Streamlined sign-out of capillary protein electrophoresis using middleware and an open-source macro application

Area of Science:

• Clinical Laboratory Science
• Bioinformatics
• Medical Technology

Background:

• Clinical laboratory instruments increasingly interface with Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) via middleware.
• Implementation of capillary electrophoresis for protein electrophoresis presented challenges in transferring interpretive text data.
• Existing middleware solutions did not adequately transfer textual pathology report data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a solution for accurate and efficient transfer of interpretive text data from capillary electrophoresis to the LIS.
• To reduce manual effort and minimize errors associated with manual text data entry.
• To leverage open-source software for laboratory workflow improvement.

Main Methods:

• Developed AutoHotkey scripts to automate mouse and keystrokes.
• Scripts were designed to retrieve specimen accession numbers and capture user input text.
• Automated insertion of text interpretations into the correct patient record within the LIS.

Main Results:

• Successfully achieved accurate and precise transfer of narrative interpretation into the LIS.
• Combined with instrument barcode reading, scripts enabled efficient data transfer to the correct patient record.
• Automated repetitive tasks, simplifying and accelerating the protein electrophoresis sign-out process for residents and pathologists.

Conclusions:

• Open-source AutoHotkey software effectively improved text data transfer between capillary electrophoresis and LIS.
• Open-source software tools are valuable for enhancing laboratory instrument interfacing.
• The developed scripts streamlined the reporting workflow and improved data integrity.