Learning from the past to create the laboratory of the future
With EUROLabOffice 4.0 the successful EUROIMMUN laboratory management software enters into its fourth generation and also heralds a new era of digital laboratory organisation. Whereas previously the advantage of middleware lay in the possibility of managing a paperless laboratory, today the aspects of complete interlinkage – not only between different workstations but also between different locations – for reliable, traceable and rapid data exchange are the main focus. Therefore, the name EUROLabOffice 4.0 has been chosen quite deliberately in the style of “Laboratory 4.0” and “Industry 4.0”.
The fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 describes the intelligent networking of machines and workflows by means of information and communication technology.
In the light of increasing interlinking, the laboratory of the future needs to rethink the various processes and structures. Network-compatible laboratory instruments with intelligent functions, complex integrated automation concepts and efficient interface solutions are indispensable for a digital laboratory.
This interlinking is provided by the laboratory management software EUROLabOffice 4.0 (ELO 4.0), which is a flexible interface in the laboratory of the future to manage and trace the entire work process. The laboratory information system (LIS) sends and receives all data via a direct permanent interface with ELO 4.0, without requiring any intervention by the user. All work protocols are generated with the aim of efficient and cost-optimised processing. If, during the daily laboratory routine, spontaneous adjustments to automatically generated protocols are required, they can be carried out at any time. In the live view, the user can determine which patients, tests or dilutions to use next. The protocol is then calculated afresh and optimised accordingly.
Moreover, all workstations as well as automated laboratory systems are interlinked via ELO 4.0 to enable flexible control of all applications and information via the laboratory management software. It supports ELISA, immunoblots, chemiluminescence immunoassays (ChLIA) as well as immunofluorescence tests (IIFT).The automated image classification and pattern recognition for the latter is based on sophisticated deep learning algorithms. Furthermore, random-access instruments can be optimally connected. The improved data structure in the background allows both batch and random-access processes, thus providing the basis for intuitive control of workflows and samples, which is required for random-access processing. Analysis requests for each patient are retrievable at any time and unexpected changes can be quickly implemented.
ELO 4.0 not only allows data and information to be used and processed by all workstations within one laboratory, it also supports working across different locations. The permanent availability of IIFT and blot strip images is an especially important prerequisite to meet the demand for increasing networking.
Everything in one software and at one glance! ELO 4.0 consolidates all information and results from the different workstations and automated laboratory systems. They are then displayed in bundles in the patient history. This will provide the user with the reliability required for diagnostic decision making.
In addition, the visual appearance of the user interface in ELO 4.0 was redesigned to be even more user friendly. Through personalised filter options the user is able to access the required information in an easy and quick manner. The new dark design makes the user interface of the laboratory management software ideal for use in a microscopy room.
The beginnings of EUROLabOffice reach back almost 20 years. Since then, EUROIMMUN has been in a constant exchange with customers to optimise the software and adapt it to ever evolving requirements and digital possibilities. By close cooperation with users and through numerous installations worldwide we have built up a huge pool of experience. The fact that, in addition to developing our own software, we also develop test systems and automated laboratory systems enables us to optimally depict the processes of future laboratory diagnostics in ELO 4.0 and to interlink the whole intelligently as “Laboratory 4.0”.