LabTwin Digital Integrations Start from the Small Scale
April 18, 2024
An efficient laboratory assistant (embodied or digital) that supports good science is doing three crucial tasks exceptionally well:
- tracking your monotonous functions like how long until something needs to be removed from the stir plate
- passive monitoring of stock and supplies to ensure no disruption will occur, and science can proceed on time
- listening to your every word for insights and monitoring procedures for verification
What makes LabTwin AI the superior digital assistant concerning these crucial tasks is more than just automating monotonous tasks and monitoring activities. A high-performing assistant is aggressive in processing and tagging identifiable information and reducing barriers to future analysis by tracking similar data streams. Integrating a digital lab assistant brings further benefits for seamless data movement and expanding digital space to reduce the paper footprint of a lab.
Beyond the simple functions of an assistant, LabTwin integrates with your existing digital architecture to provide automated data transfer, metadata digestion and alignment, and other interconnected efficiency gains. Direct integrations of a LabTwin digital lab assistant will allow for more streamlined lab functions, faster data capture, less time spent on monotonous tasks, and a more efficient lab.
Smooth Transitions with LabTwin OpenAPI Integrations
As an entirely digital system, LabTwin uses OpenAPI, which interfaces LabTwin with other systems. The protocols, tables, and notes schema require no development or extensive configuration. Information can be moved seamlessly. Calling information from instruments requires configuration, but not development, and this feature results in direct and measurable time savings. Passing barcoded information to a table to record data is simple communication between systems and instruments with accessible APIs and does not involve a long development cycle. This function does need to be configured to enable bidirectional communication. LabTwin’s automation of data transfers is an improvement in laboratory processes and procedures to provide scientists with more time to do science.
Although most cross-platform integrations have a reputation for being drawn-out processes, the assess🡪configure🡪deploy cycle for LabTwin is fast and relatively simple. Skilled assessments of lab processes during implantation and integration can generate detailed process maps in as little as two meetings. The configuration to align LabTwin data fields with long-term data storage, wherever required, is equally quick.
Setting up a protocol with LabTwin’s voice assistance capabilities is as easy as uploading the file and allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to generate the audio protocol. Consideration has been given to ensure that a guided protocol does not become a firehose of actions to be completed and instead has discrete actions to be checked off. AI digestion speeds up the process by allowing the scientist to skip directly to a review of the right pacing instead of slowing down to consider what discrete levels of data to capture in each step.
LabTwin digests your recorded notes using models trained to understand scientific terminology and pass the information on to your other digital systems. Using an “always attentive” system ensures that even passing ideas and improvements are captured. There is no scramble to get to a computer, dry-erase marker, or sticky note when your LabTwin AI is listening and ready to capture new ideas.
Maintain Focus by Integrating LabTwin with Your Inventory Tracking Functions
The internal materials tracking system in LabTwin enables group tracking of materials through a digital interface. The ease of generating an inventory list and avoiding duplication of orders and effort means less wasted time and more group cohesion for your lab. Attempting to get by using paper systems like sticky notes for tracking materials increases lab hygiene risks and requires attention to be pulled away from the lab bench. That sticky note must be kept contamination-free from laboratory chemicals and transported back to a workspace. That same sticky note could easily be a duplicate of someone else’s efforts to order more materials, and either scientist’s note is just as easily lost. Getting away from paper-based systems is a clear integration advantage.
While keeping your eyes, ears, and hands focused on your in-lab work, LabTwin is listening to add materials to its tracking function for replenishment. This information can then be pushed to your team’s standard supply list for ordering. A designated manager can then indicate when the material has been ordered so that there is an even more direct line of communication about what concerns have been addressed. This extra layer of tracking and integration prevents miscommunication and speeds up the inventory process. In isolation, this tracking is beneficial; when integrated to transfer materials requests to existing ordering software suites, LabTwin becomes invaluable for creating more time to do science.
Higher Data Capture Rates with LabTwin ELN Integration
The core of LabTwin is the digital assistant, capturing data in real time and assisting with any enabled task through its guided protocol execution. This call-and-response function works most pointedly as extension of an ELN, but can work equally well in the absence of an ELN. If an ELN is added later, the protocols in LabTwin will integrate seamlessly with that ELN implementation.
LabTwin provides a direct solution to ELN or other system integration challenges. The higher functions of a LabTwin integration will automatically move your notes with metadata to your ELN, another system, or a data lake. The OpenAPI specification can be configured to pull down your notes and information directly, with no copy–paste needed and no need to perform a precise manual upload. Configuring your ELN, LES, or other system data to enable bidirectional transfer is a measurable time-saving action, and this mapping between data streams is captured during the process enhancement documentation for integration with your digital systems.
Metadata helps keep your data aligned across systems and your analysis focused when using disparate data sets. LabTwin AI enables your metadata to be automatically tagged and then sent to your other connected systems. LabTwin’s metadata tagging function aligns with all modern LIMS and transfer is enabled by the unique calls to rows and columns for manipulating and transmitting metadata information in OpenAPI.
Conclusion
Pursuing digital efficiency is necessary to realize the time savings promised by becoming paperless. Integrated systems that pass information bidirectionally between systems designed to deliver on that promise without the incumbent risks of manual transfer are essential to digitalization. Advanced use of LabTwin enables seamless transfers and efficient use of lab and analysis time.
What could you integrate with LabTwin to improve efficiency in your lab?