Laboratory automation and laboratory informatics
Te two primary areas of technology that apply to a smart laboratory can be broadly categorised as laboratory automation and laboratory informatics. In general, laboratory automation refers to the use of technology to streamline or substitute manual manipulation of equipment and processes, whereas laboratory informatics refers to the application of information technology to the handling of laboratory data and information. Te field of lab automation comprises
many different automated lab instruments, devices, soſtware algorithms and methodologies used to enable, expedite and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of scientific research. Laboratory informatics is the specialised application of information technology aimed at optimising lab operations. It encompasses electronic lab notebooks, sample management, data acquisition, data processing, reporting and scientific data management. Both disciplines aim to increase
productivity, improve data quality, reduce lab process cycle times and to facilitate data acquisition and processing techniques that would otherwise be impossible. Furthermore, retention and accessibility of knowledge through online storage and search algorithms aim to offer additional benefits through the re-use of existing information, the avoidance
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of repeating work and enhancing the ability to communicate and collaborate in real time. Te application of technology in today’s
labs is required to achieve timely progress and remain competitive. Laboratories devoted to activities such as high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, automated clinical and analytical testing, diagnostics, large-scale biorepositories, and many others, would not exist without advancements in lab automation. Te term ‘laboratory informatics’
has been progressively creeping into the vocabulary of lab workers during the past decade and has come to represent the field of information technology as it is applied to a wide range of processes and operations. Typically, it addresses the convergent field of laboratory data and information systems, which includes laboratory information management systems (LIMS), electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs), scientific data management systems (SDMS) and laboratory execution systems (LES), as well as the tools used for data acquisition and data processing. Tere is a very good reason why the use of
a generic term such as laboratory informatics is important; we need to get away from our traditional application-centric approach to laboratory computing and think in terms of the big picture, i.e. a fully-integrated
computing environment that embraces all aspects of the application of technology to lab operations and its interaction with other company systems. Tis has become increasingly important as the deployment of an ELN generally represents the final step in making a lab fully electronic and hence raises the demand for interconnection between all
“Te term ‘laboratory informatics’ has been progressively creeping into the vocabulary of lab workers during the past decade”
laboratory systems. In this sense, being fully electronic and being fully integrated are two different things. For most labs, the reality is that fully
‘electronic’ corresponds to an application- centric portfolio of ‘systems’ that were not necessarily designed to work together, and for which interoperability is hampered by the lack of standards and is therefore dependent on custom solutions. What we aspire to is an ‘integrated’ laboratory that is modular, based on standards and is designed to facilitate connectivity, data sharing and collaboration. Over the past two to three years the
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