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Methods Inf Med 2014; 53(01): 29-38
DOI: 10.3414/ME13-01-0035
Original Articles
Schattauer GmbH

An Electronic Specimen Collection Protocol Schema (eSCPS)[*]

Document Architecture for Specimen Management and the Exchange of Specimen Collection Protocols between Biobanking Information Systems

Authors

  • O. Eminaga

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • A. Semjonow

    2   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Muenster, Muenster, Germany

  • E. Oezguer

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • J. Herden

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • I. Akbarov

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • A. Tok

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • U. Engelmann

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

  • S. Wille

    1   Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Further Information

Publication History

received: 27 March 2013

accepted: 04 November 2013

Publication Date:
20 January 2018 (online)

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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

* Supplementary material published on our website www.methods-online.com