Dr K Ehrensberger looks at how an ambitious laboratory buy an affordable laboratory information system.
Today you will find in each modern lab a laboratory information system (LIMS). It is usually the key software, which covers most of the lab's processes, and hence it should support or better contribute to the uniqueness of the lab.
If the lab is adapting its processes to a standard-LIMS it is losing a severe degree of freedom to become unique, because all other labs with the same standard-LIMS will work in the same way. It is therefore obvious that a standard-LIMS cannot contribute to the lab's uniqueness.
Evaluating a LIMS will not be an easy task for the management because standard-LIMS are available at much lower costs than individual LIMS. Therefore what is to do? How can an ambitious lab buy an affordable LIMS?
The LIMS Limsophy has introduced the new concept agolden medium'. It is a compromise between standard LIMS and individual solution.
And because the Limsophy concept was developed by chemists with many decades of laboratory experience they have added a third layer aparameterisation'.
Hence Limsophy's agolden medium' is the optimum formed by cost and strategy issues. The technical basis for the agolden medium' is a software architecture, which provides features for standardisation, flexibilisation and parameterisation.
Limsophy is providing standard modules, features and functions, which are combined and adapted according to the customers need.
Limsophy is not just a LIMS. In the customers environment it is an integrated solution, which is best adapted to the customer's processes. Therefore your Limsophy is becoming more than the sum of the modules.
The customised LIMS is adapted to the particular strengths of the customer and therefore assisting his uniqueness. The philosophy of Limsophy is only possible due to its flexible architecture.
The agolden medium' of Limsophy: can be described as follows:
* Standardisation: There are a number of modules in a LIMS, which will not contribute to the lab's uniqueness and can therefore be generic. AAC Infotray calls these modules standard modules. Typically these are modules to manage master data like units, parameters, SOP, etc. Analogical there is also a number of features and functions eg audit trail, limit checks etc. which can be generic. Limsophy has formed a Basic-LIMS with those non-critical modules, features and functions. This kernel can be considered as a standard LIMS.
* Flexibilisation: The sample management is a typical module, which is adapted to the customer's processes. Particularities of a lab must be implemented into the LIMS because it leads to uniqueness. Limsophy provides RAD-tools to implement customer's particularities. The consequent object oriented architecture combined with a database based code management guarantees LIMS maintenance also years after the implementation. Furthermore the standard LIMS can be further developed and the customised LIMS profits from common further developments. New features can be used in the customised LIMS but they do not have to.
* Parameterisation: Many new lab requirements can just be implemented by simple parameterisation. For example, a new calculation of a result out of many other results can be implemented without writing any code. The customer itself can do it. Limsophy provides powerful parameterisation features. You can define new lab journals, statistics templates, favourites (workflow elements), screen layouts, etc.
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Dr K Ehrensberger is with AAC Infotray AG, Winterthur, Switzerland. www.infotray.ch
