Sample Management Archives - INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Tired of Playing Sample Roulette? 5 Reasons Why Using Spreadsheets to Manage Sample Storage Costs More Than You Think

Sharon Williams — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 10:18:42 +0000

‘And when she got there the cupboard was bare!’* A line from a children’s nursery rhyme that may sound very familiar when it comes to looking for samples in your lab. Your spreadsheet or hand drawn diagram tells you that the sample you want is in Freezer A. When you open the freezer, the space where the sample’s supposed to be is empty. But there’s something that looks quite similar next to it. Could it be? If only its handwritten label wasn’t faded. Using spreadsheets or paper-based systems to manage your freezer and sample storage is a quick and easy option. But it can end up costing you much more than your precious lab time. Here’s 5 reasons why you may want to rethink your sample storage management systems and processes. 1. Wasting hours hunting for samples Your lab time is precious, so you want to use it as productively as possible. You don’t want to be spending the bulk of your time traipsing from freezer to freezer, sending copious emails and calling round trying to find samples. Spreadsheets and hand drawn diagrams that track samples quickly become out of date. This is because they’re updated sporadically, more often that […]

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Sample Management in Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)

Sharon Williams — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 08:00:02 +0000

For many labs and Biobanks, the main reason for implementing a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is to improve the way they manage their samples. If you’re using your samples in research, you need to have confidence in the accuracy of your data. Similarly, you want to have confidence in the repeatability of any tests so you can create reproducible results. How you manage your samples and record any corresponding data has a significant impact on these. Sample management is more than knowing where your samples are stored … Sample management is an integral part of your lab and Biobank’s quality control and management processes. Put simply it’s the processes you follow when you’re working with samples, for example, your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). It covers all aspects of the sample journey from initial sample registration through to disposal. The aim is to make sure everyone is working to the same standards. And by instilling consistency and standardisation across your lab processes you could significantly improve efficiency and quality. If you can accurately trace each step of a sample’s journey, what happened when and why, then you can better assess its viability for use in research. This can help you […]

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Tracking Sample Genealogy in LIMS | Tissue Sample Tracking

Sharon Williams — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 08:00:44 +0000

In a clinical research lab or Biobank, it’s vital you know exactly what biological samples you’re working with and where they came from. Understanding a tissue sample’s provenance helps you assess how you can best use it. And, critically, if it’s safe to use. If this information includes patient consent, then you also know how you can actually use it. If all you know about your samples are their sample types, containers and volumes then that doesn’t really tell you very much. Achiever Medical’s core LIMS functionality helps you track and analyse each sample’s genealogy. Giving you the full picture about every one of your samples, so you can make the most of this very valuable resource and ‘Make Every Sample Matter’. Tracking the complete genealogy of sample aliquots and derivatives in LIMS Tracking sample aliquots and derivatives can be difficult when you’re using spreadsheets or in-house built systems. Sometimes aliquots are assigned the same reference as the original samples – making it tricky to work out which sample is which. Using Achiever Medical LIMS’ ‘out-of-the-box’ functionality you can split biological samples to create aliquots or derivatives. Each newly created sample is automatically linked to its original sample. In addition, […]

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Using Laboratory Information Management Software for sample inventory management

Sharon Williams — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 10:54:10 +0000

Do you know what’s in your laboratory sample freezers and storage without opening them? If you dread the questions “Now, where did we put that sample?” or “What do you think is in that container?”, then it might be time to think about using a laboratory information management system (LIMS) to help you manage your sample inventory. You may be thinking “we already use Excel that tells us where our samples are”. Or even “our sample management system displays our freezers as a picture so we can see where our samples are”. That’s great but what about finding available space? Could you easily move and audit your samples if there was a problem with the freezer? Or reserve contiguous spaces in storage for samples you’re expecting to receive or create? There’s more to a LIMS than just displaying a pretty view of your samples in your freezers. Samples aren’t just stored in freezers You may store your biospecimens in all sorts of places, not just freezers. What about your cupboard with your histology slides, fridges, drawers and good old-fashioned boxes? Plus, even if you only store samples in freezers these come in all sorts of configurations and layouts. So, you’ll […]

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