Chances are, if your lab could talk it would have a lot to tell you. For instance, instruments would tell you when they were too hot, underutilized, or required calibration. Such a scenario is not as farfetched as it might sound. With the right tools, invaluable insights into the performance of lab equipment as well as tracking of the temperature and humidity of the lab environment are possible.
Your samples are likely integral to your research, and you trust that your freezers will provide optimal sample protection. What happens if your freezer malfunctions? Will you find out about the failure in time to save your precious samples? Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could get a notification instantly if the temperature rose above the standard limit. Good news. You can. New IoT devices monitor temperature and send out a text alert if the freezer goes out of spec.
Have you or another researcher in your lab ever accidentally left the incubator door ajar? Unfortunately it happens, and the repurcussions can be serious. Now, with a smart monitoring device attached to your incubator, your lab manager could be alerted instantly if the CO2 level is out of spec. Your problem could be fixed before you lose weeks of research.
Balances are among the most vital pieces of lab equipment. However, their accuracy becomes less reliable over time, and regular calibration is essential. Wouldn’t it be great if your balance could tell you when it needed to be calibrated? With an IoT device attached to your balance, you can seamlessly record all weighing data . In addition, a timer can be set to alert you to the need to calibrate the balance. And this way, it can be calibrated when needed and your measurements will continue to be reliable.
And it’s not just the instruments that could be talking to you. Your lab environment can also have unseen influences on your research. An HVAC system blowing too hard on an analytical instrument can cause the readings to be unstable and non-repeatable. Or what if the humidity drops too low? That can affect several instruments including liquid handling systems that measure out minute quantities of liquids.
With intelligent devices, continuous equipment and environment monitoring is possible, which can improve not only your peace of mind, but also research reproducibility, quality management and regulatory compliance.
So what is your lab trying to tell you? Find out more with an Internet of Things platform like this from Elemental Machines.
More Info