
performing e-validation of an unguided portion and guided portion of the practical portion.
3. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising:
selecting a content library having a listing of one or more e-training areas; and
selecting an e-training area from the listing of one or more e-training areas.
4. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising selecting an e-training course from one or more competency topics selected from a group of competency topics consisting of:
routine operation of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cRoutine Operations\u201d);
calibration of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cCalibration\u201d);
maintenance of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cMaintenance\u201d);
software updates to an instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cUpdates\u201d); and
quality control processing of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cQuality Control\u201d).
5. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, wherein a status of a knowledge portion, a practical portion, and a validation portion is displayed on a guidebook.
6. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, wherein one or more e-learning topics from the collection of one or more available e-learning courses is selected by an administrator for a trainee.
7. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, wherein one or more e-learning topics from the collection of one or more available e-learning courses is selected by an administrator for a trainee, and one or more e-learning topics from the collection of one or more available e-learning courses is selected by the trainee.
8. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising requesting as an administrator the generation of a report of a status of the e-learning plan.
9. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a system-generated invite by the one or more trainees to join a work group.
10. The web-based, e-training method of claim 9, wherein the system-generated invite to the one or more trainees to join a work group is from a work group administrator in a form of an e-mail.
11. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the e-training courses are accredited, and generating a transcript of the accredited e-training courses which have been completed.
12. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising requesting the generation of a status report of a selected e-training course of the e-learning plan.
13. The web-based, e-training method of claim 1, further comprising viewing a guidebook to determine a status of one or more e-training courses.
14. A web-based, e-training method for an instrument or piece of equipment, comprising:
providing a web-based portal operable on a server system accessible by a work group administrator;
providing an e-training module on the server system and accessible by one or more trainees via the web-based portal, the e-training module being accessible by the one or more trainees to take one or more available e-training courses directed at attaining a level of competency on the instrument or piece of equipment;
providing a system-generated invite to the one or more trainees to join a work group; and
receiving a selection from the work group administrator of one or more e-training courses from the one or more available e-training courses to assign an e-learning plan to the one or more trainees.
15. The web-based, e-training method of claim 14, further comprising generating a status report of the e-learning plan of the one or more trainees.
16. The web-based, e-training method of claim 14, further comprising receiving from a trainee a selection of one or more e-training courses directed at attaining a plurality of competencies for the instrument or piece of equipment.
17. The web-based, e-training method of claim 14, further comprising receiving a selection of an e-learning plan from a group of available and pre-populated sample e-learning plans directed at achieving different competencies for the instrument or piece of equipment.
18. The web-based, e-training method of claim 14, further comprising receiving a selection of one or more e-training courses from one or more competency topics, which are selected from a group of competency topics consisting of:
routine operation of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cRoutine Operations\u201d);
calibration of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cCalibration\u201d);
maintenance of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cMaintenance\u201d);
software updates to an instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cUpdates\u201d); and
quality control processing of the instrument or piece of equipment (\u201cQuality Control\u201d).
19. The web-based, e-training method of claim 14, wherein the system-generated invite to the one or more trainees to join a work group comprises sending an e-mail to the one or more trainees.
20. The web-based, e-training method of claim 19, further comprising populating a work group listing accessible by the work group administrator based upon acceptance of the invite by the one or more trainees.
21. A web-based, training system adapted to provide training on an instrument or piece of equipment, comprising:
a server system operable to provide a web-based portal accessible by one or more trainees; and
an e-training module operable on the server system accessible by one or more trainees via the web-based portal, the e-training module including
a content library sub-module containing a collection of one or more e-training courses directed at the instrument or piece of equipment,
a trainee planner sub-module adapted to allow a trainee to select one or more of the e-training courses and generate an e-learning plan,
a validation sub-module adapted to validate completion of a knowledge portion and validation of completion of a practical portion, and
an output generator adapted to generate at least one output selected from the group of:
a status report of the e-learning plan indicating a status of each selected e-training course of the e-learning plan,
a transcript of all completed e-training courses from the e-learning plan, and
a certificate of completion for at least one e-training course from the e-learning plan.
22. The web-based, training system of claim 21, further comprising:
a work group administrator planner sub-module adapted to allow a work group administrator to select one or more e-learning courses and generate an e-learning plan for a trainee.
23-24. (canceled)
25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium adapted to operate on one or more computers, the computer-readable medium comprising:
storage media containing:
an e-training module adapted to be accessible by one or more trainees, the e-training module including
a content library sub-module containing a collection of one or more e-training courses directed at the operation, calibration, maintenance, control testing, or troubleshooting of an instrument or piece of equipment;
a trainee planner sub-module adapted to allow a trainee to select one or more of the e-training courses and generate an e-learning plan;
a validation sub-module adapted to validate completion of a knowledge portion and validate completion of a practical portion; and
an output generator sub-module adapted to generate at least one output selected from the group of:
a status report of the e-learning plan indicating a status of each selected e-training course of the e-learning plan,
a transcript of all completed e-training courses from the e-learning plan, and
a certificate of completion of one or more e-training courses from the e-learning plan.
26-29. (canceled)