METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY

摘要

The present invention relates to mass spectrometry and, more particularly, t o the scheduling of the steps involved in performing mass spectrometry. The present invention will be of particular benefit to types of mass spectrometr y that generate large quantities of data and hence give rise to lengthy data- processing. The present invention provides a method of mass spectrometry comprising a plurality of cycles, each cycle comprising the steps of (a) preparing ions to be analysed by a mass spectrometer; (b) using a detector o f the mass spectrometer to collect data from the ions prepared in step (a); an d (c) processing the data collected in step (b) with processing means; wherein at least a part of step (a) and/or a part of step (b) of a cycle is performe d concurrently with part (c) of a previous cycle.