Author: Chris

Functionality Improvements

We have rolled out a number of small changes that will aid in the user-friendliness of the Achiever Medical system. These changes are now active on the Live environment, the Training environment will be updated in due course.

  • Appropriate Feedback when attempting to split checked-out samples
    Previously, if a user attempted to split a sample that was checked-out, the system would provide no immediate feedback, however the sample would not be split and the resulting sample summary would either be empty, or feature less resulting samples than expected. With this change, the user will receive a warning that the checked-out samples will not be processed, before proceeding with the workflow.
  • Sample Custodian field rules
    The displayed sample custodian is now a calculated field. If the sample is checked into storage, the custodian will be the Collection Lead. If the sample is checked out, the custodian will be the user the sample is checked out to, unless that user is a member of the collection team, when the custodian will again revert to being the Collection Lead.
  • Moving the location of ‘sample summary grid’ shortcut link
    If you wished to open up the most recently-created sample summary grid (displayed when adding multiple samples, or splitting samples), there was a handy shortcut available through any participant record. The problem here was that the sample summary screen was not based on the participant record from which the shortcut was followed, and this can create some confusion. Therefore we are moving this shortcut to the Achiever home screen, available from the ‘tools’ menu under ‘Last used Sample Summary’. To reiterate, this summary grid will display the most recent samples that the user created either through a bulk sample addition, or sample split operation.
  • Improvements to the Sample Summary Grid
    Alongside adding more functionality to the Update Sample Properties workflow, it is also a desire to improve functionality within the Sample Summary Grid, in order to streamline the process of adding multiple samples, and avoiding the need for support. Two new features here are the ability to tab vertically through the edit-in-place fields using ctrl+tab, and the ability to paste column data vertically from Excel into the sample grid.

 

If you have any queries or concerns please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Achiever team.

Achiever Data Cleaning

The Achiever Medical service was implemented in order to provide an effective and standardised method of tracking tissue samples held under our HTA license. In addition, it is also a useful tool for extracting data (eg for HTA reporting) based on the types of samples that are stored. In order to efficiently extract this data it is crucial that the data follows certain rules and adheres to conditions that all teams follow.

The majority of these rules are enforced by picklists – these are the selectable drop-down lists that ensure data is entered uniformly throughout the system. In recent months, as the Achiever team collaborates with new users of the system it has become apparent that some of these picklist options may be unclear. In addition, the original process for importing samples did not validate data by itself and therefore it used to be possible for erroneous data to slip through. We have recently introduced import validation, however we need to address some existing picklist values previously imported.

What kind of erroneous data are we talking about? For example, there are samples on the system where data such as ‘Vial’ is stored as a Volume Unit Type – this field is typically used for Volumes such as ml, μl etc. Vial itself should be entered into the Container Type field, and corrected to match the existing picklist option ‘Cryo Vial’. There are other instances where typing errors have crept in, so we have samples with derivative ‘Cytospins’ as well as ‘Cytopsins’.

We are looking to tidy some of this data up, and make some tweaks to the system to ensure more data validation occurs at point-of-entry. Rest assured that none of your data will be removed, simply amended for import errors or fields switched around. More examples of changes follow:

  • Eppendorf as Container Type will be changed to Microcentrifuge Tube
  • Eppendorf as Volume Unit Type will be changed and moved to a Container Type of Microcentrifuge Tube
  • Container Types Cryovial, Cryovials and Vial changed to Cryo Vial
  • Sample form ‘RNA Later’ to be removed, data stored as an Additive, with an appropriate Sample Form chosen
  • Container Type ‘ul’ removed were the data is stored in Volume/Volume Unit Type
  • Volume Unit Type removed where there is no Volume value
  • Volume values representing a cell count, where no Volume Unit exists will have the Volume Unit populated to ‘cells’

This work will be carried out over the next few weeks. If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Achiever team.

Forthcoming updates

Update: The changes have now been completed and all below functionality is now available on the Live system.

Following the recent Achiever build upgrade, we are now in a position to roll out some changes to the system. These have been requested by users in recent months and should make working with Achiever a little easier and more efficient. The following changes have been tested on our Development environment and are due to be published on the Live environment Wednesday, 21 December. 

New fields added to ‘Update Sample Properties’ workflow

We have added 3 fields – Sample Subsite, Sample Description and Pathology Code to the Update Sample Properties workflow, allowing users to add new samples containing these properties much more efficiently. In addition, you will now be able to find this workflow available from the Sample Summary screen which is displayed following the Insert New Sample Group and Subdivision of Multiple Samples workflows, so you don’t have to search and select recently-added samples again to update their properties.

Making Participant ID read-only

The Participant ID is generated automatically when adding a Donor record to a Collection. However, Achiever also allows users to override this field with any text, which can interfere with the auto-generation process. Because users are able to use custom IDs within the Second Reference field, we are making the Participant ID read-only and it will always represent the Achiever-generated ID, much like Donor ID for Donor records and Sample ID for Sample records.

Changing Donor mandatory fields

Up to now, when creating a new Donor record the user was forced to populate the Surname field. In many cases users have no specific data to enter here, so simply enter dummy data or a copy of the External Reference. Therefore we are removing the mandatory requirement on Surname and placing it on External Reference instead. In addition, we have amended the search screen which is used prior to creating a new Donor record to allow users to search by External Reference.

New Sample Additive field

A number of users require a way of storing information regarding sample additives such as anticoagulants used. Storing this data as part of the Tissue Type/Derivative is not flexible, and holding it within free-text fields such as Sample Description is also prone to error. Therefore a new field has been created within Sample Additional Details, named Additive. Currently this can be populated from a picklist including EDTA, Heparin, PAXgene and others.

Additional options for Informed Consent

Following a requirement to flag certain pre-2006 samples with specific consent information, and in order to differentiate them from samples acquired post-HTA, which use the specific consent types already available – we are adding two extra consent types. The new options are ‘Pre 01/09/2006 No Consent’ and ‘Pre-01/09/06 Consent’.

 

We hope these changes have a positive impact on your use of Achiever. Any issues can be raised via the usual support process, and feedback is welcome via the blog.

 

Achiever core build upgrade

Edit: The build upgrade was successfully completed Monday 28 November. Thank you for your patience during the down-time.

The current Achiever implementation was rolled out over 2 years ago. Since then, although there have been configuration changes, the core software has not been upgraded.

Following extensive testing, we are now ready to upgrade the system to the latest version. This brings about a host of benefits to the back-end, including improvements in speed and new features. In terms of the existing screens and workflows however, you will not notice any drastic changes and everything should work exactly as it did before.

Alongside the build upgrade, a number of fixes are being put in place including:

  • Fixing an existing issue with ‘Update Sample Properties’ workflow, which we will build upon to add additional fields in the near future
  • Fixing issues with E-mail Communications Activities/Notifications

To implement this upgrade it is necessary to disable the system this Friday (18 November) between 9am and 5pm Monday (28 November) between 9am and 1pm. Please do not attempt to access the Achiever Live environment during this time. If you have any issues following the upgrade please follow the advertised Support procedures.

The Training environment will updated to match Live in the next few weeks, details will be sent out in due course.

 

Guthrie Cards

Initial testing is currently taking place following the import of over 380,000 blood spot cards taken originally across the North East and North Cumbria between 1984 and 1994. This is by far the largest single bulk import to have taken place for the Newcastle University implementation of Achiever. These have been imported into the Training environment prior to user training for the Central Biobank team.

Thank you to all involved in acquiring and formatting the data.