LIMS: What It Means And How They Are Used

By Andrew Thompson


Virtually every lab that has ever existed has incorporated the use of what's called a laboratory information management system. The common abbreviation for this kind of thing is LIMS, which is helpful to know for anyone going into a laboratory setting for the first time and encountering this acronym. There are also other common names for the same type of system, such as LIS for laboratory information system, as well as LMS for laboratory management system.

The reason why everyone in the scientific community has to know about these types of things is that it would be impossible to find a single working lab today that doesn't have one. The reason for this is that scientific research laboratories nowadays have to go through so much information that there is no possibility that all of the data would be able to be tracked properly without one. It's not just about making the life of the scientists easier; it's about reaching new heights of scientific understanding, to help mankind in all kinds of different ways.

Tracking workflow is a major task in most laboratories simply because of how many people are often working in them and how much specific information is required. It is good to know exactly what happened, who did it, when, and any other information that can be given. This is often what makes the difference between an experiment failing and it going well.

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.

While every laboratory has this kind of system in order to serve a standard suite of purposes, these tools can also be extremely helpful in specialty laboratory situations. This means research facilities that are working in a specific area of science and research. This usually calls for customized information systems to help keep track of the data in the most efficient and helpful way possible.

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.

Just like there are many different types of scientists, laboratories, and branches of science, there are many different opinions on what the real definition of a laboratory's information system is. It is important to become familiarized with what the accepted definition in any given area or research is. This can help to avoid confusion as to what colleagues are talking about.




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