Modern Biobank Information Management Systems (BIMS) are a key factor for professional biobanks. They enable standardisation of data collection, optimisation of sample information and compliance with strict standards and regulations – the first step towards data sharing.
There are a large number of BIMS providers on the German and international market – larger and smaller companies, as well as academic providers. The software solutions they develop are equally diverse. Within the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), different systems are in use, as an internal survey has shown. Which BIMS is best suited for a biobank depends on local requirements and objectives. It is also important whether a biobank is active in different networks and whether metadata should be made available to these networks.
To support biobanks in selecting a BIMS, the German Biobank Node (GBN) has published a questionnaire. The answers to these questions, which were compiled by IT coordinator Dr. Cecilia Engels together with Dr. Daniel Brucker (Interdisciplinary Biobank and Database Frankfurt, iBDF) and Dr. Michael Neumann (Interdisciplinary Biobank and Database Würzburg, ibdw), should help to find a suitable system.
More information on the basic structure of a biobank IT can be found in the IT chapter of the “Starter Kit“ recently published by GBN.
More information and links:
- Engels, C., Brucker, D. P. & Neumann, M. (2023). How to choose your perfect Biobank Information Management System. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10063122
- Starter kit
