Laboratory informatics is the specialized application of information technology aimed at optimizing and extending laboratory operations. It encompasses data acquisition (e.g. through sensors and hardware or voice), instrument interfacing, laboratory networking,

data processing Data processing is the collection and manipulation of digital data to produce meaningful information. Data processing is a form of ''information processing'', which is the modification (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an ...

, specialized data management systems (such as a chromatography data system), a

laboratory information management system A laboratory information management system (LIMS), sometimes referred to as a laboratory information system (LIS) or laboratory management system (LMS), is a software-based solution with features that support a modern laboratory's operations. K ...

, scientific data management (including data mining and

data warehousing In computing, a data warehouse (DW or DWH), also known as an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), is a system used for reporting and data analysis and is considered a core component of business intelligence. DWs are central repositories of integra ...

), and knowledge management (including the use of an

electronic lab notebook An electronic lab notebook (also known as electronic laboratory notebook, or ELN) is a computer program designed to replace paper laboratory notebooks. Lab notebooks in general are used by scientists, engineers, and technicians to document resear ...

). It has become more prevalent with the rise of other "

informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...

" disciplines such as

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...

cheminformatics Cheminformatics (also known as chemoinformatics) refers to use of physical chemistry theory with computer and information science techniques—so called "''in silico''" techniques—in application to a range of descriptive and prescriptive problem ...

and

health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

. Several graduate programs are focused on some form of laboratory informatics, often with a clinical emphasis. A closely related - some consider subsuming - field is laboratory automation.

Capability Areas

In the context of Public Health Laboratories, the

Association of Public Health Laboratories The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) is a membership organization in the United States representing the laboratories that protect the health and safety of the public. APHL serves as a liaison between public health laboratories an ...

has identified 19 areas for self-assessment of laboratory informatics in their Laboratories Efficiencies Initiative. These include the following Capability Areas. * Laboratory Test Request and Sample Receiving * Test Preparation, LIMS Processing, Test Results Recording and Verification * Report Preparation and Distribution * Laboratory Test Scheduling * Prescheduled Testing * Specimen and Sample Tracking/Chain of Custody * Media, Reagents, Controls: Manufacturing and Inventory * Interoperability and Data Exchange * Statistical Analysis and Surveillance * Billing for Laboratory Services * Contract and Grant Management * Training, Education and Resource Management * Laboratory Certifications/Licensing *

Customer Relationship Management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. CRM systems compile data from a ra ...

* Quality Control (QC) and

Quality Assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

(QA) Management * Laboratory Safety and Accident Investigation * Laboratory Mutual Assistance/Disaster Recovery * Core

IT Service Management Information technology service management (ITSM) is the activities that are performed by an organization to design, build, deliver, operate and control information technology (IT) services offered to customers. Differing from more technology-or ...

: Hardware, Software and Services * Policies and Procedures, including Budgeting and Funding

Sub-topics

Laboratory information management system A laboratory information management system (LIMS), sometimes referred to as a laboratory information system (LIS) or laboratory management system (LMS), is a software-based solution with features that support a modern laboratory's operations. K ...

(LIMS) * Chromatography data system (CDS) *

Electronic lab notebook An electronic lab notebook (also known as electronic laboratory notebook, or ELN) is a computer program designed to replace paper laboratory notebooks. Lab notebooks in general are used by scientists, engineers, and technicians to document resear ...

(ELN) *

List of ELN software packages An electronic lab notebook (also known as electronic laboratory notebook, or ELN) is a computer program designed to replace paper laboratory notebooks. Lab notebooks in general are used by scientists, engineers, and technicians to document resear ...

Organizations

Society for Laboratory Automation & Screening (SLAS)
* American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC)
Laboratory Informatics Institute

Publications

American Laboratory

* Nakagawa, Allen S., ''LIMS implementation and management'', Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 1994 * Liscouski, Joe, ''Laboratory and Scientific Computing a Strategic Approach'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1995 * Gibbon, Gerst, "A Brief History of LIMS", ''Laboratory Automation and Information Management'' 1996, ''32(1)'', 1-5 * Myers, J. D.; Fox-Dobbs, C.; Laird, J.; Le, Dai; Reich, D.; Curtz, T., "Electronic laboratory notebooks for collaborative research", In ''Proceedings of the 5th International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WET ICE'96) (WET-ICE '96)'' IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, USA, 1996, 47-. * Paszko, Christine; Pugsley, Carol, "Considerations in selecting a laboratory information management system (LIMS)", ''American Laboratory'', 2000, ''32(18)'', 38-42 * Paszko, Christine; Turner, Elizabeth; Hinton, Mary D., ''Laboratory Information Management Systems'', Revised & Expanded. CRC Press, 2001 * Tracy, Douglas S.; Nash, Robert A., "A Validation Approach for Laboratory Information Management Systems", ''Journal of Validation Technology'', 2002, ''9(1)'', 6-14 * Perry, Douglas
"Laboratory Informatics: Origin, Scope, and its Place in Higher Education"
''Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation'', 2004, ''9(6)'', 421 - 428 * Sterling, James D.
"Laboratory Automation Education"
''Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation'', 2004, ''9(5)'', A11-A12 * Sterling, James D.
"Laboratory automation curriculum at Keck Graduate Institute"
''Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation'', 2004, ''9(5)'', 331-335 * Taylor, Keith
"The status of electronic laboratory notebooks for chemistry and biology"
''Current Opinion in Drug Discovery & Development'', 2006, ''9(3)'': 348-353 * Wood, Simon,
"Comprehensive Laboratory Informatics: A Multilayer Approach"
''American Laboratory'', 2007, ''39(16)'', 20-23 * Metrick, Gloria
"Three Issues of LIMS/Laboratory Informatics That Can Cost Money"
''American Laboratory'', 2007, ''39(21)'', 10-11 * Calva, Diana; Lehman, Mario
"An analysis of the possible applications of Artificial Intelligence Techniques to a Clinical Laboratory Information Management System"
''International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security'', 2008, ''8(12)'', 82-86 * Shah, Kim
"Elevating laboratory informatics to assist decision-making"
''Pharmaceutical Technology Europe'', 2009, ''21(5)''

References

{{Informatics Laboratory equipment Science software Health informatics Data management software

Capability Areas

Sub-topics

Organizations

Publications

See also

Further reading

References