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Introduction to Samples

One of the most important aspects of eLab is its ability to manage and maintain samples. By importing a sample into the system that sample can be readily located at anytime, whether in storage or while being used in a task. Not only will you know where a sample is , but you can access its property details and review its history.

Each sample has the following properties:

• Sample Identifier
  When a sample is imported into eLab it is assigned a unique identifier, the Sample Id. The Sample Id is composed of two integers separated by a hyphen. The first integer is the sample number and is incremented each time a sample is imported. The second number is always set to 1 for newly imported samples. As further samples are derived from an imported sample the second integer is incremented. For example, a Sample Id of 18-4 means that the sample was the 4 the sample derived (by means of aliquoting or performing tasks) from the 18th sample that was imported or created in the system .
  
• Other Identifiers
  This property is used to store any additional identifiers that you want to associate with samples. For example, if you receive sample shipments from an external laboratory this field is where those identifiers are maintained.
  
• Container Location
  This property describes the device that the sample is stored in and is often presented in the following format: <Storage Id> : <Device name>.  For example, 3: Freezer 1 indicates that the associated container is stored in the device named ‘Freezer 1’ that has the Identifier ‘3’. Usually samples are stored in fridges or freezers. Locations are created and maintained from the Fridges and Cabinets screen, see Introduction to Fridges and Cabinets.        
• Location
  This property describes the container that the sample is stored in and is often presented in the following format: <Container ID> : <Container Name>. <Row><Column> . For example, 18: Container 1. B3 indicates that the associated sample is located in the second row and third column of the container named ‘Container 1’ that has the Identifier ‘18’. Containers are created and maintained from the Containers screen, see Introduction to Containers.
  
• Row
  The value of this property corresponds to the row of the container where the sample is located.
  
• Column
  The value of this property corresponds to the column of the container where the sample is located.
  
• Sample Type
  Each sample has an associated sample type which describes what that sample is. For example, a sample of DNA has the sample type DNA. See Adding a Sample Type for the details of creating sample types.
  
• Volume
  Maintaining the volume, and associated units, of the sample gives users an estimate of the volumes available to perform tasks.
  Note: As tasks are performed on samples their actual volumes may differ to that indicated by eLab due to human an instrument error. See Editing a Sample for details on adjusting volumes.
  
• Owner
  The Owner property describes the person, group or role that created the sample. It is used when filtering worklist for users or groups and in creating homepage summaries for users.
  
• Concentration
  Use this property to maintain the value of the concentration of a sample, if required.
  
• Contamination
  The contamination property is used to associate one of the following levels of contamination with a sample:
  
  • Yes. The sample is definitely contaminated.
    
  • Maybe. The sample is possibly contaminated.
    
  • No. The sample is definitely not contaminated.
    
  • Unknown. No determination of any contamination has been made. This is the default contamination setting for samples.
    
• Collection Date
  This is the date that the original sample was collected on. For example, if the original sample was blood this is the date that the blood was drawn from the patient.
  
• Control
  If a sample is used as a control this property will describe the sample as a positive or negative control.
  
• Comments
  This field contains any comments attached to the sample
  
• Status (Task Status
  • Completed.  The sample has been processed by a task.
  • Failed. The sample has failed processing by a task.
  • Ready. The sample is ready for processing by a task or worklist.
• Created Date
  The date the sample was created in eLab.
• Status (Sample Status)
  • Registered.  The sample has been created and is physically accessible.
  • Pre-registered. The sample has not yet been received or created.
• Group
  The group that the sample belongs to.

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