October 5, 2016 - Agile LIMS Implementation – A Challenge
The Agile methodology is a time boxed methodology that uses an iterative approach to rapidly develop, test, and deliver functionality. While this method has had a wide utilization in the IT field, there are several concerns and issues that can make it problematic for the implementation of LIMS, especially in a regulated environment.September 28, 2016 - Interfacing LIMS to Other Commercially Available Software Packages
A LIMS by its name is a laboratory information management system. LIMS over the years have increased in their breadth of coverage, however, at no point is a LIMS a full accounting package or geographic information system (GIS) nor does a true LIMS replace a customized enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. A LIMS though may be very effectively interfaced with other software platforms to provide a business entity the full breadth of information and ability it requires.September 28, 2016 - Smart electronic laboratory notebooks for the NIST research environment
Smart electronic laboratory notebooks for the NIST research environment
No doubt, the traditional paper laboratory notebook isn't quite enough in many of today's modern labs. The research and fabrication labs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are no exception. This late 2015 paper published in the
Journal of Research of NIST expands upon the changing technological needs for a better and improved laboratory notebook, even beyond the largely software-focused electronic laboratory notebook (ELN). Gates et al. discuss how they added the hardware component with their push for a “smart” electronic laboratory notebook (SELN) that is portable, intuitive, collaborative, and usable on tablet-based hardware in a cleanroom. They conclude their SELN "provides a comfortable portability and connectivity crucial to its role, and could actually also serve as a desktop replacement for many who do not require extremely powerful computing resources."
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September 21, 2016 - Benefits of a LIMS implementer’s firsthand laboratory knowledge
No LIMS, no matter how great it may be, is one hundred percent beneficial without proper implementation and training. Modern day LIMS are too complex with too many functions to truly just figure out on your own. However, many times, a LIMS implementation has failed simply because the implementer understood the computer system but fail to comprehend the laboratory itself or vice versa.September 21, 2016 - New Data Integrity Draft Guidance – Are You Ready?
With more and more companies in the pharmaceutical and life science industries moving to electronic data collection, analysis, storage, and reporting, the responsibility for knowing where your data are at all times and whether they are accurate and reliable is paramount for being compliant.September 7, 2016 - A Configurable, Off-the-Shelf LIMS in a University Setting
Universities offer many professional companies a wonderful developmental ground on which to not only sale and teach, but to build and rethink. This can be particularly true while working with a LIMS in the university laboratory setting.August 31, 2016 - Toxicology Labs – Not All Samples Are Created Equal
Toxicolology reference laboratories get excited about increases in volume of samples or specimens being screened by their laboratories. And they absolutely should – after all, laboratories are dependent on testing samples as their only source of income. However, it is important to note that “more” does not always equate to“better”. Why? Because from a reimbursement standpoint, not all samples are created equal.August 25, 2016 - Who are the Top LIMS Vendors?
When looking for a LIMS, you find yourself trying to determine which LIMS vendors are the top vendors so you can evaluate their solutions. However, you will find that determining this is not so simple.August 24, 2016 - How much is your data worth? Are you connecting your data with your business?
It can be quite easy to forget the actual value of lab data to many businesses - it is the business in many cases. If you are interested in learning more about LIMS, the benefits it can provide to your lab and business then think about attending this free UK event...August 15, 2016 - Justifying a New LIMS When You Already Have One
It is hard to justify the purchase of a new LIMS when you already have one in place. This blog discusses how to develop your LIMS justification by looking at the Functionality and Technology based Quantitative measures as well as Qualitative, and how to Calculate ROI.July 29, 2016 - Understanding Risk Management
Regulated companies are making great efforts to raise their level of compliance with both the regulatory requirements and the expectations of governing agencies. However, companies often end up creating quality systems and mechanical processes that are too rigid for efficient Computer Systems Validation (CSV).July 28, 2016 - Environmental Microbiology Monitoring – Keeping the Public Safe
This article discusses a new extension to LIMS the Environmental Monitoring module. It provides a graphical view of sample location, linking this to the samples taken over time and the test results of those samples. Useful in Feed, Beverage, Water, Environmental, Medical Devices, Healthcare industriesJuly 27, 2016 - Toxicology Labs- Why Simply Getting Paid is No Longer Enough
As a company which actively maximizes revenue for toxicology reference laboratories, we have witnessed a wide variety of billing and reimbursement scenarios over the past few years. Many of these scenarios are proper, but a large portion are either the result of not knowing any better, or worse yet, the result of knowingly false billing practices. The later scenarios can place your toxicology laboratory and all of your hard work at tremendous risk.July 25, 2016 - Principles and application of LIMS in mouse clinics
Clinical researchers conducting mouse studies at seven different facilities around the world shared their experiences using a laboratory information management system (LIMS) in order “to facilitate or even enable mouse and data management” better in their facilities. This 2015 paper by Maier et al. examines those discussions and final findings in a “review” format, concluding “the unique LIMS environment in a particular facility strongly influences strategic LIMS decisions and LIMS development” though “there is no universal LIMS for the mouse research domain that fits all requirements.”July 14, 2016 - LIMS Benefits for Every Holiday
Around every holiday there's an increase in buying activity. Your LIMS can lead to better inventory planning, quicker release of materials, and the ability to search for data more quickly. Be prepared for the next holiday so that you can reap the most benefits of increased consumer buying activities.July 13, 2016 - Icebergs Ahead – How's your Disaster Recovery Plan?
With record-retention mandates differing worldwide, organizations cannot be too risk averse in their backup retention policies. The risk of not doing so can have both legal and financial consequences including fines, shutdowns, and loss of revenue. This article discusses recommended action items for virtual machines and questions to consider when writing a Disaster Recovery Plan.July 12, 2016 - From the desktop to the grid: Scalable bioinformatics via workflow conversion
This featured article from the journal BMC Bioinformaticsfalls on the heels of several years of discussion on the topic of reproducibility of a scientific experiment's end results. De la Garza et al. point to workflows and their repeatability as vital cogs in such efforts. "Breaking down the complexity of such experiments into the joint collaboration of small, repeatable, well defined tasks, each with well defined inputs, parameters, and outputs, offers the immediate benefit of identifying bottlenecks, pinpoint sections which could benefit from parallelization," they state. The researchers developed their own set of free platform-independent tools for designing, executing, and sharing workflows. They conclude: "We are confident that our work presented in this document ... not only provides scientists a way to design and test workflows on their desktop computers, but also enables them to use powerful resources to execute their workflows, thus producing scientific results in a timely manner."
July 12, 2016 - Evaluating health information systems using ontologies
Evaluating health information systems/technology is no easy task. Eivazzadeh et al. recognize that, as well as the fact that developing evaluation frameworks presents its own set of challenges. Having looked at several different models, the researchers wished to develop their own evaluation method, one that taps into “evaluation aspects for a set of one or more health information systems — whether similar or heterogeneous — by organizing, unifying, and aggregating the quality attributes extracted from those systems and from an external evaluation framework.” As such, the group developed the UVON method, which they conclude can be used ” to create ontologies for evaluation” of health information systems as well as “to mix them with elements from other evaluation frameworks.”
July 9, 2016 - SUSHI: An exquisite recipe for fully documented, reproducible and reusable NGS data analysis
Many next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis frameworks exist, from Galaxy to bpipe. However, Hatakeyama et al. at the University of Zürich noted a distinct lack of a framework that 1. offers both web-based and scripting options and 2. "puts an emphasis on having a human-readable and portable file-based representation of the meta-information and associated data." In response, the researchers created SUSHI (Support Users for SHell-script Integration). They conclude that "[i]n one solution, SUSHI provides at the same time fully documented, high level NGS analysis tools to biologists and an easy to administer, reproducible approach for large and complicated NGS data to bioinformaticians."
July 7, 2016 - Open source data logger for low-cost environmental monitoring
Open source data logger for low-cost environmental monitoring
This 2014 paper by Ed Baker of London’s Natural History Museum outlines a methodology for combining open-source software such as Drupal with open hardware like Arduino to create a real-time environmental monitoring station that is low-power and low-cost. Baker outlines step by step his approach (he calls it a “how to guide”) to creating an open-source environmental data logger that incorporates a digital temperature and humidity sensor. Though he offers no formal conclusions, Baker states: “It is hoped that the publication of this device will encourage biodiversity scientists to collaborate outside of their discipline, whether it be with citizen engineers or professional academics.”
