What's New - May/June 1996
Aside from the new products that were launched at the
recent LIMS-10 Conference, the following is a wrap-up of other LIMS product
news of interest during this time period.Moves & Additions
Lab Task has a new web site at http://www.labtask.com
... Comlabs Systems has a new web site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/comlabs
... AG Communication Systems has a new phone number dedicated to
LIMS and can now be reached at (602) 581-4568 or by fax at (602) 582-7656
... Axiom Systems has moved from New York, NY across the river to
200 Meadowlands, Second Floor, Secaucus, NJ 07094. Their new phone number
is (201) 601-8888 ... Laboratory Information Management Systems (L.I.M.S.)
has also moved from San Luis Obispo to 870 Market Street, Suite 962, San
Francisco, CA 94102. Their new phone number is 415-433-5467 ... Dynamic
Databases has a new web site, it's http://www.eskimo.com/~dynamic/labmaster
... Information on the various AOAC International Sections and section
meetings can be found on the AOAC International web site under http://www.aoac.org
...
Automated Colorimetric Analysis
Labtronics recently announced Ion Magic software, which automates colorimetric
analysis using almost any colorimeter or spectrophotometer that has an RS232
port. Ion Magic will control a robotic sampler to carry out reagent addition
and supply the sample to the detector. The complete system can run standards,
QCs and perform standard additions. It performs all required calculations,
prints custom reports, and transfers results to the LIMS. The system performs
direct measurements and end-point titrations, and can carry out a wide range
of wet chemistries, including aluminum, ammonia, bromide, chloride, etc.
For details, contact Labtronics at (519) 767-1061 or by fax at (519) 836-4431.
New Chromatography Data Manager and Balance
Connect Announced by ASI
A new Chromatography Data Manager (CDM) Version 1.1 is now available from
Automated Solutions Inc. (ASI) (Southbury, CT). The CDM allows the analytical
lab to easily and rapidly store chromatographic information and chromatograms
in a secured Microsoft Access database, and is particularly appropriate
for GALP requirements. The newly developed Balance Connect Version 1.1 is
an addition to ASI's Chemist's LabBench instrument integration product suite.
Balance Connect allows the analytical laboratory to easily and rapidly build
wet chemistry analytical procedures such as total suspended solids and then
use the procedures to capture, calculate, compare and save balance or pH
data. For details, contact ASI at (203) 263-0060.
Version 2 of AT&T LIMS-plus Released
AG Communication Systems announced the release of AT&T LIMS-plus Version
2, which rewrites the original program for greater ease of use. Designed
for forensics applications, AT&T LIMS-plus increases the accuracy and
efficiency of forensic lab paperwork. The Louisiana Department of Public
Safety and Corrections, for example, recently purchased AT&T LIMS-plus
for their police crime laboratories whereby the software will be used to
automate tracking of crime evidence. For details, contact AG Communications
at (800) 288-5467 or (602) 581-4568.
New Market Report
Strategic Directions International (SDI) (Los Angeles, CA) has released
a market report entitled The Global LIMS Market: Standing Out in the Crowd.
The report assesses the market by both PC/microcomputer and mini/mainframe
systems, as well as geographic, industrial and application distributions.
The 117-page report costs USD $2,895 and can be ordered by contacting SDI
at (310) 641-4982 or by fax at (310) 641-8851 in the US. In Europe, contact
SDI France at +33 (1) 30 99 62 50 or by fax at +33 (1) 34 74 81 62.
HP ChemServer Helps Pharmaceutical Laboratories
Provide System Suitability Results
Hewlett-Packard (HP)(Palo Alto, CA) has enhanced their ChemServer products
to better enable pharmaceutical QA/QC laboratories to meet government regulations
that mandate system suitability calculations and reports. The enhancements
makes analysis review easier, and analysis results determinations easier
and more definitive. For details, contact HP (102) Chemical Analysis Group,
1763, P.O. Box 9000, San Fernando, CA 91341 or on the web at http://www.hp.com.
HP Announces New Analytical Training Catalog
Hewlett-Packard's (HP)(Palo Alto, CA) 1996 North American Training Catalog
(Literature 5964-432EUS) is now available. The catalog lists courses for
beginning to advanced analytical chemists and is available without charge
by calling 1-800-227-9770. For details, contact HP (102) Chemical Analysis
Group, 1763, P.O. Box 9000, San Fernando, CA 91341 or on the web at http://www.hp.com.
HP Announces PC-based HP ChemLMS Application
for QC Labs
A new pre-configured PC-based client application for Hewlett-Packard's (HP)(Palo
Alto, CA) ChemLMS is now available. Designed in conjunction with leading
pharmaceutical and chemical quality control (QC) labs, the new application
offers LIMS capabilities with the convenience of using Microsoft Windows
and NT desktop environments. For details, contact HP (102) Chemical Analysis
Group, 1763, P.O. Box 9000, San Fernando, CA 91341 or on the web at http://www.hp.com.
LabSystems Now Certified by SAP with New
Product
LabSystems/Thermo (Beverly,
MA) was formally entered into SAP AG's (Walldorf, Germany) Complementary
Software Program. As a result of a successful pilot program wherein LabSystems'
SampleManager LIMS communicated via a bi-directional interface with SAP's
Quality Management Module (QM), LabSystems was the first LIMS vendor to
become formally certified by SAP on May 7, 1996.
A new product, SampleManager Inspection Data Interface (SM-IDI) with a commercial
release scheduled for this year was certified by SAP. SM-IDI was developed
to interface SampleManager to SAP's QM-IDI (Quality Management Inspection
Data Interface). This link eliminates the need for custom interfacing between
the LabSystems LIMS and the R/3 system. Both production and laboratory personnel
will be able to use their specific systems while seamlessly exchanging information
between the process and the laboratory.
This product marks the end of the laboratory as an island of automation,
according to Pat Tormey, Business Development Manager "It provides
users of both SampleManager and R/3 with increased efficiency and effectiveness
of information exchange between laboratory and plant personnel. A key benefit
will be decreased turnaround time of product quality analysis results."
For details, contact LabSystems at (508) 524-1215 or on the web at http://www.labsystems.com
New SQL*LIMS Brochure
Perkin-Elmer Nelson (PEN) (San Jose, CA) has released a new brochure describing
the company's SQL*LIMS client/server LIMS, including information about its
features and benefits, and descriptions of optional complementary products.
For details, contact PEN at (800) 762-4000 or (203) 762-4000.
Turbochrom Announcements
Perkin-Elmer Nelson (PEN) (San Jose, CA) has several announcements regarding
their Turbochrom Professional Chromatography Data Handling System. A new
demonstration program is available that provides an interactive overview
of the product, as well as a new application note discussing networking
Turbochrom with Windows NT. A new client/server version entitled Turbochrom
Client/Server that was specially designed for client/server systems has
been developed, as well as a new Turbochrom Entry Level product. In addition,
a new Turbochrom Installation Qualification/Operational Qualification service
for chromatography data systems is available. For details, contact PEN at
(800) 762-4000 or (203) 762-4000.
New PE Nelson Listproc
Perkin-Elmer Nelson (PEN) (San Jose, CA) has started their own listproc
which you may want to join. Send a message to SUBSCRIBE SQLLIMS-INFO <your
full name> to sqllims-request@PE-Nelson.com to apply. There is also a
forum on CompuServe. This list server is available for PEN customers only.
For details, contact PEN at (800) 762-4000 or (203) 762-4000.
CAS Announcements
A division of the American Chemical Society, Chemical Abstracts Service
(CAS) (Columbus, OH) has several announcements, including the availability
of its 13th Collective Index on CD-ROM; several additions to STN International
including Japanese regulatory information, a new alerting service and zero
connect time pricing; a collaboration with Derwent Information on delivery
of drug information via SciFinder; new patent document service on the World
Wide Web; and, an agreement to develop electronic source material system.
For details on any of these announcements, contact CAS at (614) 447-3847
or on the web at http://www.cas.org.
EarthSoft and Camp Dresser & McKee
Announce Environmental Software Deal
EarthSoft (Pensacola, FL) announced that it has signed a contract from Camp
Dresser & McKee (CDM) (Cambridge, MA), one of the world's leading environmental
management companies, to use EarthSoft's groundwater, soil, and chemistry
data management software, EQuIS for Windows. CDM will use the software to
manage data from the firm's environmental assessment work, particularly
groundwater and soil remediation projects for industrial clients. For details,
contact EarthSoft at (800) 649-8855 or on the web at http://www.earthsoft.com.
EarthSoft and Delta Technologies Announce
Software Deal for Environmental Cost Estimating
Delta Technologies Group Inc (DTG) (Denver, CO) and EarthSoft (Pensacola,
FL) announced they are collaborating to develop and sell an interface from
both the government and commercial versions of the Air Force Racer/ENVEST
software to the EQuIS for Windows environmental data management system.
Racer/ENVEST is used for cost estimating of environmental remediation projects.
For details, contact EarthSoft at (800) 649-8855 or on the web at http://www.earthsoft.com
Charm PLS Improves Product Quality, Efficiency
with Real-Time Process Control
Process Analysis & Automation (Cleveland, OH) has announced Charm PLS
for LabVIEW (National Instruments, Austin, TX), a new collection of virtual
instruments for improving the control of product quality and enhancing process
efficiency using mathematical algorithms to predict measurements. For details,
contact Process Analysis & Automation at (216) 791-0069 or by email
at 100272.1202@compuserve.com.
National Instruments Announcements
National Instruments (Austin,
TX) has several announcements, including the availability of free evaluation
software of LabVIEW version 4.0 that shows users advanced virtual instrumentation
capabilities; a new guide to third-party products and consultants for LabVIEW
and LabWindows; a new searchable KnowledgeBase databank of technical information
on their web site; and a new free CD-ROM that provides one-stop software
shopping.
The company also announced the purchase of LabVIEW software by DeVry Institutes
and an interesting application of their LabVIEW product by Systems Engineering
Associates (SEA) Corporation (New London, CT). DeVry upgraded student laboratories
at nine of 13 campuses in the US and Canada with virtual instrumentation
hardware and software, while SEA recently used LabVIEW and GPIB instrument
control hardware to build a Macintosh-based system that tests the AN/BQG-5
passive sonar system used by the US Navy aboard SSN 688 class "attack"
submarines.
LabVIEW software is also now being used to help teach critical thinking
skills to visitors at Boston's Museum of Science (Boston, MA). A new exhibit
at the museum steps visitors into the role of the scientist, asking questions,
conducting experiments and drawing conclusions. The "hand-on, minds-on"
exhibit is funded by a grant from the National science Foundation.
Finally, LabView was also used in an experiment aboard the Endeavor Space
Shuttle that enabled live data to be viewed on the World Wide Web. Scientists
at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA) used LabVIEW to monitor
the status of the Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption Crycooler Experiment
(BETSCE) onboard the shuttle. The live data was available on National Instrument's
web site at http://www.natinst.com. For details on any of the above, contact
National Instruments at 800-433-3488 or (512) 794-0100.