We won't call it the holy grail, but the announcement by Thermo Scientific and Symyx regarding the release of an integrated LIMS/ELN product is a significant step towards a fully integrated, electronic laboratory. Researchers should have more power and functionality at their fingertips, with fewer obstacles towards accessing and sharing data. That spells more efficient development efforts.
In a press release last spring announcing the Thermo-Symyx partnership, Symyx president Trevor Heritage boasted that lab professionals will have the “ability to record and execute experimental protocols, capture results, access and analyze data, build reports and collaborate with colleagues seamlessly."
Given that it's now just six months since the partnership was announced, clearly there will be bugs to be worked out of the new offering, but that's to be expected.
Another intriguing question: What do we call something that combines a three-letter and four-letter acronym? ILMS (Integrated Lab Management System)? I'll have a chance to speak with representatives of both
companies at the upcoming AAPS show in Los Angeles, and will ask that and other burning questions.
A related note: Symyx has also recently announced that its ELN Notebook solution is available in a hosted, software-as-a-service model, another boost for optimizing the lab, and I would imagine an announcement is forthcoming about how all of these developments will piece together.
--Paul Thomas
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
We've been using STARLIMS Lab Management Systems because all our labs perform critical and complex processes that require total regulatory compliance. We found through research that STARLIMS is the most effective web based LIMS Software
ReplyDelete