What’s new in this version?

Improved security

Using SMTP Oauth2 for Office365 and Gmail to comply with Microsoft and Gmail’s secure SMTP integration requirements, we added the highly expected mode.

Integrating OAuth2 has several benefits: 

• it allows you to read a user’s data from another application;
• it supplies the authorization workflow for web, desktop applications, and mobile devices;
• is a server-side web app that uses authorization code and does not interact with user credentials.

Check out our guides below ⬇️ on how to add this security to your instance.

Labels improvement, Risks & Safety icons

Now you can create barcode labels much faster, easier and more responsive. They will automatically adjust to the meanings that you add to your label.

We also added Risk & Safety icons to the label maker, which will allow you to have the corresponding pictograms on a label. This will help with the compliance of the lab and improve its safety.

Equipment and Reagents modules

We totally redesigned the Maintenance and Lots tabs with sorting, filtering and full support of dynamic multi-level custom fields.

Now you can have all the empty/not frequently used columns hidden. Click on a green circle, to extend and see more columns, and to return back click on a red circle. Sort columns by clicking on them and find needed equipment much faster. A search bar was added and the overall user experience was improved. Test it now!

Archive improved

While archiving projects is comfortable and useful, it was a problem to come back to them and find their code number. Well, not anymore! With this version, users can see and unarchive project codes that they need.

Find all of your archived projects and their codes easily, follow the next steps: Tools ➡️ Manage Project Codes ➡️ Archived Project List

Configuration of the user levels & admin access

Admin users can now have access to specific administrative areas chosen by Super Admin. This will help with managing LabCollector and your lab.

Configure the user levels that are allowed to delete records. Now have the option to decide who can do it and who can’t, just remember that non-Admin users can only delete their own records.

Learn how to manage users in our Knowledge Base 📙

Calculated fields

This field allows using a formula on a decimal and datetime field (and other calculated fields) to have an automatic result in view mode. Now supported in Maintenance, Registry Book, Risks and Lots Tabs, and allows performing needed calculations right in place.

Other updates

• Timestamp certification by Time Stamp Authority
• Name modification in the module form now displays a warning if the name is currently used in an autocomplete custom field
• Mol/SDF formats are now validated in the import
• Custom fields focus icons can now be enabled or disabled depending on the setup option
• LSM tab in a Documents module to automatically get a hardcopy of reports for the finished job
• fixed bugs
• check our changelog for more information

And many more! We believe that with your feedback we grow even faster!

Download LabCollector v6.11 and enjoy!

LabCollector intervenes on many points allowing the automation of laboratories. To know more about it you can visit our website.

One of the tools allowing automation with LabCollector is the Tube Sorter add-on. Receiving samples, positioning on a plate, creating instruction files for tube sorting robots, discover now how Tube Sorter can help you in your laboratory!

Tube Sorter add-on

What does this add-on do?

The Tube Sorter add-on allows you to organize the received samples or those in storage and place them on a work tray. The main application of this add-on is that it allows to automatically generate a sampling list and the necessary instruction files for the tube sorting robots. Many equipments are compatible with this add-on (for example: BioMicroLab, Fluidgim, Hamilton, Illumina) and many more are coming!

Find the list of equipment compatible with our solution.

Which tools are available?

Several tools within the same add-on are available in order to best meet all needs. Choose between 14 tools that are currently available for :

• Creating instruction files
• Generating samples manifest files
• Modifying existing plates

Connected to LabCollector Storage

This add-on is connected to the LabCollector storage. This implies a simplification of the processes. Indeed, once the samples are received thanks to Sample Receiving, the plates are already created with the location assigned to each sample in the storage. Generating a manifest file takes only a few minutes! The information about each plate is shared with Tube Sorter, where you can select the desired plate and generate the file automatically.

Interconnections between add-ons and LabCollector save considerable time and eliminate transcription errors.

How to use Tube Sorter?

Read our Knowledge Base to learn more about Tube Sorter.

Generate in one minute a sample manifest file

Merge 96 plates into 384 plate

Simplify automation with Tube Sorter

Simplify the creation of plate maps for your PCR with the Tube Sorter add-on. Select the option you need, and generate a file in a few clicks.

Your PCR machine, at the end of its run, will be able to generate an accurate result file with the location of each sample. No more transcription errors, Tube Sorter is an integral part of your laboratory automation.

One can imagine the impact this can have for a “simple” website. So, for a LIMS containing sensitive or even confidential data, this can be a real problem and lead to information leaks or even a significant loss of money.

To fight against these problems, several solutions can be developed such as data encryption, access management for each user (LDAP) or even a simple disconnection after a period of inactivity. But other means can be put in place. One can however improve the way to connect and access the LIMS by using Two-Factor Authentication and/or the use of a Captcha.

What is the Two-Factor Authentication system?

Dual Authentication or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a “strong” authentication method. When using it, the user must present two distinct proofs of identity in order to access their account.

LabCollector Two-Factor Authentication feature – code can be receive either by email and/or SMS

Most of the time, it is necessary to provide his login with his password and then a one-time code received most of the time by email or SMS.

Of course, this type of connection function requires an additional step. But this technique can help you to make your account less desirable to hackers because it is longer and more complex to crack. This way your data can stay safe!

What is the Captcha Test?

Today the term Captcha is used as a common word because it is becoming more and more widespread. But let’s take a look back at what exactly this term means…

The word CAPTCHA was coined in the early 2000s at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is actually an acronym that stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. This name refers to the Turing test. This test allows to determine if a software is intelligent enough to pretend to be a human being. Here, the goal is reversed, namely to determine that the user is indeed human by being more intelligent than the machine, which can’t decipher certain images.

The Captcha takes several forms today: a code composed of distorted numbers and letters, images to select or a simple checkbox.

LabCollector CAPTCHA test with letters and numbers

All these tests allow to bring the same answer: Are you a human being? Thanks to this test when you connect to your account, no hacker using a robot will be able to access your account.

What about LabCollector log in security options?

In order to counter external threats and to protect the data of each user as well as possible, LabCollector has decided to make available systems of securing access to the LabCollector account.

It is very easy to activate and adjust the settings directly from your LabCollector account. Adding Captcha, Two-Factor Authentication or both at the same time can give you more peace of mind about the security of your work data!

LabCollector configuration for 2FA and Captcha

You can read our Knowledge Base page to learn more about how to activate and configure these options.

Making your LIMS even more secure is possible!

With the rise of hacking and especially on institutions with important data such as schools, hospitals or important companies, laboratories must also secure sensitive data in efficient ways. Whether it’s research data or patient information, every piece of information is private and should remain so!

Making access to the LabCollector LIMS through the use of Captcha and Two-Factor Authentication is an important step to ensure that everyone involved can be confident that the data is safe!

Client web portal by LabCollector

To solve the problems encountered by laboratories and their customers, LabCollector has created a web portal, LSMRemote, which is directly connected to the LabCollector LIMS. Customers can access the required information they need in real time via the LabCollector customer portal. In addition, the LSMRemote portal offers clients self-service for seamless access to sample data, test results, test reports and invoices. To take it this a step further, the portal also provides patient access to the portal to register their data, send a test request or simply retrieve their results. (see picture below)

All information is collected and directly linked to LabCollector and especially to the LSM add-on. This makes communication fast, transparent and above all efficient! No more data entry errors and no more time wasted on purely administrative tasks!

How does the patient pre-registration work and what are the benefits?

If we want to take a test, a blood sample, a nasal swab, a urine test or anything else, we first have to go through the step of registering our details with the laboratory: Name, surname, address, phone, email, insurance, etc. This step is lengthy and not very pleasant for both the patient and the person in charge of the registration. In times of a pandemic, it is even more important to spend as little time as possible on site to avoid any risk of infection.

This step can be greatly simplified with LabCollector’s web portal, LSMRemote. It can be used by the laboratory itself as well as by the patient to pre-register his or her data.

1. Simplification of Data Collection

For example, if the patient wants to have a COVID test done, they contact the sampling centre directly or via their website, where they are redirected to the patient web portal.

On this portal there is a section called “Patient pre-registration“. Here the patient can fill in a form with all the information needed to create their patient file: Name, first name, address, e-mail, telephone, insurance, etc..

IMPORTANT NOTE: All information requested in the form can be personalised directly in LabCollector LIMS and more precisely in the Patient custom module. The information is then transmitted to LabCollector via API (Application programming Interface).

This step is quick and allows the patient to give their details clearly and precisely to avoid errors in the collection point.

2. Easier Sample Collection

Pre-registering information at the time of specimen collection saves a lot of time in preparing the order. The doctor using LSMRemote (client portal) only has to select the patient record by name and fill in only the information related to the test and sample.

When the order is sent, labels are created that you can print out and stick on the samples concerned. These barcodes are linked to the order and thus to the patient

In addition, when the order is sent, a token is sent directly to the patient via email or SMS . The laboratory using LabCollector can activate this option in LabCollector. The communication is therefore direct and transparent.

3. Enhanced Traceability 

Once samples are received and analysed using LabCollector and its add-ons (read our blog about LSM add-on), the results are reviewed by a validator, which then allows a result report t be generated, that is linked to the case record. When this report is available on LabCollector, it is automatically made available on the portal, both on the client and patient side.

The case record can be modified directly in LabCollector. All information, tests and reports are linked to this patient and allows a better traceability of the data.

4. Direct and Transparent Communication

No more calls and requests from patients to know when the results will be available! It is now possible to inform the patient directly about the availability of the report when it is generated on LSM and made available on the web portal.

It is thus possible to send an email or SMS notification of the availability of the report and the results for the patient.

Once the patient has been informed that their report is available on the web portal, they can access their results via the web portal using the token previously provided.

Speed, simplicity and transparency!

These are the advantages of a web portal that can be used by patients and makes the work of all medical and scientific staff much easier and more efficient. No more data entry errors, no more incorrect or missing information, everything can be managed directly online by the laboratory.

The customer saves a lot of time and can concentrate entirely on the patient!

Image Credits:

– Icons from www.flaticon.com & www.freepik.com 

Written by Nayana.T, PhD

In a laboratory everyone knows the difficulty of constantly managing and controlling the temperatures of freezers, ovens or even your reagent storage area. And yet we all know the importance of these parameters and the impact it can have on our work, our experiments, the money invested in buying everything … its success or failure. As an actor in a medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, testing or biology laboratory, you know the importance of storage parameters such as temperature or humidity of blood samples, molecules to be tested, cells, tissues, bacterial colonies, etc. Each of these elements is stored in a precise device in a corner of the laboratory and each device must work correctly to maintain the integrity of the sample, but unfortunately this is not always the case…

To avoid these types of environmental problems, AgileBio has created a new add-on, Data Logger, available directly on LabCollector v6.0. The Data Logger is a networked application that allows you to monitor 24 hours a day the environmental sensors of your laboratory and your instruments and then centralize them in the LabCollector LIMS. LabCollector allows you to set up regular email or SMS alerts if there is an error in any instrument or environmental parameter.

The Data Logger Solution

Ensure smooth working of the temperature, humidity, pressure, etc. from anywhere.

1. What parameters can be controlled?

With Data Logger you can manage a multiple of different parameters.

First, you can control Environmental Parameters: Temperature (low and high), Humidity, Gas, Pressure, Light (Day & Night cycle).

But it’s also possible to control some Energy Parameters: Conductivity, Amps, Volts, Power, Electrical consumption.

2. How does Data Logger work?

Simple, AgileBio provides sensor that you can connect easily to your devices. To make your lab life simpler, you can find and buy these sensors easily on our Storage Accessories website. This way, the information is collected on each sensor via the probes and sent to the LabCollector Data Logger add-on.

When the equipment is installed with the Data Logger sensors and probes, you can then set for each equipment, the expected values, the tolerance as well as alerts.

Finally, each user of the LabCollector Data Logger can easily find information about the equipment measurements thanks to the graphical display and retrieve data for a defined period (See below – 4.Data Logger & Quality Control).

3. How is one warned in case of malfunction?

How many of you can relate to a situation, when you were not in the lab and when you come back to work, you see that the refrigerator did not function properly or there was a power outage, not enough water to maintain the humidity of incubator, etc. Imagine that all of your reagents or samples stored in a freezer are no longer usable because the freezer has stopped working! You would have to buy new reagents and redo all the experiments thereby decreasing your efficiency and productivity.

Of course, all this could have been avoided if you had been warned that the freezer was no longer working. Imagine, if there was a way that all your instruments were connected simply to your phone (and computer). A single switch in any parameter in pressure, humidity, CO2 levels and you get an immediate SMS or email alert! It is in situations such as these that the use of Data Logger alerts is very useful. You can ask someone to take care of the issue or you can go yourself and save all your hard work and do any experiments as planned.

These alerts can be sent in two ways:

• Email: directly via the add-on (default settings)
• SMS: by using NET/GSM logger or SMS Gateway extension

4. Data Logger & Quality Control

It may be important for some labs to have time tracking of parameters and alerts.

Data Logger keeps all the data collected and also allows you to visualize these data in graphical form.

Ideal for quality control and instrument maintenance.

Don’t forget that you can also find Data Logger add-on directly on your smartphone thanks to the Android application LabCollector v6.0!

Now that there is a solution to manage the settings of your devices and your environment, your experiments and your work will always be safe and you will save a lot of time and money!

DATA LOGGER ADD-ON IS COMPATIBLE WITH ALL THE HARDWARE AND SENSORS OF OUR STORAGE ACCESSORIES CATALOGUE!

Buy your hardware and sensors directly on our online shop.

To help set up Data Logger add-on, please refer to our Manuals and our Knowledgebase.

Image Credits:

– Icons from www.fontawesome.com & www.freepik.com 
– Infographics from www.freepik.com
– Picture: Thomas Barwick from www.gettyimages.fr (Scientist looking in refrigerator in research lab )

We are launching LabCollector v6.0 with all new and exciting features.
We promised you to stay tuned with us for more information…….here is our other sensational feature in LabCollector v6.0…File Connector!

Uploading and editing documents became a whole lot easier with our new tool File Connector.

File Connector enables you to connect to different file editing systems allowing you to edit any file type easily and swiftly in real-time!

This means you no more have to worry about downloading or uploading documents to edit them.

The main feature of File Connector is that the file that is stored on the remote server of LabCollector, can be edited locally as needed and sent back to the LabCollector server on each save!

We never really realize that we do so many steps just for editing a file…..Right? and what if you uploaded the wrong file or forgot to save the edited version.
Moreover, what if your computer shuts down…battery dead, some issue!!! Does your file gets uploaded then? So many things that can go wrong which could cost you a lot of time.

To make file editing quicker and reliable, we have launched our new File connector software that saves you from all this hassle and makes editing any file easier and time-saving for you. Our file connector uses the TCP/IP settings to allow communication between two or more computers thereby making editing files easier even remotely.

All you have to do is open the file you want to edit and edit it. The rest is taken care of by our File Connector.

If you are using LabCollector and its add-ons such as Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) or Lab service Management (LSM) then you can imagine you will store the required documents with each record that you create.

For example, in ELN you can imagine storing an Adobe illustrator file for making high graphic diagrams or Photoshop to create paper worthy images or to store excel files, pdf documents, word documents containing protocols, or recipes or any raw result data. 

Our LSM is perfect for labs that carry our various tests and one can imagine uploading various word files with some reagent recipes or pdf files that could be needed during the tests or the results carrying excel file after the tests are performed. 

Whenever you wish to add or edit data to such files, what would be your first step generally?
Download, save, edit, save, upload and so on. right?

You no more have to go through this long time-consuming procedure. Our File connector reduces all these steps and lets you edit and upload the file in real-time. You don’t have to worry if during file editing you close the software accidentally or if you forgot to save. The file connector saves these files in the list when you reopen the file connector with the information of when the file was stored or modified.
Until you remove the file from by giving the “Discard” command, the file will be saved in the file connector.

You can even specify the software to open and edit the file in. It gives you the flexibility to choose the settings for which software you want chose to work with using the mask editor option.  (click on the link in the sentence to check out our Knowledgebase)

Editing files can make life much easier!

As long as you have specific software installed on your computer you can use it to edit your file.

To sum up, our File Connector offers you the versatility to adapt yourself to various file formats making it easy to store and edit data more smoothly.

Check out all LabCollector v6.0 today!

To help set up LabCollector v6.0 please refer to our Manuals and our Knowledgebase.

MacOS version….Coming soon….Stay tuned!

Graphics Credits: –

Graphics from https://fr.freepik.com/

Organize your lab EVERYWHERE with the new Mobile LabCollector app.
LabCollector now accompanies you anywhere around the world.
No access to Laptop, computer?
No worries, we got you covered…… with our new LabCollector MOBILE APP.

LabCollector has launched the mobile app making lab management easier than ever.
In today’s times which gadget do you use the most? Your Laptop or computer or your mobile? What is the first thing that everybody in today’s tech-savvy world sees when they get up in the morning? or when they sleep at night? or when they are traveling? We all know the answer to these questions. The fact is that no matter how much laptops and computers have conquered the world today, Mobile is still the King of Gadgets! We all love to see news, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp & play games on our mobile using apps.

Nowadays, we have apps for entertainment, cooking, business, dating websites, shopping of course! etc. So we did not want to stay behind anymore & allow LabCollector users to be just confined to laptops or computers. We have launched the new LabCollector app that allows you to access LabCollector anywhere. Almost every pharmaceutical company and most of the academic labs are taking advantage of Laboratory Information management software (LIMS). With the ever-growing research, drug & medical discoveries, we now rely on proper lab management systems more than ever thus making LIMS the need of every R&D industry. We at AgileBio understand this and thus strive to make LabCollector-user experience swifter. Our Mobile app will allow every researcher to make access to our LIMS solution from anywhere.

What does our LabCollector Mobile app offer?

You can now connect to LabCollector v6.0 not only from your computer or laptop but also from your mobile. If you are a researcher then you know that you keep on working on your inventory, protocols or research all the time. Sometimes even on late nights or weekends. Let’s imagine if you use LIMS software, which can only be accessed via a browser? We all know how applications work when they are opened in a browser on our phones. The user interface is less interactive, the page adjustments are not proper, and a lot of other inconveniences. To explain better visualize yourself opening Facebook or WhatsApp on the browser rather than using an app. Not very user-friendly, right! To avoid all these issues we have launched the mobile app that allows you to have a user-friendly experience while managing your lab.

Easy Inventory management

As a researcher picture yourself near the -80°C fridge and you are doing inventory & counting remaining tubes or vials. Now, where are you writing this information? Are you writing in a notebook? or are you taking pictures?
After this, you go to your computer and then enter this data.
How much time did you lose?
All this is because you cannot carry your computer or laptop with you, everywhere in the institute.
Not to fear when our LabCollector app is here!
Lab collector mobile app makes lab inventory management accessible from anywhere. You can take your mobile in the lab storage or near the fridge or liquid nitrogen and record the storage information in real-time. This will save you the hassle & time of recording inventory many times.

Barcode generation

Just visualise yourself picking up a vial of let’s say a reagent or a frozen cell line or a bacterial culture, for which you are searching a piece of specific information. You need this information in a research paper or to see if the vial is still in use or is expired or to be disposed of. How can one write all this information on tiny vials? Even if you do, the handwriting is sometimes unrecognizable or the data is smudged off, leaving you questioning if you should or should not use the vial. Don’t worry, we save you from all this drama. LabCollector allows you to generate and stick barcodes for each vial that you make. So now picture yourself again in a storage room removing a vial that contains a barcode, all you have to do is scan the barcode into an active field and you will have all the required information about it. So all you do is go, remove vial and scan…Voila! you have your information. All this is made true by LabCollector and made much more manageable by our new mobile app.

Other LabCollector Mobile Apps

The lab collector app is new but we have also previously released apps that make your lab management effortless.

Check out all LabCollector Mobile apps today!

To help set up LabCollector v6.0 please refer to our Manuals and our Knowledgebase.

Image/Graphics Credits:
–Icons from www.flaticon.com
-Graphics from https://fr.freepik.com/