Understanding LIMS And How They Help Laboratories

By Andrew Thompson


Anyone who has ever worked in a lab is familiar with or has at least heard of an information system. They come in many forms and go by a number of different names, but no matter what they're called, they are always essential in order for the scientists to carry out the duties and for the lab to carry out all of its functions. LIMS stands for laboratory information management system, but some other popular titles for it are laboratory information system (LIS) and laboratory management system (LMS).

It is out of necessity that every lab that hopes to perform serious scientific research is using a system like this nowadays. Facilities like these simply wouldn't be able to function without one, due to the fact that modern labs are now running through huge amounts of information every single day. There are many functions of these types of systems that serve to mainly make the tasks that scientists carry out easier and more convenient, but in other ways, they raise the capabilities of the research facility.

One of the ways that an information system like this is extremely helpful is by keeping track of all the workflow that goes on in the facility. This is essential to fully understand the results of a research project, and it can be the difference between having a successful experiment and having compromised results. Knowing what happened and when is a big help.

What often happened before these types of advanced tools were possible is that some information was inevitably lost in the sea of chicken-scratch handwriting and mountains of files. No matter how diligent an organizer you are, there comes a point where manual data input has too much room for inaccuracy. Having something like this that puts all of the information automatically into the same place that is safe and secure has made accuracy in laboratories much higher.

Specialty labs usually have specialty systems to suit their particular needs. This helps to get things done in an efficient way. These types of labs often have a specific way that data needs to be entered.

A management system is nothing new, but the main thing that has changed about it is that they have grown much more advanced. This is both thanks to the help of, as well as to accommodate, the advances in technology. More advanced computers have allowed these systems to become more advanced, and more advanced science requires these capabilities.

Tracking samples was the first use of these systems. Compared to how they'red used today, this might seem like a highly basic task. However, it was an essential system for scientists to have.

There can be no doubting that people come in many different varieties, and the same goes for scientists, scientific research facilities, and even the different branches of science itself. As such, many different scientists don't exactly agree on what makes a laboratory information system. There are a number of slightly different definitions, so if a person is about to start working in a new lab, a helpful thing to do is learn exactly what the scientists in this lab mean when they say LIS, LMS, LIMS, or whatever other acronyms they're using to mean the information system of the laboratory.




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