Data Integrity with the ScanStation

Published on 1 October 2019 Data Integrity with the ScanStation

How to ensure your data Integrity with ScanStation, real-time bacterial monitoring

ScanStation records all photos, videos of bacterial growth, results and comments of up to 300 Petri dishes in real-time. Passwords, user management system and roles are parametered and guarantee a secured workflow, analysis, results and reports. The accelerated growth video provides the ability to ""go back in time"" and helps validate the results, as the operator can review early images to determine the original number of colonies, identified by a green cross.

Moreover, 21 CFR part 11 enables a data management by 3 levels: manager/analyst/consultant. You can also create as many roles as you wish. The roles and applications of the levels are to be defined by the manager: setting, verification/validation of results. The traceability of the relevant chronological record of operation is guaranteed by the audit trail. This audit trail is an unalterable file that records all actions since the installation of the software with a user and time stamp and is accessible at any time.

The access to the loading door is also protected: the unlock button enables physical access to the loading door depending on the operator’s rights.

For data export: after validation by the manager, the results are exported in the report to images, videos, PDF. The export can be basic, detailed by colonies with the date and time, graphic, number of CFU….

The US FDA, EMA and CFDA have provided the following key principles to guide good industry practice on matters from routine data through to documentation and training named ALCOA:

Attributable: all data should be attributable to the instrument to the instrument and operator and dated.
Legible: data should withstand the test of time
Contemporaneous: data should be documented at its point of creation
Original: original should be retained
Accurate: the record should be an honest account of the facts.

ScanStation was designed to fulfill all these guidelines to ensure data accuracy, security and completeness.

Data integrity