Summary
Background: The integrity of collection protocols in biobanking is essential for a high-quality
sample preparation process. However, there is not currently a well-defined universal
method for integrating collection protocols in the biobanking information system (BIMS).
Therefore, an electronic schema of the collection protocol that is based on Extensible
Markup Language (XML) is required to maintain the integrity and enable the exchange
of collection protocols.
Materials and Methods: The development and implementation of an electronic specimen collection protocol
schema (eSCPS) was performed at two institutions (Muenster and Cologne) in three stages.
First, we analyzed the infrastructure that was already established at both the biorepository
and the hospital information systems of these institutions and determined the requirements
for the sufficient preparation of specimens and documentation. Second, we designed
an eSCPS according to these requirements. Fi -nally, a prospective study was conducted
to implement and evaluate the novel schema in the current BIMS.
Results: We designed an eSCPS that provides all of the relevant information about
collection protocols. Ten electronic collection protocols were generated using the
supplementary Protocol Editor tool, and these protocols were successfully implemented
in the existing BIMS. Moreover, an electronic list of collection protocols for the
current studies being performed at each institution was included, new collection protocols
were added, and the existing protocols were redesigned to be modifiable. The documentation
time was significantly reduced after implementing the eSCPS (5 ± 2 min vs. 7 ± 3 min;
p = 0.0002).
Conclusion: The eSCPS improves the integrity and facilitates the exchange of specimen collection
protocols in the existing open-source BIMS.
Keywords
Biobanking - eSCPS - electronic specimen collection protocol - prostate cancer and
BIMS
