When choosing a supplier for laboratory instrument interfacing and linking laboratory systems it is important to understand that in most real-world situations, instrument integration is much more than just mere connectivity.

To maximize throughput and return on your laboratory investment, the integrating system has to automate everything that an analyst would have been doing manually, as well as handling the rather mechanistic issues of connectivity.

Automation of all tasks previously undertaken by users, as data flows from Instrument to LIMS and back again.

In practice, the 'automation' requirement tends to be close to 90% of the application with 'connectivity' accounting for only 10%. Consequently, CSols recommends that when choosing a solution for your laboratory, the main focus is on automation, rather than just simple connectivity, as delivered by alternative parser type products.

The CSols Approach

CSols' Links for LIMS product utilizes 'plug and play add-in' drivers to handle all communications with instruments and LIMS (they are also available for other systems such as SDMS, Calibration systems, Electronic notebooks, etc.). We also can deliver specialized components for other instrument vendors and laboratory suppliers.

Each driver is developed, created and tested by CSols through its GAMP lifecycle based Quality Management System. CSols' ability to 'map' technology against the working processes of each laboratory, ensures that systems are guaranteed to do what you need from the point of implementation. CSols provides a fully tested solution to meet your specific requirements - an approach that minimizes the validation costs of the system for customers in regulated industries.

Below are just a few of the applications that have been implemented using Links for LIMS and our Professional Services and Development Team.

DNA Profile Designation Software
This CSols software application automates the instrument interfacing link and assigns alleles. The software also identifies all artifacts before transfer of the profile to Innaphase (Beckman Coulter) LabManager iLIMS. The LGC Database holds over a million DNA profiles from convicted criminals and around 100,000 evidence profiles from unsolved crimes. Click the following hyperlink for Heather Hobbs - Contributing Editor, International Labmate article on this software application.

www.product-search.co.uk/internationallabmate.com/features/feb2001/newslims.shtml

Software for a supplier selling computer systems to the milk industry
As the computerized milk industry market expanded into Ireland, there was a need to interface to laboratory instruments. CSols developed Active X components for collecting serial data from a variety of instruments, which this software company now integrates into its own systems.

Active X components for a Robotic Systems Supplier
A robotic systems supplier needed a means of storing data in a secure way, so that it met the requirements of its customer. CSols designed a database and built an Active X component, so that this supplier could integrate secure data access into its existing software.

Olympus Urine Analyzers instrument links to Innaphase (Beckman Coulter) LabManager iLIMS
A urine testing laboratory needed high throughput instrument integration software for linking its Olympus urine analyzers to LIMS. Bar coded samples are loaded into racks and fed almost continuously onto the instrument. As the instrument scans each sample, it sends a request to Links for LIMS for which components to analyze. Links for LIMS (L4L) interprets the request and gathers all the necessary data from LIMS and passes it back to the instrument. Simultaneously, L4L collects results as they are produced and displays them to the user. AQCs are checked against limits and when the analyst has reviewed them, an approval action will send the results to LIMS. All AQC results are sent to a separate AQC system.

Zymark Robotic System link to Matrix LIMS
After initial setup, the system runs unattended, passing results directly to LIMS as they are generated.