Tomlinson Eban, Goodman Jennifer, Loftus Margaret, Bitto Stephen, Carpenter Erica, Oddo Richard, Judis LuAnn, Ali Shabab, Robinson Wyatt E, Carver Miranda, Ganea Mariana, McDonnell Kristen, O'Neill Diane, Starbuck Jennifer, Johnson Eric, Meister Erik, Pohl Jonathan, Spildener Jessica, Shurtleff Sheila, Sovie Sheryl, Melendez Cathleen, Krebs Pamela, Riley Jacquelyn D, Wensel Christine, Astbury Caroline, Azzato Elizabeth M, Bosler David S, Brock Jay E, Cook James R, Cheng Yu-Wei, Tu Zheng Jin, Cruise Michael, Henricks Walter H, Farkas Daniel H
Semaphore Solutions, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Robert J. Tomsich Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
J Mol Diagn. 2022 May;24(5):503-514. doi: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2022.01.002. Epub 2022 Jan 31.
The Molecular Pathology Section, Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH), has undergone enhancement of its testing portfolio and processes. An Excel 2013- and paper-based data-management system was replaced with a commercially available laboratory information-management system (LIMS) software application, a separate bioinformatics platform, customized test-interpretation applications, a dedicated sample-accessioning service, and a results-releasing software application. The customized LIMS solution manages complex workflows, large-scale data packets, and process automation. A customized approach was required because, in a survey of commercially available off-the-shelf software products, none met the diverse and complex needs of this molecular diagnostics service. The project utilized the expertise of clinical laboratorians, pathologists, genetics counselors, bioinformaticians, and systems analysts in partnering with software-engineering consultants to design and implement a solution. Concurrently, Agile software-building best practices were formulated, which may be emulated for scalable and cost-effective laboratory-authored software.
