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Biomedical subjects

K A Emmerich

Publications and source records attributed to K A Emmerich.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

The combination of specimen tracking with an advanced AutoLog in a laboratory information system.

The ability to provide timely laboratory results is an important aspect of quality which must be continually monitored. In order to complete all testing before the maximum turnaround time requirements are exceeded, laboratorians need to have immediate and automatic access to the location of specimens and the status of tests ordered on each specimen. Any such automated approach must be able to monitor continually the status of work in progress, while simultaneously linking it to a specimen tracking (history) system that allows real-time tracing of the path of specimens through all laboratory operations. The authors have greatly advanced the capabilities of the AutoLog technology and have added to it a tracking system that captures specimen movement with minimum user assistance. This has been accomplished without the need to implement total process automation.

Automation↗

PubMed1995

LabLink--the key to multi-computer interfacing.

The growing complexity of computing environments requires creative solutions to prevent the gain in productivity promised by computing advances from being swallowed up by the necessity of moving information from one environment to another. LabLink is an interfacing tool for accomplishing such transfers in a clinical laboratory environment. It handles the automated data transfer among four systems, as well as providing substantial back-up capacity for critical operations when systems are down for saves or maintenance.

Blood Banks↗

PubMed1991

Migrating a clinical laboratory information system between technologies.

The technical revolution that has strongly driven events in the clinical laboratory for the last thirty years is now threatening to make obsolete what has become the central pillar of operation in many laboratories, the minicomputer-based laboratory information system. Some of its functions could easily be absorbed by the personal computers which are proliferating in the laboratory, but any single step leap between systems risks replacing order with chaos. Appropriate use of networking tools, together with essential software development, can provide a systematic migrational path for both the administrative and technical computer support from one environment to another without the trauma of a massive replacement step.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

PubMed1989

Long-term data storage in a clinical laboratory information system.

The clinical laboratory is pressured on one side by physicians and regulators who want the laboratory to keep more detailed patient records available for longer periods and on the other side by physical space and cost constraints which favor rapidly transferring such records to Medical Records or a warehouse from which retrieval is slow and difficult. Various forms of inactive data storage and archiving in machine-readable form are available to address this dilemma, yet these solutions can create even more difficult problems. Two different approaches were developed within the framework of Relational LABCOM to address both the intermediate and long-term storage of data. In this paper we examine the two methods as solutions to the problems, discuss their limitations, and determine why one is superceding the other in the installation base.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

PubMed1989

Computer aided manual leucocyte differential counting.

Over the last two decades numerous ways have been devised for automating the recording of the results of the leucocyte differential, ranging from computer-readable cards to very costly automated cell counters. The growing availability of inexpensive personal computers makes it possible to improve the counting and reporting of the manual differentials which still account for the bulk of these counts. This report describes the development of a system using a personal computer, either as a standalone device or integrated into a larger laboratory system, to assist the technologist in performing the differential count and in completely describing the results. It permits complete flexibility in function assignments and in information structuring to match the constraints of the laboratory host computer system.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

PubMed1988

The development of a third generation system for entering microbiology data into a clinical laboratory information system.

Increased demands on technologists' time and the desire to have electronic storage of patient information have led to numerous computer-based efforts to manage microbiology data. Our approach to the design of a new microbiology subsystem has been to maximize the functionality without requiring unusual input devices. DEC VT100-compatible terminals are used for data entry and display. Data are displayed taking advantage of such features of these terminals as reverse video, highlighting, and scroll windowing. Numerous single-key instructions for invoking functions and changing cursor positions have been implemented to minimize keystrokes and to anticipate the entry sequences of the technologists. A program that allows the quick location and display of specimens and results is also included in the package.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

PubMed1987

Implementation of a multirule, multistage quality control program in a clinical laboratory computer system.

We developed a computer subsystem that permits users to implement multirule, multistage quality control procedures. The subsystem runs as a task in the RelationaLABCOM information system and permits the collection of data from on-line instruments, as well as through manual (keyboard) entry. The choices of control rules and their combinations are at the discretion of each laboratory section, with the system automatically administering the chosen protocols for all the technologists working with the computer. Retrospective data analysis and statistics are available for review by laboratory personnel. The subsystem provides a significant improvement in the availability of real-time quality control at the bench.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗