The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 14, 2009
Filed:
Oct. 11, 2006
Stephen C. Gabeler, Sudbury, MA (US);
Stephen C. Gabeler, Sudbury, MA (US);
Applied Biosystems, LLC, Foster City, CA (US);
MDS Inc., Concord, CA (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is a method of determining when to calibrate a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In various embodiments, the method comprises storing within a controller a set of parameters for the mass spectrometer; providing an updated set of parameters while retaining at least one set of previously stored parameters; computing at least one rate of change of the updated set of parameters with respect to the at least one set of previously stored parameters; and determining when to calibrate the mass spectrometer from the results of computing the rate of change of at least one of the parameters. In various embodiments, a parameter stored can be a set of temperatures derived from obtaining system temperature measurements of those components whose changing temperature is an indication of mass drift. In various embodiments, the controller can store a history of calibration factors and temperatures over time, can calculate the time rate of change of the calibration factors and the temperature to estimate the mass drift rate of the instrument and compare the drift rate to a predetermined mass error limit for determining when re-calibration can be scheduled.