Conferences or trade shows provide an important platform for sharing innovative ideas, new information and knowledge, irrespective of the industry type. The conferences also help attendees to meet seasoned industry experts, other professionals from the same field, clients, partners, thus keeping themselves updated about the latest technological advancements in the industry. With the legalization of cannabis in most parts of the United States, the cannabis industry is booming. Although the cannabis industry is nascent, a number of conferences targeting the cannabis industry are being organized at different times. These conferences focus on the various aspects of the cannabis industry such as cannabis cultivation, extraction, testing, besides research on cannabis science. No matter whether you are a researcher, a testing laboratory manager or director, an industry expert, a vendor, or anyone interested to gain new insights on cannabis science, you must visit these conferences to learn about the latest technologies, regulatory guidelines, and service providers.

Here are some cannabis science specific conferences to participate in 2019:

The 5^th Annual Emerald Conference

The 5th Annual Emerald Conference to be held February 27- March 1, 2019, at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort, San Diego, is one of the most significant conferences for the cannabis science community. The conference provides an opportunity to learn from the industry leaders. Around 1000 attendees are expected to attend this conference. The attendees include laboratory owners and scientists, researchers, extraction and production specialists, state regulators and accreditation personnel. There are a number of interesting talks by renowned cannabis industry experts. The talks are categorized into five different session topics, which include Cannabis Genomics and Chemotyping, Pre-Clinical/ Clinical Cannabis Research, Formulating the Future of Cannabis Products, Cannabis Extraction and Processing, and Current State of Cannabis Testing. There is a dedicated poster session on February 28, 2019, from 5:30 – 7:00 PM. There will be exhibitions by a number of vendors from the cannabis industry.

Analytical Cannabis Expo 2019

The Analytical Cannabis Expo is a highly targeted conference focused on cannabis extraction and testing science. The event will be held April 2-3, 2019 at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront hotel, Burlingame, USA. Over 150 attendees are expected to attend this conference. The event provides a platform for researchers working in the field of cannabis testing and extraction to present exciting innovations and developments to the attendees through oral and poster presentations. The day 1 of the event will provide an overview of the current state of the cannabis industry and the advances in analytical chemistry-based testing, extraction and technological developments. The day 2 of the event will cover the recent developments in cannabis genetics, extraction methods, and analytical testing, thus educating attendees about cannabis science. This conference is important to attend for all those who are interested in cannabis testing, extraction, and in learning about the regulatory guidelines in the cannabis industry.

Terpenes and Testing World Conference 2019

It is a 2-day event to be held April 11-12, 2019 at the Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Southern California. This is one of the most of the most technical and comprehensive cannabis science conference with an attendee turnout of over 3000. The diverse attendee portfolio includes industry experts, cannabis testing laboratories, analytical equipment manufacturers, medical practitioners, cannabis research outlets, policymakers, and consumers. The event focuses on spreading awareness about cannabis science, highlight innovations and procedures on the medical or clinical research involving analytics, testing laboratories, extraction, and horticulture. Several speakers are expected to deliver oral presentations at the event. The attendees get an opportunity to interact with the speakers and gain insights from their knowledge.

Cannabis Science Conference

The event is one of the world’s largest and most technical cannabis science conference, bringing over 3000 attendees under a roof. The main objective of the conference is to improve cannabis science and to bridge the gap between cannabis, science, and medicine. In 2019, the event organizers are hosting a semi-annual event, Cannabis Science Conference East, for the first time in Baltimore, USA, from April 8-10, 2019. The event highlights the importance of medical cannabis testing and research. A number of renowned scientists are expected to deliver talks at the event. Their flagship annual conference will be held at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, USA, from September 4-6, 2019. Both the events include an interactive workshop, Canna Booth Camp, that covers different aspects of the cannabis industry, such as cultivation, sample pre-processing and preparation, cannabis testing, extraction, and edibles manufacturing. A large number of vendors exhibit to showcase new technologies, instruments, testing data management tools, helping you to improve your understanding and knowledge of the various aspects of the cannabis industry.

The cannabis industry is flourishing day-by-day and so are the regulatory guidelines, analytical testing methods, and extraction techniques. To keep yourself updated about the recent advances in various facets of the cannabis industry, it is important to attend conferences focused on cannabis science. These events not only help you meet other professionals working in the same field but also exchange ideas and knowledge with them. The ultimate goal of these conferences is to advance cannabis science, thus making cannabis-based medicines and products affordable and accessible to the public.

For most laboratories, choosing the correct Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is their biggest data management challenge. This is because in today’s laboratory scenario, a LIMS is one of the most critical components of the overall data management and hence efficiency of a laboratory. LIMS are now in their fourth generation, and many organizations want to upgrade or modify their LIMS to ensure laboratory efficiency. However, the task of selecting the best LIMS architecture for an organization is difficult as many options are available in the market.

There are currently four different architectures of LIMS available, namely: Thick-client, Web-enabled, Thin-Client and Web-based. Of these, thick-client and web-enabled LIMS are all on-site systems with a one-time purchase option, while thin-client and web-based LIMS can be either subscription-based or one-time purchase options. One of the major differences between the two types of LIMS implementation, on-site and web-based, lies in the total cost of deployment and ownership of the system.

Advantages And Disadvantages

To understand the major advantages that each type offers and the disadvantages associated with them, it is first important to understand what each of these architecture offers.

1. Thick Client: A thick-client LIMS is architectured in a traditional manner with a portion of the system residing on-site on the Client’s desktop or workstation, while a small part of the system is connected to the server that plays the part of a data storage unit. All upgrades and maintenance activities has to be done on every client desktop plus the server. This is traditionally referred to as a client/server architechure.

2. Web-Enabled: The term web enabled LIMS is used to describe the add-on web browser component of an application designed to run in a client/server environment. This has usually been done as a cheap, quick fix for older client/server products rather than rewriting the LIMS to be thin client from scratch.

3. Thin Client: A thin-client LIMS is architectured to be completely based on the web, with no part of the system being shared on the client’s local system. To use the thin-client LIMS, the client has to be connected to the server in real time. Any upgrades for the system is done from the server side and is accessible to all the users. The server can be hosted on a private cloud or a public cloud. When hosted on a private cloud at the customer site, it is usually sold as a one-time purchase. When hosted on a public cloud such as Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud, it is usually sold as SaaS (software as a service).

4. Web-based: A web-based LIMS is essentially a mixture of thin-client and thick-client systems wherein the LIMS is essentially a thin-client LIMS hosted on a server but can be downloaded on the client’s end and be used as a thick-client LIMS. This is usually done when the entire system both thin client and server are running on a single computer.

Some major advantages and disadvantages of On-Site/Desktop Based (thick-client and Web-enabled LIMS) and Subscription Based/Web-based/Thin-Client LIMS includes:

Conclusion

From a user’s point of view, the most important advantage of a web-based LIMS is the reduced cost of implementation and ownership. Additionally, a web-based LIMS takes the pressure of maintenance of the system off the end-user as most service providers offer regular maintenance of the system and take care of the upgrades. The end-user also need not worry about data back-ups, which are again taken care of by the LIMS provider. Because of this, implementing a web-based LIMS does not require the user to establish a separate IT team to look after the system and thus, effectively cuts the cost of implementation. Another benefit is the ease of access from multiple types of clients including mobile phone, tablets, and desktops and from multiple sites which is especially useful in a multi-lab environment. However, before deploying either of the system, it is necessary for the client to understand which solution provides a greater advantage to the laboratory set-up. Thus, before coming to any conclusions, make sure the LIMS selected is the best fit for your organization.

What is Data Migration?

Data migration is the process of transferring data from a legacy system to a LIMS. A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is a tool that helps laboratories manage their data seamlessly and automate laboratory workflows. By adopting a LIMS, you can automate data transfer by integrating with instruments, follow regulatory compliance such as 21 CFR Part 11, audit trail, and intertwine disparate, disconnected data silos by bringing entire laboratory data under a central data repository. The sole purpose of a LIMS is to enhance laboratory efficiency, reduce turnaround times, avoid inaccuracies and typological errors by reducing manual intervention, maintain data integrity, and enrich clients’ experience by offering better and faster services. An outdated paper or spreadsheet based data management system is a significant barrier to laboratory efficiency and in turn, innovation. Hence, it is important to adopt a new LIMS to cater to evolving laboratory data management needs.

Need of Data Migration

Data is an invaluable asset to any laboratory. Modern laboratories generate massive amount of data on a day-to-day basis. The laboratory data can be static or dynamic and refers to any data related to samples, sample sources, tests and test results, studies being performed, inventory such as reagents, kits, test tubes, client information, etc. It is imperative to migrate legacy data quickly to a LIMS without loss of any critical data so that the laboratory operations are not disrupted.

Many a time, regulatory agencies ask for dated records, for example, test results generated years ago. Hence, legacy data must be properly migrated from the source LIMS to the target LIMS so that the data can be quickly searched and reproduced whenever required.

Data Migration Challenges and Measures to Overcome Them

One of the main challenges of transitioning to a LIMS is legacy data migration. Data migration involves numerous challenges that are proportional to the size and complexity of the legacy data. Some of the challenges are dealing with the existing configurations and customization, besides resource allocation for validation and testing. Validation is required to ensure that the data is migrated to the correct location or modules, the correct number of records are migrated, and the test results and reports are same. Migrating legacy data manually to a new LIMS is error-prone, time-consuming, and resource intensive. Some of the data migration risks are:

1) Risk of Data Loss: If any legacy data is not available in the target LIMS after completion of migration, it is termed as data loss. The target LIMS often has a new database structure or even a different database technology compared to the source LIMS. Hence, there are considerable chances of data loss.

2) Compromise of Data Integrity: During data migration, there are chances that data integrity might be jeopardized due to manual errors, redundant or duplicate data, and other anomalies.

3) Semantics Risk: An attribute in the legacy LIMS (for example, sample amount) may have the same meaning as another attribute in the new LIMS (for example sample quantity); however, the units of measurement may be different. Due to this, the data may be incorrect, despite successful data migration.

The challenges of data migration can be overcome through proper upfront planning and configuration of the LIMS to accommodate existing laboratory workflows. Besides, the LIMS must-have features to directly import legacy data by automatic mapping of legacy attributes with the attributes in the LIMS, saving time and resources. The LIMS should also be capable of identifying duplicate data and prevent its importing to avoid redundancy, maintaining data integrity. The LIMS vendor must either have their own data migration tools or have mechanisms to facilitate importing of legacy data seamlessly.

Conclusion

Migration of data from a legacy LIMS to a new LIMS is a tedious, time-consuming, and resource-intensive task. There are several risks and challenges associated with data migration such as data loss, compromise of data integrity, manual errors, etc. The risks and challenges associated with data migration can be overcome through proper planning and assistance of the LIMS provider. The new LIMS should be easily configurable so that the existing configuration or laboratory workflows can be easily accommodated in the new LIMS. Some LIMS providers offer data migration as a complimentary service. Their team of experts can configure the LIMS to match the existing workflows and can migrate legacy data using their tool or in-built data import features in the LIMS, helping save time, resources and achieve operational efficiency.

Also, read the blog: Important Factors in LIMS Selection

The basic function of a LIMS is to track samples and store sample workflow related information from the time it enters a laboratory until it is disposed. In this blog, we highlight some important factors to be considered while evaluating a LIMS solution for your laboratory. Finding a LIMS with desired features requires several factors to be considered, right from the deployment process, services offered, customization costs, and support and training packages offered by the vendor.

Here are some important factors that must be considered while selecting a LIMS:

Technology

When choosing a LIMS platform, technology plays a significant role. A LIMS built on a technology platform that serves as an enabler and helps in the implementation process is much more conducive to your laboratory environment than a LIMS built on archaic platform. A solution that enables to scale, is flexible and leaves a small IT footprint is a robust solution to your operational needs.

Security

It is important that the data is accessed by authorized users, at the appropriate authorization level. Provision should be made that even if there is a breach, the data still cannot be extracted since it is encrypted at rest as well. If the solution is a web based LIMS, should be hosted on AICPA developed, SOC compliant world class infrastructure along with multi-layered application level security. Additionally, ensure that regular database backups are taken and stored in a geographically distant data center for seamless data recovery in case of man-made or natural disasters.

Regulatory Compliance

Some of the regulatory bodies and guidelines laboratories need to follow are – ISO 17025:2017, ISO 9001:2015, HIPAA, GMP AND GAMP, EPA, FDA, USDA, GFSI, FSMA, CLIA. Please check if the LIMS you choose helps you follow and therefore comply with the guidelines applicable to your laboratory.

Price

You may need to consider the license cost, third party tools that may need to installed, customization charges, installation fee, hosting charges, technical support provided, cost of upgrades and the services the LIMS vendor offers.

Configuration

Configurability enables a LIMS to be modified to mirror laboratory workflows by altering screen designs, menu designs, terminology, report design etc. without the need for a software customization project than needs engineers to write code and modify the product. Configuration enables a LIMS to adopt to the changing operations and business requirements of a laboratory and can be done by laboratory personnel themselves instead of hiring a vendor to do so for them. A LIMS that offers configuration tools should be preferred since it saves on costly customization that require a large budgetary allocation.

Custom Reports

Reporting is an indispensable part of a LIMS because it enables users to get a clear picture of collected data and potential trends. The selected LIMS software should provide custom reporting templates based on your requirements and facilitate professional custom report generation by enabling you to add signatures, company logo, user notes, and images with a caption.

Do cross check all rating and reviews before buying a LIMS.