A review of "Computerized Systems in the Modern Laboratory"
A review of “Computerized Systems in the Modern Laboratory”
John H. Jones
04/14/2015
I was recently given a copy of the book: “Computerized Systems in the Modern Laboratory: a practical guide”. by Joseph G. Liscouski. Joe is a very experienced and highly qualified LIMS expert that I have known for years. His profile speaks for itself. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeliscouski
It has been many years since a thorough book on LIMS and Laboratory Informatics has been published. This book is a fresh, up to date look at computerization of today’s laboratories. The book is NOT a regurgitation of old information but a fresh look at all of the important aspects of Laboratory Informatics. The book does not pitch any particular LIMS application or any applications for that matter. What it does is inform and teach the reader about technologies and applications that are typically used or should be used within any modern laboratory.
There are still many laboratories in the world that work without any sort of modern data management tools or are simply forced to rely on office software like Excel to manage data. This book is written to a wide audience from beginners in the laboratory profession to lab management to IT professionals and even for the software vendors that serve the laboratory. That being said, the book is not bogged down in jargon without providing meaningful definitions for that jargon. It is written in a language that can be understood by most all laboratory professionals. It is a must read book for anyone in the laboratory who is starting to research what is available in terms of computerized technology for the lab.
The structure of the book is logical. It starts with Chapter 1 – The Laboratory Bench, where the basics are covered on how computers are used within the lab, the instrumentation and the various computerized systems supporting those instruments and sample preparation for analysis and handling. It then moves into Chapter 2 – Laboratory Support, where the personnel and organizational structure is addressed. This chapter focuses on the Lab IT roles primarily. My concern in this area is that it implies that there is or should be such a thing as Lab IT. It makes a strong argument for the fact that things do go wrong with IT applications and systems within the lab but my personal experience has taught me that not all labs have IT support to call on. This is definitely a consideration that even the smallest lab needs to address better than it currently does and the book gets into the specifics that need to be addressed and handled by Lab IT support or a vendor that serves that role. I started a discussion just recently related to this: https://lnkd.in/dxW-nAP
I consider Chapters 3 & 4 to be the meat of the book. These chapters address LIMS, LIS, ELN and SDMS and their respective modules and functionality. It covers the latest technology issues related to these apps such as Cloud Computing / Software as a Service (SaaS) and Mobile technology. These chapters address the appropriate application to Healthcare, non-healthcare type of labs and research type labs. It clearly identifies how and when these applications apply to the various types of broad categories of labs.
Chapters 5 & 6 cover the processes and techniques to use when acquiring the types of systems described in Chapters 3 & 4. Again, the book shines in this area by getting into the details and will help even the most experienced reader to not forget some of the critical aspects of defining and acquiring Lab Informatics applications and implementing them within your specific environment.
I like Chapter 7 – “What’s Next?” but it is not specific and is more philosophical but with a practical mission. It does not give you a picture of the future of Lab Informatics but more interestingly identifies the nature of lab people and people in general. Basically, people like technology but hate change. The basic principal in this chapter is to promote cooperation between all the parties who have a vested interest in making changes within the laboratory through more efficient technological solutions. Users, vendors and consultants all need to collaborate and share ideas for the betterment of all laboratory processes. Why? Because everyone wins through this process. Without specifically mentioning it in the book, this chapter invites cooperation through venues such as www.limsforum.com . The forum is vendor neutral and end user centric. It is a great venue to share ideas, ask questions and initiate changes in your lab based on the comments and discussions in the group. Just take a look at this recent discussion that shows collaboration between vendors for the benefit of their respective client base: https://lnkd.in/eFgvMD2
Summary:
This book represents a lot of hard work and is a benefit to everyone in the laboratory informatics industry. This includes all laboratory users as well as vendors and consultants. If you are responsible for IT within your laboratory or you provide IT software and services to the laboratory, you owe it to yourself and your customers to get a copy of this book for everyone on the Lab IT team. There is no excuse for ignorance and this book will get everyone on the same playing field and provide a framework for knowledge sharing.
A special note to LIMS vendors… Each and every LIMS vendor should get a copy of this book and measure the products and services they offer against this book. If each vendor does that, the industry will see improvements and standardization that will benefit every client of every vendor. Speaking as a LIMS vendor myself, I intend to dissect this book and measure most everything we do and provide against it.
