The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is a leading medical research institute in Australia, employing over 700 scientists and support staff. Garvan researchers have established a cancer tumour testing service that is designed to detect mutations to help oncologists determine treatment strategies. To handle the increasingly large volumes of samples it is anticipating, a new laboratory information management system (LIMS) was needed. This case study highlights how QLIMS helped the laboratory overcome these challenges.

The Challenge

Some challenges may arise in sample traceability in laboratories. These could be implementation and integration, user errors, system errors, lack of training, maintenance and updates and data security.

Luke Hesson is the Laboratory Head of Cancer Diagnostics at Garvan. According to Luke, the challenge was to ensure that the lab would be able to cope with the sheer volume of samples—potentially 1000+ per year.

“We’ll need to know at any given point where every sample is in the testing process. Without a LIMS that would be incredibly challenging and prone to human error, which would have a flow-on effect on our clinical trials.”

While the Garvan Institute was already using a number of different LIMS, none of them was suitable. Fortunately, he had previous experience with OnQ Software through another lab at the Garvan Institute.

“They’ve always been incredibly responsive and helpful, so I felt they were tried and trusted. It turns out they had an off-the-shelf solution called QLIMS, that met around 75% of our requirements, with the flexibility to be effectively adapted for our needs.” he says.

The Solution

The solution provided for the automated import of data from various sources. Automatic patient report generation was a huge part of the solution. “We can now, at the click of a button, export all of the data into a report that can go to the clinician and patient. Not only are they incredibly accurate, but the reports also look great.”

Another key part of the solution required OnQ to design a tool to read a Health Level 7 (HL7) file.

Luke says, “HL7 is an international standard data encryption method that allows us to securely communicate sensitive patient information between labs. Because the first stage of the process involves receiving data from a SydPath pathology lab at St Vincent’s Hospital, the data is encrypted before we receive it. This solution streamlined our sample accessioning, making it much more efficient.”

The Results

Luke is delighted that the Garvan Institute has just received National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation with QLIMS.

“All of those key points needed to be addressed to the satisfaction of NATA so it’s reaffirmed the chain of information custody is accurate and secure. It’s absolutely critical for any clinical testing. And I believe that’s a direct result of the assistance we’ve had from OnQ in designing a LIMS that allows fidelity of chain of information custody.”

If you’re interested in learning more about how our QLIMS can benefit your laboratory or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team of experts would be happy to assist you in finding the best solution for your laboratory needs.

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AWS (Amazon Web Services) brings significant benefits to QLIMS customers by providing a secure and scalable cloud-based infrastructure for comprehensive laboratory data management. With AWS, QLIMS users can enjoy easy access to their data from anywhere, powerful computing resources for data processing and a range of security and compliance features to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of their data.

How LIMS and AWS work together

AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a cloud computing platform provided by Amazon that offers a wide range of services for building and deploying various types of applications and services on the cloud.

AWS and LIMS can provide a powerful and flexible solution for laboratories to manage and analyse data more efficiently and effectively by working together. The AWS cloud platform enables powerful hosting and deployment, storing and managing data, and providing scalable computing resources for handling large amounts of data and processing requirements.

What AWS brings to QLIMS customers

The cloud-based nature of QLIMS means that laboratories can access their data anytime, anywhere, and from any device with an internet connection. AWS provides the underlying infrastructure and services that enable QLIMS to scale seamlessly to accommodate large data sets, as well as provide powerful computing resources for data analysis and processing.

Except for cloud-based hosting, data storage, management and computing power; AWS provides various security and compliance features that ensure that laboratory data is kept confidential with regulatory requirements such as ISO9001 and ISO27001.

QLIMS brings comprehensive laboratory management, powerful and flexible solutions to OnQ customers. Laboratories can benefit from the reliability, enhanced security, flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing, while also ensuring the high availability and security of their data and applications.

If you’re interested in learning more about how QLIMS can benefit your laboratory or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team of experts would be happy to assist you in finding the best solution for your laboratory needs.

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OnQ Software has a special interview with Jonathan Gannoulis that focuses on the journey to releasing the QLIMS platform. In part one, we got an inside look at the introduction, initial stages, and journey that led to the creation of QLIMS.

In part two, we will dive into how OnQ Software translated its principles into a product, resulting in a LIMS system that revolutionizes laboratory management. 

Translating Principles Into a Product

Interviewer: I think we now understand why you are doing this. Now please tell us more about your product and the solution itself. How are you translating this into the new product?

Jonathan: We offer LIMS as a Platform, not just an app. Laboratories are moving towards a suite or platform of informatics, not just LIMS.

LIMS, data management and automation is the starting point. We base our entire application on our API technology. QLIMS is a containerized application that allows us to safely put things in little containers, pull apart and add elements or swap out and bring in other elements. The flexibility turns our application into a solution you can now lay over a platform to address complex scientific challenges as our customers’ needs evolve.

Interviewer: Just to clarify for our audience, an API is typically an application programming interface. Is your API what this is, and could you please explain what your API is?

Jonathan: It stands for an application programming interface. It is fundamentally a safe and secure toolkit that lets QLIMS talk to other applications. Our difference is that we built the whole application on this API, so there’s no real restriction to what you can do with QLIMS. Users can access it themselves and build web extensions, for example, mobile tools and integration. People are genuinely empowered to take the LIMS where they want it to be.

Importance of Independent Configuration

Interviewer: When scientists approach you with complex problems, they know they can solve them with your API-based architecture. They know they have a flexible toolbox to solve these problems. Whereas with other more rigid applications, it would be more challenging, right?

Jonathan: Yes. Even small changes are classified as customisation, so you need to change the code of the core application, which in turn creates more overheads. Not only does our solution have the API described, but we’ve also brought into our solution powerful configuration tools. This ability alone reduces the level of customization effort required close to zero depending on your specific needs. People working in the lab configure the system to suit what they want to do and then manage the system independently on an ongoing basis. Without hiring extra staff for LIMS admin. Without needing a coding degree.

We have the platform to empower every scientist. Less admin work and focus on the science, the important work.

Interviewer: I think I’m starting to see a better picture of the situation you are describing. It seems that the customization piece itself has also been part of why the industry has not evolved into offering more self-enabling systems. Suppose billable consultant hours are part of the business model. In that case, vendors have very little incentive to design a system that allows customers to customize independently.

Jonathan: Pretty much, we are a technology company, not a professional services company. This focus makes a difference to the end solution. We have the platform to empower every scientist. Less admin work and focus on the science, the important work.

 Get in touch with us today to learn more about how QLIMS can help you achieve your goals.