When the Router receives a registered vial it has to decide where to send it. This will depend on a number of factors:
- If it is normal priority and there are other normal priority vials in the Buffer then is will be sent to join them.
- If the vial was registered as low priority and there are other low or normal priority vials waiting in the Buffer then it will also be sent there.
- If it is of Overnight priority and the current time is not within the period for these vials to be processed then it will also be sent to the Buffer.
Vials of the same priority are analyzed in the same order that they were first physically submitted.
If there are no vials of the same priority level waiting in the Buffer then lab2lab will check if any instruments are currently available to analyze the sample in accordance with its method details. If more than one instrument is available then lab2lab will randomly select which instrument to use.
If no instruments are currently available, then the vial will be sent to the Buffer to wait.
If the Buffer becomes more than 90% full, then a warning will be raised (through a message on the Director UI and also via an email to the designated recipients). The system will continue to operate but no vials will be brought to the Router from Senders until the space in the Buffer increases (even if no intervention occurs this will automatically happen over time as vials that have been in the system too long will be automatically ejected, as well as “Send to Waste” vials being disposed of after analysis).