The document discusses the history and operations of laboratory information management systems (LIMS). It explains that LIMS emerged in the 1970s to streamline sample management and reporting in laboratories. The first commercial LIMS used centralized minicomputers, while newer versions tap into relational databases and incorporate features like electronic data exchange. A LIMS manages essential laboratory functions like sample receipt and tracking, scheduling analyses, processing data, and reporting results. It also facilitates the storage and transfer of electronic data and adheres to various industry standards.

1. LIMS
B.S(HONS)BOTANY
3RD SEMESTER (M)
MARIA ALEEM (1001)
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION OKARA CAMPUS
University of Education Okara
Campus
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2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Introduction
• History
• Operations
• Sample management
• Electronic data exchange
• Conclusions
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3. Introduction:
• A Laboratory Information Management
System (LIMS), sometimes referred to as a Laboratory
Information System (LIS) or Laboratory Management
System (LMS), is a software-based laboratory and
information management system that offers a set of
key features that support a modern laboratory's
operations. The definition of a LIMS is somewhat
controversial: LIMSs are dynamic because the modern
laboratory's requirements are rapidly evolving and
needs often vary significantly from lab to lab.
Therefore, a working definition of a LIMS ultimately
depends on the interpretation by the individuals or
groups involved.
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4. History:
• Up until the late 1970s, the management of
laboratory samples and the associated analysis
and reporting were time-consuming manual
processes often riddled with transcription errors.
This gave some organizations impetus to
streamline the collection of data and how it was
reported. Custom in-house solutions were
developed by a few individual laboratories, while
some enterprising entities at the same time
sought to develop a more commercial reporting
solution in the form of special instrument-based
systems.
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5. History:
• In 1982 the first generation of LIMS was introduced in the
form of a single centralized minicomputer, which offered
laboratories the first opportunity to utilize automated
reporting tools. As the interest in these early LIMS grew,
industry leaders like Geist Gibbon of the Federal Energy
Technology Centre in Pittsburgh began planting the seeds
through LIMS-related conferences. By 1988 the second-generation
commercial offerings were tapping databases
into relational to expand LIMS into more application-specific
territory, and International LIMS Conferences were in full
swing. As personal computers became more powerful and
prominent, a third generation of LIMS emerged in the early
1990s. As of 2012, some LIMS have added additional
characteristics that continue to shape how a LIMS is defined.
Examples include the addition of clinical functionality, (ELN)
functionality, as well a rise in the (SaaS) distribution model.
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6. Operations:
• The LIMS is an evolving concept, with new features and
functionality being added often. As laboratory demands change
and technological progress continues, the functions of a LIMS will
likely also change. Despite these changes, a LIMS tends to have a
base set of functionality that defines it. That functionality can
roughly be divided into five laboratory processing phases, with
numerous software functions falling under each the reception and
log in of a sample and its associated customer data
• the assignment, scheduling, and tracking of the sample and the
associated analytical workload
• the processing and quality control associated with the sample and
the utilized equipment and inventory
• the storage of data associated with the sample analysis
• the inspection, approval, and compilation of the sample data for
reporting and/or further analysis
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7. Sample management:
• The core function of LIMS has traditionally been the
management of samples. This typically is initiated when a
sample is received in the laboratory, at which point the
sample will be registered in the LIMS. Some LIMS will allow
the customer to place an "order" for a sample directly to the
LIMS at which point the sample is generated in an
"unreceived" state. The processing could then include a step
where the sample container is registered and sent to the
customer for the sample to be taken and then returned to
the lab.. The LIMS then tracks chain of custody as well as
sample location. Location tracking usually involves assigning
the sample to a particular freezer location, often down to
the granular level of shelf, rack, box, row, and column. Other
event tracking such as freeze and thaw cycles that a sample
undergoes in the laboratory may be required.
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8. Electronic data exchange
• The exponentially growing volume of data created in
laboratories, coupled with increased business demands and
focus on profitability, have pushed LIMS vendors to increase
attention to how their LIMS handles electronic data
exchanges. Attention must be paid to how an instrument's
input and output data is managed, how remote sample
collection data is imported and exported, and how mobile
technology integrates with the LIMS. The successful transfer
of data files in Microsoft Excel and other formats, as well as
the import and export of data to Oracle, SQL, and Microsoft
Access databases is a pivotal aspect of the modern LIMS. In
fact, the transition "from proprietary databases to
standardized database management systems such as Oracle
and SQL" has arguably had one of the biggest impacts on
how data is managed and exchanged in laboratories.
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9. Standards:
• A LIMS covers standards such as:
• 21 CFR Part 11 from the Food and Drug Administration
• ISO/IEC 17025
• ISO 15189
• Good Laboratory Practice
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10. Conclusions:
• LIMS (Laboratory Information
Management Software) is very helpful. It
gives a lot of information related to many
aspects it is a compendium of
information on state of the art data
management and different fields. It also
give electronic data exchange and it has
many standards.
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