Connecting Laboratory Data to Accelerate Development
Cryopreservation is vital to cell and gene therapy (CGT) and biobanking facilities that modify, store, or distribute cells. Controlling the rate of specimen freezing can result in greater cellular viability when the sample is thawed. To safely prepare samples for cryogenic storage, a controlled-rate freezer can help move specimens through the latent heat of fusion threshold.
Meeting Evolving Needs
For CGT and biobanks, collecting data about sample conditions supports the sample traceability, standardization, and documentation needed for successful collaboration. As researchers modernize their facilities and expand the connection of operations to building information management systems, laboratory equipment connectivity offers many advantages.
As CGT research moves into scale-up or production and cGMP processes are established, it becomes more important for information to be exchanged within equipment, between equipment, and from equipment to systems where data can be securely stored and accessed.
In a control system, there will always be rules between different levels to connect, find, and read data as information. For laboratories, this can create a real advantage when scaling up for GMP production and turn manual methods into documented automatic outputs from multiple machines.
What is OPC UA?
OPC UA stands for Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture, which allows for standardized information exchange. OPC UA is a well-organized and defined protocol for interoperability of instruments and provides data security, scalability, and the flexibility to work across operating system platforms as data is transformed into information. In industrial settings, OPC UA offers end-users building blocks that fit into their control system workflows.
OPC UA is easily adopted, but requires the same consideration of future needs that we attribute to the potential of bio-samples for use in discovery or therapies.
Thermo Scientific CryoMed Controlled-Rate Freezers
The CryoMed Controlled-Rate Freezer has OPC UA functionality to improve connectivity and enable efficient and secure exchange of data. It was one of the first cryopreservation products to meet the FDA’s 21 CRF Part 11 requirements for electronic records.
CryoMed freezers can integrate and communicate with your current programs to help enhance efficiency. The updated CryoMed user-interface firmware requests unique usernames with passwords, defines user roles, and retains audit and event logs. OPC UA also has security built into its protocols for access control, authentication, and encryption.
Use the CryoMed OPC UA Controlled-Rate Freezer with the CryoExtra and CryoPlus platforms for a complete system for preparing and storing samples and therapies at cryogenic temperatures.
Supporting Today, Developing for Tomorrow
As expenses increase, we know that you’re hoping to future-proof operations by incorporating sustainability planning into your goals. We’re also thinking ahead by adding OPC UA in more equipment and instruments to make it easier to exchange compliant and contextualized data, maintaining quality at lower costs.
Thermo Fisher Scientific strives to be at the forefront of innovation to help you succeed. We invest in research and development and depend on your feedback to determine which updates to undertake to stay current with the fast pace of technology.
The labs of the future will be able to leverage this machine information for predictive analytics and modeling data to determine the best paths to success.
