Pipette Tracker™- Total Management System for QC of any Pipette Population

Artel has recently launched version 3.3 of its Pipette Tracker™ software. Tightly integrated with the Artel PCS® (Pipette Calibration System, Pipette Tracker provides a total management system for quality control of any pipette population.

The updated software brings even more convenience to laboratories by proactively notifying quality control managers and laboratory technicians through email when pipettes are due for calibration and/or preventive maintenance. The updated Artel Pipette Tracker software provides more tools to analyze pipette calibration and maintenance records, making it easy to identify poor performance trends early on. The software allows laboratories to set action limits, which will alert users when a pipette is nearing its individual performance specifications, allowing preventive maintenance to be performed before pipette failure occurs.

All calibration data is collected directly from the Artel PCS and stored in secure databases, facilitating easy report generation and compliance with Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 11, which defines the criteria under which electronic records and electronic signatures are considered to be trustworthy, reliable and equivalent to paper records. Aside from the usability updates, the Artel Pipette Tracker version 3.3 is also faster and able to manage larger pipette inventories than earlier versions.

'Regardless of research focus, pipette performance is crucial to data integrity,' said Dr. Bjoern Carle, Product Manager, Artel. 'With the ability to analyze the trending of pipette performance, and the possibility to alert users once the performance approaches specified tolerance limits, Artel Pipette Tracker enables laboratory personnel to take action before a pipette fails.'

In addition to recording each pipette´s calibration data from the PCS, Pipette Tracker version 3.3 maintains information on each preventive maintenance or repair event. This allows the laboratory to generate a complete history of calibration and maintenance data for each pipette with the click of a button, and receive early warnings if a pipette approaches its tolerance limits. The pipette calibration data can be analyzed in a variety of ways to generate customizable reports, including plotted graphs for easy visualization of the data. Pipette Tracker makes it possible to manage pipettes of any volume range with, including large-volume pipettes. This feature allows the user to manage the entire pipette population of an organization in a single software program.

Additionally, Pipette Tracker allows the user to print calibration labels and inventory labels for their pipettes. The software can also be used to acquire and maintain records of pipetting performance assessments and training of laboratory technicians, which may be required based on the regulatory framework under which the laboratory operates.
'We are always looking for new applications to make our systems as informative and easy to use as possible,' adds Dr. Carle. 'This update is part of our ongoing efforts to provide laboratories with resources to ensure quality results by better managing their complete pipette population.'