Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Combing Through Samples to Eliminate Knots


Here at WRI, we have a growing inventory of Clinical Breast Care Project (CBCP) blood and tissue samples totaling 80,000 aliquots.  We have been collecting and storing samples since 2001.  Every sample donated is a valuable asset for our biomedical research activities.  We manage our inventory using quality standards so that we can provide high quality specimens to our research scientists.  Therefore our aim is to reduce errors to the barest minimum (as is humanly possible).   
To ensure these goals are met, we perform regular Sample Quality Assurance (SQA). One of our SQA was performed on CBCP samples collected prior to December 2007.  We predicted there would be some errors made in the early days of sample collection especially since we have modified our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) over the years.  This SQA was the first that represented a time frame of this magnitude.
The project was initiated in August 2010 and completed in December 2011.  Boxes were physically pulled from the freezers and compared to sample records in our electronic databases.  It was not practical to check every individual sample so we formulated a plan to check 20% of blood samples per box and 100% of tissue samples per box.  Sample discrepancies were corrected and logged onto our Quality Assurance tracking database.  Paper and electronic records were kept during the SQA project to monitor progress and keep track of corrections.
The SQA project allowed us to check 19.7% of our total CBCP inventory.  We observed an error rate of 2.5%.The most common errors were from hand written information on sample tubes. We observed during this SQA exercise that errors were more common during the earlier years when we did not utilize a bar coding system. 
 We have since implemented a bar-coding system which has decreased data entry time and errors.  We also continually update and improve our SOP’s for sample collection, processing, and storage.  All inventory errors have so far been corrected. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Biorepository……………Drug Discovery




Biorepositories and Drug Discovery go hand in hand.

The role of the specimen Donor in this relationship cannot be overestimated.
The flow chart above summarizes the inter-relationship between all of these entities.

A
Donor provides specimens which are procured by specialized entities (surgeons, pathologists, nurses, etc)
These specimens include body fluids and solid tissue.

B
These specimens are processed in the tissue bank in a variety of specialized ways to meet the research demands

C
Using a wide variety of technologies, the scientists utilize the processed products to generate data, which forms the core/lead for new drugs.

The tissue bank at Windber Research Institute is part of this cycle and we are constantly operating at the highest level of efficiency to ensure the success of new drug development projects.

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Ebb and Flow of Liquid Nitrogen through the Years


Portable Dewar from the "old" days

When the tissue bank was established, our liquid nitrogen freezers were attached to portable dewar tanks which had to be exchanged periodically.  In order to get the tanks into our building, they had to be wheeled up a rather long ramp.  This process was not easy and required more than one person to heave the tanks to their destination.  I imagine the architect did not take into consideration how much exertion would be required to move a large tank up a long hill… As we grew and moved into a new facility, we switched to two 1500 gallon stationary bulk tanks for our supply source.  We monitored the levels in the tanks daily and telephoned in our order every 2 weeks.

Filling bulk tank with liquid nitrogen

Several years later, we transitioned to one 3000 gallon tank. The  video below shows the venting of liquid nitrogen out of the tank into the atmosphere.  This had to be done before the unit was taken out of service.  If I had planned ahead, we would have had enough Dippin Dots for the entire department. The larger 3000 gallon tank offered several improvements.  Along with a cost savings, there are less frequent fill ups and a high-tech monitoring system.  The new tank is equipped with wireless telemetry allowing remote monitoring of the nitrogen level.  Deliveries of nitrogen are automatically scheduled without a call from us!