As laboratories continue to leverage modern technology to improve their research capabilities, digital assistants are emerging as a valuable tool to help address data integrity gaps. Digital assistants offer many benefits to labs looking to improve data quality. Here are three ways that digital assistants can help.
Faster and More Reliable Data Capture
Many labs still rely on paper notebooks or other manual methods to capture notes and measurements. Advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools have made data capture through voice much faster and more accurate than these traditional methods. Digital assistants can record data with fewer errors than manual methods, with one customer reporting an error rate drop from 8% to virtually 0. With the ability to send notes via email or integrate with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), digital lab assistants can save labs even more time.
Here’s an example video, illustrating how users can recall data from their ELN while in the lab, then write results in real time:
Quality Checks, Validations, & Reminders
LabVoice digital assistants can include validity or compliance checks and set alerts for values or actions that are out of compliance. Using logic for each workflow, the digital assistant can ask a user to double check an unexpected answer, add a note or explanation, or gently remind the scientist a step needs to be completed or to pay particular attention for safety reasons. This capability ensures that data is of the highlest fidelity and any outliers are marked and noted as such.
In the below example, you’ll see a user pick up the samples they had requested from their internal team. At the end of the scanning process, they will be given an in-app report highlighting what they have, what they missed, and what did not belong to them.
Introduction of Consistent Processes
Manual lab processes often lack consistent documentation methods, leading to variances in single-step details and error propagation. With digital assistants, users can ensure consistency in process execution, improving data and experiment quality. Processes can be as complex as multi-day Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or as simple as replacing a checklist.
In the below video, you’ll see a workflow of standardizing the way by which animal health checks are performed.
In summary, incorporating digital assistants into the lab environment can help improve data quality, leading to more accurate and reliable research outcomes.
If you are interested in learning more about LabVoice and its digital lab assistant, contact info@labvoice.ai