Articles, News & Events

Many research and development centers increasingly generate and process massive amounts of data. As such, because of the volume and processing of data, in addition to the advancement of technology, laboratories need to upgrade their laboratory management and technology strategies to improve operations and minimize costs. Within regulated labs, there has been a significant emphasis on data protection in recent…

Download PDF The history of laboratory informatics began in earnest with the commercialization of instrument data systems and LIMS software, the latter having the larger impact since it could affect the entire lab’s productivity and benefit the organization it supports. That software found a home in both industrial Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Healthcare (clinical laboratories). In each of these…

Your laboratory’s total testing process begins and ends far beyond your laboratory’s walls. Sources of human error can creep into your test results at many points along the process chain. Yet, as our guide “Improve Laboratory Accuracy and Reporting Quality with a LIMS” notes, people often forget the importance of the final step: your customers’ interpretation of the results. Mistakes…

From a customer’s order to the final report, laboratory errors can appear at any time in the total testing process. As our in-depth guide “Improve Laboratory Accuracy and Reporting Quality with a LIMS” explains, you can prevent these types of laboratory errors by digitizing laboratory processes. Many sources of error are human, and it’s only a matter of when, and…

Download PDF Analytical mistakes represent a shrinking share of errors in well-run laboratories. In multiple studies of clinical testing laboratories, more than 90% of errors occur before or after tests are performed. [1] Relatively error-free testing should not be surprising. After all, the bench is where laboratories can exert the most control using: Standards-based processes, Instrument maintenance and calibration, Professional…

Managing your clinical diagnostic laboratory’s information has become as important as managing the laboratory itself. More data-intensive technologies, more comprehensive regulatory compliance, and other trends require an effective laboratory information management system (LIMS) to effectively manage all that data. In our e-book The Ideal LIMS for Clinical Diagnostics: A Practical Buyer’s Guide, we shared several lessons we’ve learned over more…

Letting your customers, whether physicians or patients, interact with your laboratory online is a great way to improve the customer experience, deliver better results, and make your lab more productive. Given how many other things go into choosing a new laboratory information management system (LIMS), it might be tempting to leave portals for later. However, portals offer benefits that make…

Your forensics team answers a call to a gruesome incident: stuffing flung everywhere, a piece of yarn tail at the bottom of the stairs, and two lone button eyes that catch the glare of the flashlight. And are those bits of suspicious green plant material? Okay, you don’t respond to calls for disemboweled cat toys. (And it’s apparent Beaker perpetrated…

Download PDF There is a progression in technology utilization that many labs go through on their way to choosing LIMS software. A lot depends on the size of the organization, the resources it has available to it, and its experience in lab operations. Smaller groups in particular may begin with paper-based workflows and documentation (e.g., for test methods, etc.). As…

“Life finds a way.” Okay, maybe Ian Malcolm didn’t have algae in mind when he uttered those infamous words. But with harmful algal blooms increasing worldwide every year, the microscopic organisms are making as dramatic an impact as a tyrannosaurus rex (or indo-raptor, for that matter). Humans are directly in the crosshairs of these toxic blooms. And that means stepping…