Equipment

Storage

The biomaterials are stored at RT, -4°C, -20°C, in our -80°C freezer facility with 26 freezers or in -196°C nitrogen tanks. A major advantage of our centralized -80°C freezer facility is that the compressors (which generate heat) are located in a separate room from the freezers where the temperature needs to remain cold. This results in more efficient cooling. In addition, we have two compressors to cool the freezers of which one can compensate for the other if it breaks down. The freezers are under 24-hour monitoring to further guarantee the quality of the materials in the event of equipment failure.

Material processing/registration

All biobank biomaterials are registered directly into the biobank application tool (BAT) or imported into it from other, diagnostic, systems. BAT is our in-house developed biobank information management system for processing and registering biobank material. Because it is developed specifically for us and by us, it seamlessly integrates with our work and allows for easy adjustments or additions. All biomaterials can be requested through the Application & Request Tool (ART), our laboratory information management system, following IRB registration and approval of the intended use.