LIMS Unlimited

Click to view the PDF file: Suppliers of LIMS Courtesy of Thermo LabSystemsLaboratory information management systems (LIMS) can enhance lab efficiency while reducing data transcription errors. Commercial laboratories are ultimately in the information management business. A laboratory's ability to track samples, tests, and results, archive data, and then produce timely and accurate reports can make or break that lab's success. Reducing internal bottlenecks streamlines work and lowers costs while speeding processing times and turnaround. Computerized data collection and reporting systems built around a centralized database can provide these productivity benefits. These Laboratory Information Management Systems, or LIMS, exist in many sizes and configurations, offering solutions to a host of applications and industries. The result is an improvement of the lab's overall efficiency and competitiveness. A good LIMS possesses considerable functionality. A typical system offers sample login capabilities and often creates batches and work lists, grouping samples by tests or departments. Schedules are generated, labels are printed, and quality control run batches are assigned. While testing is in process, tracking functions allow labs to track samples through their departments without the need to physically hunt down a specific sample. The elimination of mundane activities such as data transcription streamlines lab operations. In this case, data from analytical instruments is automatically transferred into the LIMS through instrument interfacing functions, increasing productivity while reducing transcription errors. LIMS then generate reports for clients via fax, e-mail, or hard-copy printout. All these functions are performed in an environment where hundreds or thousands of tests and samples are logged, processed, and filed for easy retrieval. Courtesy of Accelerated Technology LaboratoriesLIMS provide convenient access to a wealth of organized data Other LIMS functions include capabilities for producing or maintaining chemical and reagent inventories, invoicing, system administration information, instrument maintenance schedules, personnel training records, bar-coding, audit trails, and sample disposal. Many systems now address the Food and Drug Administration's electronic signature regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 11). Some systems also offer user and client access from outside the laboratory. The majority of available LIMS employ a client/server configuration, although Internet-based applications are also available. Client/server systems can take advantage of pre-existing local or wide area networks, allowing users to readily share network printers and information. Connecting an analytical instrument's controlling PC to the network facilitates the transfer of test results into the LIMS. On the other hand, Internet-based systems have lower development, deployment, and maintenance requirements than do client/server systems. These systems offer a powerful means of information distribution to customers including on-demand access from outside the system via the Internet. Limber LIMS LIMS first appeared in the early 1980s with the growth of computer systems in laboratories. Programs were developed for mainframe computers using hierarchical database structures and proprietary database configurations. Frequently, these systems suffered from high costs and an inability to move data out of the LIMS into other applications, a serious drawback when labs needed access to data for other purposes. As Microsoft Windows® became more popular in the 1990s LIMS vendors switched to Microsoft technology and its Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard. First introduced in 1993, the ODBC standard is a widely accepted database access application-programming interface. ODBC allows numerous applications, such as accounting and word processing programs, to interface with the LIMS database. LIMS typically use one of three types of database engines. First, proprietary databases are available, but these are often criticized because they are not ODBC-compliant and therefore have difficulties interfacing with other applications. ISAM (Indexed Sequential Array Method) database engines, such as Microsoft Access and dBase, are easy and inexpensive to maintain; however, they are limited by size constraints. Finally, SQL (Structured Query Language) systems, like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle, support distributed databases spread out over many computer systems. These systems offer scalability of database size, but typically require a database administrator. Small laboratories without a full-time administrator would probably benefit from an ISAM database engine, while larger labs could support the SQL systems.1 Both the ISAM and SQL database engines are ODBC-compliant. Courtesy of Accelerated Technology LaboratoriesAccelerated Technology's Sample Master Pro LIMS integrates laboratory processes, including chemical inventory management. Databases are the heart-and-soul of LIMS technology. "LIMS primarily provide data management," says Christine Paszko, director of sales and marketing for West End, N.C.-based Accelerated Technology Laboratories Inc. It is the selection of a database engine and structure, she says, that influences the usefulness, operating costs, and lifetime of a LIMS. In particular, ODBC-compliant databases offer advantages that proprietary databases with custom programming are unable to match. A Sampling of LIMS Nearly 80 companies in North America and Europe currently offer at least 200 different LIMS packages. Designed to meet the needs of labs in fields as diverse as agriculture, forensics, and pharmaceuticals, LIMS are available to accommodate everyone from single users to corporations with facilities scattered across wide geographic areas. A handful of companies comprise the major players in the market. These companies offer highly flexible LIMS systems designed for a wide range of applications and industries. For example, Accelerated Technology Laboratories pioneered Microsoft Access-based LIMS with the introduction of Sample Master® in 1994, followed by the Web-based Sample Master iLIMS in 2000. Billed as the most flexible LIMS available, Sample Master permits users to easily incorporate new screens, report forms, queries, macros, and modules directly into the system in order to meet changing needs. The main menu and pull-down menus can be modified without affecting upgrades to future versions of the LIMS. Sample Master's reliance on the ODBC standard lets users directly import and export data to other applications and facilitates an upgrade to the enterprise edition, Sample Master Pro (based on SQL Server or Oracle), as the lab grows. Courtesy of LabWare Inc.LabWare Inc. introduced the LabWare LIMS in 1994. Wilmington, Del.-based LabWare Inc. introduced the first full-featured client/server LIMS in 1994. Known simply as LabWare LIMS, this system is fully integrated into the Windows environment and provides a broad range of capabilities with numerous specialty application modules such as Stability, Instrument Integration, Forensics, Lot and Batch Management, Contact Management, and Investigations on top of its standard core functions. LabWare LIMS also provides a standard interface to SAP, a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, as well as seamless integration with other laboratory arena vendors. SAP allows all aspects of a business, such as laboratory, financial, quality, and shipping concerns to work together through one database. According to the company, LabWare LIMS is the only product on the market today that provides the enhanced data management required for full compliance with the FDA's 21 CFR 11 ruling on electronic records and signatures. ASC Inc. of Atlanta offers the LABLynx Enterprise LIMS Solution, a product that is highly configurable, flexible, and scalable. This software combines proven, readily available Internet technology with common functionality components, industry-specific modules, and custom solutions configured to precise user needs. LABLynx is built upon an information technology framework that allows laboratories to add new functionality as needed. Courtesy of LabVantageLabVantage's Sapphire LIMS A 100 percent browser-based LIMS solution, Sapphire™ from LabVantage Solutions Inc. of Bridgewater, N.J., offers industry-specific systems with scalability to allow the processing of up to 40 million samples annually. Sapphire's configurable process automation and communication capabilities allow laboratories of any size to model their business-specific workflow, seamlessly integrate robotics and analytical instruments, use the Internet for communications, and handle the demands of high-throughput environments. While a variety of multi-purpose LIMS are available, numerous LIMS for specific industries and applications exist as well. For example, Jackson, Wyo.-based Mountain States Consulting offers MSC-LIMS. Built around Microsoft Access, MSC-LIMS was developed for small analytical laboratories that process up to 75,000 samples and up to 300,000 analyses per year. This system is available in single-user and multi-user versions for small groups of up to 20 concurrent users. Designed by experienced analytical chemists for the environmental community, the Omega LIMS from The Khemia Company of Broomfield, Colo., is available for use with Microsoft Access 97 or 2000, or with Microsoft SQL Server. The Omega LIMS products come preloaded with over 350 environmental methods and have Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) and Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) reporting, as well as numerous Electronic Diskette Deliverables (EDDs) available. Metabase, a LIMS from Montrose, Colo.-based Summit Research Services, was designed specifically for laboratories conducting metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and toxicokinetics studies. Metabase is Microsoft Excel-based, meets Good Laboratory Practice guidelines, and complies with FDA and Environmental Protection Agency validation requirements. Fueled by increased scrutiny from the FDA, stability testing of drug products is growing in importance, according to Peter Mansfield of East Falmouth, Mass.-based Zumatrix Inc. Pharmaceutical companies test the stability of their finished drug products to determine shelf lives and storage conditions; they must also test the stability of raw materials and intermediate products. Consequently, Zumatrix now offers its new Matrix 2000 Stability Management System. Available as a module for the company's Matrix Plus LIMS or as a stand-alone system linked to a LIMS from other suppliers, the Stability Management System tracks product storage and location, sample pull schedules, tests, and specifications. It can support cycling, bracketing, and matrixing often employed in modern study designs. The system is supplied with templates for the most commonly used reports. Along similar lines, SLIM (Stability Lab Information Manager) from H & A Scientific Inc. of Greenville, N.C., is a LIMS designed for the complete management of drug stability programs. SLIM provides for the design of stability study protocols, statistical analysis, and presentation of the final data for FDA submission. In Limbo over LIMS Selecting the right LIMS can be a lengthy and involved process. Many items need to be considered, including the database engine, the hardware and software already in place in the laboratory, and the desired features of the system.2 Even though many LIMS are available, not all of them are applicable to a given industry. An environmental laboratory producing certificates of analysis, for instance, has different concerns than a pharmaceutical company striving to meet of all the FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations. Therefore, it is important for a lab to understand its workflow in order to identify its functional requirement specifications for a potential LIMS. Once a LIMS is selected, it must then be implemented, which may also be time-consuming. The system must be configured with items such as the necessary data for the sample entry fields, the tests to be performed, the calculations involved, and the reports that are required. Input from outside consultants and training of the system administrator and users may therefore be necessary. Gregg Oelker, laboratory manager for United Water Services at the West Basin Water Recycling Plant in El Segundo, Calif., took six months to decide on a LIMS for his facility. "We needed a system that could handle 10,000 tests per month but would also allow us to change our configuration easily if we needed," he said. Implementation required another 10 weeks, but the payoffs have been worth the effort: "It would be very difficult to return to our manual tracking methods." Pricing for LIMS is usually determined on a "per user" basis, although some companies are moving away from that structure and now offer their LIMS for a flat fee. Costs vary widely, ranging from around $10,000 to $500,000. Courtesy of Thermo LabSystemsThermo LabSystems' Nautilus LIMS In addition to traditional purchasing methods, Thermo LabSystems of Beverly, Mass., offers its Nautilus™ LIMS via the Application Service Provision (ASP). The ASP model is a new means of obtaining access to software applications without buying expensive licenses or hardware that also eliminates costly in-house system support. Here, users rent the Nautilus LIMS application, which is delivered over secure Internet connections, for a low monthly fee. Help for LIMS Buyers The LIMS industry has spawned a few LIMS-related Web sites offering considerable information about LIMS and their vendors. Scientific Computing & Instrumentation Magazine (www.scimag.com) maintains the LIMS Guide Online. The LIMS Guide features various articles, links to related Web sites, and extensive supplier and product directories. In addition, the vendor guide presents comprehensive surveys that provide detailed information about many LIMS systems. A printed version is also available. The LIMSource Web site consolidates various resources for LIMS and lab data management (www.limsource.com). In addition to offering links to LIMSource pages based on LIMS applications, the site maintains an extensive vendor list and a LIMS product directory linked to supplier Web sites for over 100 LIMS products. The LIMS Mailing List (www.user.fast.net/~millers/lims.html) provides a vendor-independent forum for the discussion of all topics related to LIMS, as well as LIMS-related references and a list of vendors and consultants. Providing a useful tool for the LIMS selection process, Zumatrix Inc. maintains a "LIMS Requirements Document" checklist on its Web site (www.zumatrix.com). Finally, numerous print sources of LIMS-related information are available. One notable offering is the ASTM Standard Guide for Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), available on-line from the American Society for Testing and Materials (www.astm.org). Michael Brush (michaeldbrush@cs.com) is a freelance writer in Tustin, Calif. References 1. G. Meisenholder, "Out on a LIM," The Scientist, 13[19]:16, Sept. 27, 1999. 2. C. Paszko, C. Pugsley, "Considerations in selecting a laboratory information management system (LIMS)," American Laboratory, 32:38-42, Sept., 2000.

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