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 International
Forensic LIMS Projects
Showcased at IAFS 2005
Hong Kong, August 21, 2005. The upcoming 17th
Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS)
August 2005, in Hong Kong, will highlight STARLIMS involvement in
international forensics. STARLIMS is co-sponsoring the event and
will be showcasing two case studies: a DNA database laboratory and a
comprehensive forensic operation covering multiple-labs.
STARLIMS assists a forensic laboratory in the
efficient management of substantial quantities of data relating to
evidence collection, analysis and case management. The reliability
and accuracy of forensic information provided is crucial to its
proposed usage throughout the legal process.
By capturing all relevant evidence submission
data at the time of receipt, STARLIMS allows the forensic laboratory
to perform extensive evidence tracking through the “life cycle” of
the investigation. The comprehensive integrated electronic
chain-of-custody provides a complete record of evidence submission
transfer and laboratory activities, incorporating full transactional
audit trails, bar-coding and electronic data storage and signatures.
Data migration is facilitated and a backlog of historical data is
stored for retrieval. Statistical information is made available
pertaining to case results, case cross-reference, analyst
performance, case backlog, or other pertinent data related to
overall performance. STARLIMS supports compliance with standards
such as ASCLD and ISO 17025.
 Hong
Kong Government DNA Database Laboratory
The Hong Kong Government Laboratory provides a
full range of analytical, investigatory and advisory services to
enable Government departments to meet their responsibilities for law
and order, public health and safety, environmental protection,
government revenue and consumers' interests. Similar services are
provided for other statutory bodies.
The DNA Database Laboratory is one of the DNA
analysis sections in the Government Laboratory. Its main
responsibilities are to perform DNA analysis on samples from persons
convicted of a serious offence and those suspected of having
committed a criminal offence. The samples are set up in a
computerized DNA database and the laboratory administers and
maintains the database.
In order to cope with the large number of
samples, the DNA Laboratory has recently implemented STARLIMS to;
track samples/exhibits, manage the analysis workflow, integrate
instruments used in various procedures and with other analysis
software to minimize human interventions, provide data traceability
complete with chain-of-custody, audit trail and electronic
signature. STARLIMS also automates communications among different
government agencies such as the crime lab to compare sample
identities and statuses and by using FBI’s CODIS system a local DNA
Database is built.
By effectively merging Forensic Sciences with IT
Technology, STARLIMS assists the DNA Database Lab in accomplishing
electronic DNA Profiling and laboratory automation.
Forensic
Science Institute of Puerto Rico
Compiling the operation of fifteen (15) forensic
disciplines and four (4) Satellite Labs/Offices into one single
system is a major project. At the Forensic Sciences Institute of
Puerto Rico (ICF from Spanish Instituto de Ciencias Forenses) in San
Juan, this switch provided a new way to perform the analysis and
obtain results at the touch of one finger.
STARLIMS implementation at ICF to be presented at
the conference will provide a glimpse of the processes around such a
complex system. From evidence reception and its flow thorough out
the crime lab and the issuance of certificate of analysis.
Recently, ICF began providing access to other agencies within the
Puerto Rico Criminal Justice system to access their evidence data
regarding ongoing cases by means of the internet. Jose H. Lebron,
Chief Information Officer, Forensic Science Institute of Puerto Rico
will provide a live demonstration of this capability with the
STARLIMS web based technology implemented at the ICF.
About STARLIMS Corporation
As a leading global Laboratory Information
Management Systems (LIMS) vendor, STARLIMS Corporation delivers cost
effective, easy-to-use collaborative solutions to organizations in
the public health, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, forensics, food &
beverage, environmental and chemical industries. Full featured and
highly flexible our multilingual LIMS solution provides complete
traceability leading to regulatory compliance, without compromising
process versatility. A track record of more than 15 years has earned
us recognition for "future proofing" our customers' investments and
serving as a platform for new implementations and straightforward
conversions of legacy systems. |
