appMAGI: A complete laboratory information management system for clinical diagnostics

BACKGROUND: The increasing demand for genetic testing for clinical diagnosis and research challenges genetic laboratory capacity to track an increasing number of patient samples through all steps of analysis, from sample collection to report generation. This task is usually performed with the help of a laboratory information management system (LIMS), software that makes it possible to collect, store and retrieve laboratory and sample data. To date there are no open-source options that can manage the entire analytical flow of a genetic laboratory. appMAGI seeks to include all the management aspects of a clinical diagnostic laboratory, making it simpler to process many samples while maintaining the high security and quality standards required in clinical diagnostic practice. METHODS: appMAGI is written in python using Django. It is a web application that does not require local installation, making development, updates and maintenance a much easier task. appMAGI runs on the Ubuntu server and uses SQLite as engine database. RESULTS: In this work we describe an innovative LIMS called appMAGI designed to support all aspects of a clinical diagnostic laboratory. appMAGI can track samples throughout the diagnostic workflow and NGS analysis by virtue of a customizable bioinformatics pipeline. It can handle sample non-compliance, manage laboratory stocks, help generate reports and provide insights into sample data by means of special tools. CONCLUSIONS: appMAGI is a LIMS endowed with all the features required to manage thousands of samples. Allowing efficient management of patient samples from sample collection to diagnostic report generation. (www.actabiomedica.it)