Gasmet Technologies – FTIR gas analysis improves container safety

Posted on February 21, 2013 By Corinne Jones Blog

Entry to freight containers represents a significant hazard to staff responsible for inspection, stuffing or destuffing because of the large number of airborne chemicals that can be present. Research in Germany and the Netherlands found hazardous levels of gases and vapours in around 20% of all containers and this level of contamination is now accepted as commonplace. It is therefore necessary to examine containers before entry and this work is usually conducted with a wide variety of gas detection techniques in order to be able to assess, individually, all of the substances of greatest concern. However, a Dutch firm of health and safety consultants, Reaktie, has employed FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra Red) gas analysis to dramatically improve the speed and effectiveness with which containers are assessed, because this technology enables the simultaneous measurement of the 50 gases of most concern.

Interview with organization that built its own sample tracking system.

Posted on February 6, 2013 By Corinne Jones Blog

One option for a science company with unmet data management needs is to simply build a software solution from scratch. You might think that this would be strictly the domain of large well-resourced organizations, but even for a small business or startup this can be a possibility that can yield unexpected benefits. There are still places in the US where a lower cost of living means that software developers are not as expensive as they are in silicon valley, and with patience, persistence and a bit of luck, business owners can indeed find highly talented local individuals who can create a great solution even in the least "techie" of locales. In the following interview, I talk with key players at a small midwestern biotechnology company who needed a better way to manage their extensive collection of biospecimens. The company prefers to stay somewhat anonymous, so I have used pseudonyms; "The Biorepository" is the name of the business, "PM" is the primary project manager and biorepository specialist who helped with research and design, "Dev" is the software developer who made it all possible and "Tissue Database" or just "TDB" is the name of the solution itself. "Bob", is of course, yours truly, the author of this blog.