Optimization of blood sample collection with timing and quality constraints. (1st November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Elalouf, Amir; Tsadikovich, Dmitry; Hovav, Sharon
• Other Names: Dias Joana Matos guestEditor.; Rocha Humberto guestEditor.; Viana Ana guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: International transactions in operational research. Volume 25:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 191
• Page End: 214
• Publication Date: 2016-11-01
• Subjects: optimization -- blood samples collection -- MIP -- tabu search -- genetic algorithm; Operations research -- Periodicals; 003
• DOI: 10.1111/itor.12354
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0969-6016

Abstract

Abstract: We focus on planning transportation operations within a blood sample supply chain, which comprises clinics and a laboratory. Specifically, the main goal of this study is to obtain the optimal number of vehicles to be deployed and the scheduling of the pickup process. First, we formulate a mixed‐integer programming (MIP) problem. Next, we develop a heuristic scheme composed of two heuristic algorithms and numerical search, and a new genetic algorithm. In an extensive numerical study, based on the data from a real‐life blood sample collection process, we illustrate the potential of the new heuristic scheme.