Welcome to a new post on our blog. Today we’re going to take a closer look at the Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications in the refrigerated cabinets for pharmacies and laboratories that we sell at Coreco through our MedicalLab division.
The Birth of the Internet of Things
Let's start this article with a brief historical overview by introducing the person who coined the term «Internet of Things.».
The term «Internet of Things» (IoT) was coined by Kevin Ashton during a presentation at Procter & Gamble in 1999. He is a co-founder of the MIT Auto-ID Lab. He was a pioneer in RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification (for example, used in barcode scanners), for the field of supply chain management. He also founded Zenzi, a company that manufactures energy monitoring and control technology.
Perhaps this quote from Kevin Ashton, which he wrote in 2009 for RFID magazine, can help us understand the IoT at its core.
“If we had computers that knew everything there is to know about things—using the data they collect without our help—we could track and count everything, and greatly reduce waste, losses, and costs. We’d know when to replace, repair, or discard things, and whether they’re fresh or out of style.”.
”We need to equip computers with their own means of gathering information, so that they can see, hear, and explore the world on their own, in all its random glory."
Kevin Ashton
These quotes from Kevin Ashton should have given you an idea of the philosophy behind the development of the IoT.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at this technology and try to understand the fundamental role of the Internet of Things in the medical field.
Introduction to the Internet of Things (IoT)
In the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), a ‘thing’ can be any device with any type of built-in sensors capable of collecting and transmitting data over a network without manual intervention. The technology embedded in the object enables it to interact with its internal states and the external environment, which in turn aids in the decision-making process.
There are currently more than 20,000 million devices connected to the Internet, and that number continues to grow. There are nearly three times as many devices connected to the Internet as there are people on the planet. These figures more than justify calling it the IoT, or the «Internet of Things.».
Growth in the healthcare sector
Internet of Things (IoT) technology has grown so rapidly that it has already surpassed conventional technological systems in terms of features and functionality within the healthcare sector.
IoT applications in the pharmaceutical and clinical fields, the life sciences, wellness (which help improve quality of life and living standards), and retail are revolutionizing devices, especially those used in laboratories, pharmacies, and other clinical settings, providing them with immeasurable benefits.
One such IoT application is remote temperature monitoring, which we have incorporated into our refrigerated cabinets. The benefits of a remote temperature monitoring solution are immeasurable for industries in which temperature plays a crucial role in determining product quality.
Benefits of Remote Temperature Monitoring via IoT
Remote temperature monitoring systems have a wide range of applications. Below, we will outline some of the advantages these monitoring systems offer:
1. Instant notifications and alerts
A remote temperature monitoring system provides real-time measurements of the temperature inside a refrigerator. It allows companies to identify and track the specific requirements needed to store a product under optimal conditions. In addition, all this data is stored on a secure platform.
2. Productivity
The data collected by temperature sensors can be used to gain valuable insights. These insights can help us determine when products begin to deteriorate. Other data associated with temperature readings will also allow us to take proactive measures. Regardless of the type of merchandise, this helps companies improve the reliability of their products.
3. Accessibility from remote locations
Remote temperature monitoring can be performed from distant locations. The data collected by the temperature sensors built into the refrigerators can be accessed from anywhere in the world via a web application or a mobile app.
4. Ensure compliance with regulations
Products stored under refrigerated conditions must comply with safety and quality standards established by authorized regulatory agencies. Remote temperature monitoring allows companies to protect their products by controlling their temperature and thus comply with the storage regulations required for that product.
The Internet of Things in the Medical Field
There is no aspect of life or industry that has not been affected by this connectivity, and healthcare is no exception. The medical field is seeing more and more devices connecting to the IoT every day.
The value of the IoT in healthcare seems limitless at this point. The focus is entirely on improving patient and staff safety and on expanding the capabilities of doctors and other healthcare professionals to ensure increasingly effective treatments for patients.
Laboratories and hospitals are becoming increasingly smart. In the past, all healthcare staff had to manually interact with machines to do everything. The Internet has enabled machines to communicate with each other and made them easier to use because they can send and receive information among themselves.
Today, this ability to measure and communicate is built into nearly all refrigeration equipment, especially in the medical field. The devices can communicate with each other without humans even having to interact with them.
Why is this important?
For example, a remote temperature monitoring system can send an alert when the temperature inside a refrigerator or freezer gets too high, and that refrigerator or freezer can then adjust its own temperature if it has the technology to do so.
IoT Devices in Laboratories
The best example of an IoT device in a laboratory is a remote temperature monitoring system. These systems can do everything from tracking the temperature in your lab to checking for CO2 leaks.
What is the process like?
When the remote temperature monitoring system detects a problem based on preset parameters, the devices connected to it transmit an alert to other devices. These may be connected to the system itself, or they may be devices that staff use to monitor the alerts. (These are often computers, tablets, or phones.).
IoT devices are also extremely valuable in helping laboratories maintain the quality standards for medications or vaccines required by regulations. Most of these items must be stored at cold temperatures in accordance with specific criteria. IoT devices can ensure compliance with these guidelines without the need for human intervention.
Advancing Research
IoT devices enable laboratories to collect massive amounts of data and share that data for much broader and more valuable use. The IoT in the healthcare sector serves to collect a significant amount of data from many devices (not just those located in laboratories) and make that data available for use.
The ability to access all this data not only improves patient safety—ensuring that plasma, vaccines, or medications are stored under optimal refrigerated conditions—but also helps ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
In short: Reliable temperature monitoring improves patient care in medical facilities.
Benefits of Temperature Control Systems in Laboratories
Whenever we try to repeat a biological experiment and it fails, the discussion first focuses on the storage conditions of the reagents and the possibility that the operator may have deviated from the temperature protocol.
And although there are many other factors at play—such as the performance of other essential laboratory equipment, as well as environmental conditions within the laboratory itself—temperature is usually the first thing to check.
The use of technologies that reliably monitor the set temperature in laboratory refrigerators—and thereby identify problems that could affect experimental results—allows many of these factors to be eliminated from the equation. Furthermore, by connecting laboratory monitoring systems to the Internet of Things (IoT), data can be accessed remotely, facilitating a more efficient workflow.
Laboratory monitoring is becoming the norm
Monitoring laboratory refrigerators is becoming commonplace. According to Miguel Osuna, sales director at Coreco and Coreco MedicalLab. «Constant temperature monitoring is an essential requirement for cold storage, since refrigerators may contain thousands of euros worth of medications or vaccines and can also represent many weeks or months of work if they are being used to store experimental samples,» he explains.
«Lately, we've also noticed that people are looking for greater control capabilities in devices—not just to detect something as simple as a door that's been left open, but also to monitor temperature over a specific period, with the goal of identifying problems that are harder to detect using traditional measurement systems.”.
The Need to Collect Data
Although this isn’t directly within our field, it’s becoming increasingly necessary to collect useful data from all the equipment that makes up a laboratory. Our refrigerators are now joining other devices that traditionally hadn’t been connected to any kind of laboratory network —such as pH meters, balances, blood gas analyzers, and other instruments—but they have gradually been incorporated into the IoT in order to obtain increasingly accurate information about what is happening in a laboratory.
Environmental Monitoring
In addition to these controls, there is environmental monitoring, which is becoming increasingly routine in laboratories, where environmental conditions—such as temperature and humidity—can affect the performance of laboratory equipment.
The use of monitoring technologies to provide a stable laboratory environment can eliminate problems such as static electricity, which can affect the tip charge, and increased humidity, which can cause condensation when cold blocks are used on the deck, thereby ensuring more reliable operation.
Medical refrigerators and laboratory experiments
In addition to protecting a laboratory’s most valuable assets, the Internet of Things in medical-grade refrigerators helps improve the ability to replicate many experiments required for a study, as well as optimize all aspects related to their safety.
Another advantage of using IoT-enabled devices in the laboratory is that they provide continuous data logging.
Having all this data makes it easier to apply machine learning algorithms or AI (Artificial Intelligence) to identify trends that might otherwise have been missed or gone unnoticed, and it also helps ensure the quality and success of the experiment.
Manuel Mellado, Product Manager at Coreco, notes: »The devices built into our refrigerators have helped several customers detect temperature changes in their refrigerators, allowing them to perform preventive maintenance and thus prevent stored items from spoiling or experiments from failing.».
In addition, he adds, the device built into our units provides our customers with data for CFR Part 11 reports; in this way, we help companies that use electronic devices to manage documents and signatures to authenticate their electronic records.
Connecting Laboratory Refrigerated Cabinets to the IoT
Traditional approaches to monitoring laboratory refrigerators have required end users to manually fill out paper logs. However, the IoT—which allows refrigerators connected to the Internet to transfer data across different networks without the need for human interaction—represents a much more efficient way of doing things.
The devices we use in our refrigerators can connect via Bluetooth to a desktop computer, cell phone, or smartphone, which uploads the data to the cloud every few seconds.
In addition, there are no cables, so installation is very simple and allows scientists, for example, to access their stored data whenever they need to, whether from their office, their home, or another laboratory.
Mellado adds: «Being connected boosts productivity by allowing researchers to focus on their work rather than on maintaining or monitoring their devices. They can also receive notifications if there is a potential problem, enabling them to keep their devices under control with reliable technology.».
He goes on to say: «Like most modern devices, such as medical refrigerators, implementing IoT-connected lab monitoring may make us overly reliant on technology, but the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks.»
Laboratories are becoming increasingly connected
Given the advantages of laboratory monitoring technologies and the widespread use of IoT devices, it seems inevitable that they will become increasingly connected. Coreco continues to explore ways to incorporate smart technologies into its refrigeration equipment so that laboratories can access as much data as possible and interact with other devices within the same laboratory space.
Accelerating Digital Transformation: How the Internet of Things Is Redefining Laboratory Productivity
There has been much discussion about how the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to transform modern home life. These interconnected networks of digital devices and home appliances, linked via two-way communication with a centralized cloud, promise to streamline daily routines by securely sharing data on the use of technologies such as refrigerators and washing machines.
When we connect to our home or work devices, they learn our habits and preferences and will automatically perform many of our tasks or present us with simple options. The IoT is poised to simplify our busy lives and free up our schedules so we have more free time.
Home IoT
However, the technologies and principles underpinning the IoT in our homes are already having an equally transformative impact on the laboratory environment.
In recent years, connected devices (including laboratory refrigerators) have become increasingly important due to the advantages they offer in terms of greater efficiency, productivity, and regulatory compliance.
By aggregating data from a large number of instruments, predictive analytics can even be used to identify trends and insights to optimize equipment usage and performance.
In this article, we take an in-depth look at how the IoTT is redefining what is possible in the laboratory setting and how the latest technological advances are overcoming the perceived barriers to its adoption.
The Future of Connected Laboratory Refrigerators
1. Act quickly
Currently, one of the most significant advantages of having a laboratory refrigerator with connected technologies is the ability to take swift action if something starts to go wrong.
In a subsequent phase, by monitoring and analyzing the recorded data—and, if possible, trends in changes to instrument metadata, such as temperature stability—it will be possible to identify the onset of deterioration in stored medications or vaccines and prevent them from being completely wasted.
It is always best to take action before minor issues turn into major problems. These systems can then alert laboratory managers to the steps that need to be taken, such as helping to better schedule routine maintenance for the refrigerators.
2. Remote Support
Another advantage of the IoT is the potential for «smart assistance,» which allows users to contact equipment providers directly from the device when they need help.
This allows system operators to submit a support ticket or technicians to connect remotely to a device to diagnose problems.
By retrieving anonymous instrument logs or non-proprietary metadata, networked devices enable technicians to quickly pinpoint problems and get systems back up and running more quickly.
Metadata
Digital labs will also help companies operate more productively by enabling them to manage their assets more efficiently.
By using metadata related to instrument uptime, for example, laboratories can improve instrument scheduling and proactively balance workloads.
Similarly, defective equipment that is rarely used because operators—but not lab managers—know that it performs below optimal levels can be quickly identified based on usage metrics, and steps can be taken to address the issue.
By identifying opportunities to facilitate more efficient use of equipment, companies can optimize their existing assets to drive improvements in production.
3. Oversight of Remote Work
With users connected to the equipment via the cloud, another transformative advantage of networked laboratories will be the ability to monitor workflows remotely.
Laboratory workers who regularly analyze samples at night or on weekends typically spend a significant amount of time ensuring that the instruments are functioning properly during those hours.
Similarly, when equipment is located in different parts of the building from the terminals where data is recorded, staff can waste many hours each week walking back and forth to record data from their experiments.
3.1 24/7 Monitoring
24/7 workflow monitoring will allow users to check the temperature of their samples or experiments stored in the refrigerators, as well as receive notifications when their workflows are complete.
This simple temperature-control tool is incredibly useful for making the most of your time.
Connected devices, such as our medical-grade refrigerators, will allow users to access data that will improve their operational procedures with up-to-date information coming directly from the refrigerators.
By eliminating the need to manually enter measurement data from devices, networked laboratories can support strong regulatory compliance by reducing the risk of human error and providing more consistent workflows.
3.2 Workflow Analysis
Analytical workflows can rely even more heavily on the generated datasets (data libraries). These datasets are continuously updated, such as those used in applications for analyzing the temperature of medications, vaccines, etc.
This data provides insights that directly contribute to improving workflow within laboratories and clinics. As a result, laboratories can be confident that they are always using the best available information to make decisions.
3.2.1 Connected Consumables
It’s not just IoT-connected devices—including refrigerators—that help make laboratories more efficient and compliant; continuous technological advances also mean that connected consumables streamline laboratory workflows.
Thanks to barcodes, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, or near-field communication chips, laboratory staff can easily retrieve information regarding the usage history or model number of a specific consumable.
This allows operators to be alerted when consumables—such as gas in a piece of equipment—need to be replaced, which helps ensure optimal performance.
Furthermore, these technologies can be used to automatically configure instrument settings based on the layout of specific sample plates, which increases efficiency by eliminating the need to configure parameters manually.
Managing Cloud-Based Workflow Data Using LIMS
LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) is an essential piece of software for any cloud-connected laboratory, serving as a central hub for data exchange between devices, equipment, and people.
The information shared can be divided into two categories:
1. Actual results and measurement data
2. Instrument metadata, which consists of usage data such as instrument power-on times, system error logs, and the time elapsed between checks.
Cloud-based laboratory information management systems (LIMS) provide laboratories with a a reliable way to organize all this data, which makes accessing information quick and easy, while allowing companies to control what data is sent to third-party instrument providers.
Key Benefits of LIMS
One of the main advantages will be the ability to use a LIMS to manage laboratory data and provide more information in a very clear and visual way.
Thanks to interactive dashboards, LIMS will enable companies to monitor instrument usage and capacity in real time, allowing them to effectively manage their assets and make the best possible use of their equipment.
1. Storage and Visibility
When this data is stored centrally in a LIMS, it can be integrated with resource planning or instrument booking systems, which helps laboratory teams manage their workloads and collect data more efficiently.
This visibility into the workflow will also make it easier for laboratories to ensure that all data collected via IoT is accurate, consistent, and fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
2. Reduced maintenance
With instrument calibration records and maintenance history stored in a LIMS that notifies users when systems need to be serviced, laboratories will be able to actively manage their instruments and ensure that the equipment is always ready for use.
In this way, LIMS can help companies reduce the number of unplanned maintenance events for their equipment, while ensuring the integrity and reliability of the data.
Traceability in the Pharmaceutical Industry
In many sectors—from pharmaceuticals to the food and beverage industry—regulatory authorities are imposing stricter standards regarding traceability and accountability for the data generated. Companies are increasingly required to maintain complete audit trails detailing every action or decision made throughout the value chain.
With all laboratory data stored, accessible, and shared through a LIMS, these platforms provide laboratories with a quick and easy way to retrieve and review detailed audit records.
In addition, the powerful search tools built into the latest LIMS (cloud-based laboratory information management systems) software allow authorized users, such as laboratory directors, to quickly identify unusual or non-compliant behavior, which helps companies take preventive measures to maintain full regulatory compliance.
How can we securely organize data collected from the IoT?
The latest advances in IoT and laboratory IT solutions mean that companies are now on the cusp of a digital transformation that will revolutionize the way they organize their workflows and make decisions.
Despite this, many organizations find that they are not ready to make the leap to a fully connected laboratory. However, concerted efforts by manufacturers and technology providers are helping companies accelerate the implementation of the IoT within the laboratory ecosystem.
IoT in Regulated Environments
For organizations operating in more heavily regulated environments, the way data is shared, accessed, and used is a legitimate concern.
For example, to maintain the commercial sustainability of the pharmaceutical supply chain, it is vital that the security and integrity of intellectual property not be compromised. Similarly, information collected during pharmaceutical development must be stored and managed in accordance with regulatory guidelines.
Data Storage
Storing data in an uncontrolled cloud that does not meet the latest data integrity requirements, for example, could put at risk the compliance with regulations and result in significant penalties.
Fortunately, the latest cloud-based approaches to managing IoT data offer a robust solution. By collecting and managing all data on-site, modern LIMS systems enable companies to carefully control which non-proprietary metadata can be securely shared with suppliers.
These rigorous data segregation measures ensure that companies can reap all the benefits of a connected lab, while being confident that their own data remains under the organization’s control at all times.
Availability of Resources
For other laboratories, the availability of resources is another common barrier to digital transformation. It is understandable that many companies have legacy equipment and are not prepared to invest in a fully connected laboratory.
However, a common misconception is that the benefits of digital transformation can only be realized when all elements of the laboratory are connected to the cloud.
In practice, many of the benefits of digital transformation can be realized—for example—even when only one or two medical-grade refrigerators are connected.
In addition, for laboratories with significant legacy systems, there is also the option of enabling existing equipment in the cloud to support certain networked functions. This approach can serve as a useful bridge toward full laboratory connectivity.
Conclusion
The IoT offers enormous potential for laboratories to increase efficiency and productivity while ensuring regulatory compliance. Thanks to continuous advances in connected technologies and cloud-based LIMS platforms, these tools are helping companies reap the benefits of digital transformation.
Without a doubt—and specifically in the case of the medical-grade refrigerators that Coreco manufactures for laboratories, clinics, and pharmacies—the inclusion of these IoT-connected devices will represent a major step forward for our customers.
The Importance of the Internet of Things in Laboratories and Pharmacies
Your laboratory, clinic, or pharmacy may or may not be ready, but you need to plan how to deal with the Internet of Things (IoT); simply ignoring it is not an option.
You may be able to delay its implementation in your laboratory, pharmacy, or clinic, but that will quickly become an unfeasible option as more manufacturers—such as Coreco—continue to incorporate the IoT into our medical refrigerators.
The most reasonable approach seems to be to gradually implement the IoT, but within the framework of a controlled process that also minimizes the risk of security breaches.
What is the main feature of the IoT?
One of the characteristics often cited is that it focuses on machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Beyond that, as we’ve been saying, it refers to any device—virtual or physical—that can connect, directly or indirectly, to the Internet.
The consulting firm Gartner has predicted that by 2021, the number of IoT devices will be more than ten times the number of human Internet users.
Apparently, although the big picture of the IoT may seem fairly straightforward, when you’re in the midst of deciding how to implement and configure it, things can get quite complicated—which is why it’s always advisable to turn to professional consulting firms.
Benefits of the Internet of Things
The IoT brings with it a major paradigm shift in the way we work and think about our technological devices. The magnitude of this transformation stems from the fact that these devices now control aspects that were unimaginable until recently.
Another very important feature is that using the Internet of Things is completely intuitive, since there is no need to learn a new set of commands or procedures for each device.
Although most of the advantages will be common to all appliances, some may be specific to the intended use of the device, as is the case with laboratory or pharmaceutical refrigerators.
1. General Benefits
- Monitoring of chemical/reagent inventories and automatic reordering.
- Monitoring of controlled environments, such as server rooms or reagent storage areas, to detect conditions of excessive or insufficient temperature.
- Monitoring equipment for regulatory compliance or proper operation. This could range from monitoring refrigerators or freezers to incubators to ensure they remain within their optimal temperature range.
- Safety monitoring and remote communication with employees.
- Monitoring of sample temperatures, whether collected internally or externally, to ensure that they do not fall outside the regulatory storage temperature range. It may even be possible to record the actual sample collection point.
2. Specific Benefits
Other laboratories, clinics, or pharmacies will have more specific requirements, with widely varying levels of demands regarding their IoT devices. These could include:
- Verify patients' identities, locations, and conditions.
- Enable the entry of notes and comments, as well as treatment orders, using smart pens.
- Data acquisition from standalone instruments.
- Monitor the status and location of employees working alone using handheld devices.
At this point, we have only scratched the surface when it comes to the impact of IoT-enabled devices. In the future, there will be an ever-widening range of applications, limited only by our imagination. As we move forward, our medical-grade laboratory refrigerators will increasingly incorporate this type of technology.
Most Common Mistakes in the Internet of Things
Although the IoT devices we use in the manufacturing of our medical refrigerators are the most secure, we would like to warn you about the vulnerabilities that these types of devices may have if mishandled.
As with most technologies, IoT devices can have a dark side. Some of these problems may be due to errors in the design or programming of the devices.
Other issues often arise regarding the privacy and confidentiality of the data collected.
However, this occurs less frequently than active attacks on the IoT. So far, the main objective has been to gain access to IoT devices for criminal purposes.
Some of the largest attacks are often carried out to use devices for criminal purposes, such as gaining control over Internet-connected security cameras and other IoT devices.
In some cases, this “hijacking” of devices has not been achieved by compromising their security through brute-force attacks, but rather by exploiting oversights such as failing to change the password that comes pre-set on the device.
This is not the only risk, since once the security of a single device is breached, it can be exploited to launch attacks against other components of the network.
Depending on the attacker's intentions, they can use this breach to capture internal data, inject erroneous data, or actively sabotage computers, as the Stuxnet virus did (which is a computer worm that affects Windows computers, discovered in June 2010, and remains very dangerous to this day).
With some IoT devices, there may be little physical risk, but if the IoT devices in question control valves and heaters in a chemical production process, they could be used to cause a massive explosion.
Fortunately, although we are still essentially in the early stages of the IoT, many of today's IoT devices are being designed with security in mind. Many devices that were installed years ago can be tampered with, and the cause of the resulting problems can be difficult to detect.
In part, this may have been because manufacturers—whose engineers were not accustomed to thinking in terms of security—rushed to bring products to market without realizing how this was increasing the potential number of attacks on the network as a whole.
Best Practices in the Internet of Things
However, these security issues have not gone unaddressed; several different groups are implementing new security standards for both the design and implementation of IoT devices.
There are a number of steps that the lab director can also take to minimize this risk, namely working closely with the technology and IT teams within their organization.
Some of these steps are relatively simple, but someone must take responsibility for ensuring that they are carried out.
- Change the default password on all IoT devices before installing them. If the manufacturer has a fixed password that cannot be changed, choose another vendor.
- Make sure that all unused ports and protocols on the device are disabled.
- Ideally, all data transfers should be encrypted, and each device should use a different encryption key—even if the IT department has to set up a public key infrastructure (PKI) from scratch.
- Whenever possible, purchase devices that support OTA (Over-The-Air) firmware updates, which are delivered wirelessly.
- Don't buy devices with known security issues, even if it means sacrificing some features.
- Security practices differ between IoT systems and traditional networks, so it would be a good idea to train the staff who will be using the connected refrigerators.
- Make sure to establish a set of protocols to monitor what happens with your IoT devices, in order to ensure their security.
Summary
We have seen how implementing the Internet of Things can revolutionize laboratory operations—starting with refrigerators—but that it also carries risks.
Especially as manufacturers continue to explore this new paradigm, be sure to check whether the factory default passwords have been changed on any of the IoT devices already in your lab, clinic, or pharmacy.
If this has not been done, you should coordinate with the technicians to ensure that all devices have been locked, both to ensure the safety of your operations and to avoid potential legal liability.
If approached proactively, the IoT makes it possible to redesign many processes, improving both data quality and productivity.
Approaches to the Internet of Things
There are several approaches to implementing IoT devices. Currently, the most common approach is to incorporate a standard TCP/IP stack into the IoT device and have it communicate like any other network device.
The advantage of this is that it uses technology familiar to most phones, computers, and tablets, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
The drawback is that the cost of integrating the hardware and software needed to make this possible increases the cost of the individual sensors. However, it enables interactions between devices, making it possible to confirm that a message or a set of data has been received.
The alternative to sending via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
Even though we don't plan to use it, let's talk a little about another alternative for sending data.
This alternative approach involves using multiple low-cost sensors that incorporate a simplified or lightweight communication protocol, which is much less expensive.
It uses an extensible open-source structure that includes private data fields and is validated using a simple checksum called Chirps3.
For devices that report small amounts of data, using Chirps to transmit these readings significantly reduces the overhead on the packet structure.
The trade-off is that no acknowledgment of receipt is sent for these Chirps. The philosophy is that, because the sensors are so inexpensive, multiple backup sensors can be deployed, so that if a reading is lost, it has no impact on operations.
Regardless of the approach taken, it is still necessary to receive the data. This requirement can be addressed in two ways:
The classical approach would be insert code to its applications, such as a laboratory information management system (LIMS) for an analytical laboratory or a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for a process control system. However, this approach requires custom modifications to the system for each sensor that is added.
Another a more practical approach It involves using a IoT gateway, which could consist of a layer of middleware software on your network or a physical hardware module.
The purpose of this gateway is to aggregate data from IoT devices, filter out unnecessary information, convert it into a format that your laboratory instruments and applications can understand, and deliver it to them.
Coreco, medical refrigerators connected via the IoT
At Coreco, we are committed to quality and well-made refrigerators. This is confirmed by our compliance with all essential quality standards for our processes.
In addition to that initiative, we’ve added refrigerated units that can be connected via the IoT, and in this article you’ve learned how this benefits your laboratory.
At this link, you'll find not only this one but also all quality certifications that our devices have.
If you'd like to learn more about our MedicalLab product line, please feel free to Request our catalog.
