EPSOM, ENGLAND, May 15, 2006 — ABgene®, a unit of the Fisher Biosciences group and a leading provider of molecular biology reagents, plastic consumables and instrumentation, is supplying the UK Biobank project based in Manchester, England, with 14 million SmartScan™ 2D coded tubes and a number of SmartScan™ 96 readers.
The project – a UK world first – will gather, store and protect a vast bank of medical data and material that will allow researchers to study in depth, in decades to come, how the complex interplay of genes, lifestyle and environment affect our risk of disease. Because it will involve thousands of people who eventually go on to contract each particular disease, UK Biobank will provide a uniquely rich resource that allows researchers to identify more reliably than ever before why some people develop a specific disease and others do not.
A requirement of UK Biobank was for cost-effective long-term storage of a very large number of samples, in secure, ultra low temperature archives. These samples needed to be 2D coded and machine readable. One of the reasons that UK Biobank chose ABgene because its SmartScan range of biological and cryogenic storage plastics feature a patented encapsulated code that is resistant to liquid nitrogen and the freeze/thaw process.
Longevity of sample storage is a key factor for the biobank, who anticipate that the samples will be stored and repeatedly accessed for several decades, meaning that other 2D codes which are fixed directly to the end of the tube could quite easily become damaged or deteriorate with time.
ABgene worked closely with UK Biobank to ensure that the SmartScan tubes could be fully integrated into the complete storage system at every stage. ABgene worked with other suppliers involved with the project, contributing to significant cost savings.
Dr Tim Peakman, executive director of UK Biobank said; “ABgene was closely involved in an iterative design process involving systems, process and technology. They came up with a number of different configurations, compatible with the automation for processing and storing the biological samples and an overall data architecture that ensures a reliable inventory and data confidentiality. Working together, we came up with a solution robust enough for the lifetime of the project.”
SmartScan tubes are just part of ABgene’s comprehensive range of 2D coded goods, including bio and cryostorage, scanners, readers, sample management and tracking systems.
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