Laboratory Information Management System for Emergency Response: Validation and Quality Assurance of Analytical Methodologies

The Emergency Response Management System is a customizable laboratory information management system (LIMS) developed to support chemical terrorism emergency response laboratory activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unique features of the LIMS include the following: (I) method profiles that provide an efficient tool for both validation and production experiments, (2) scalability of each assay to accommodate emergency surge-capacity needs, (3) standardized data formats for communicating between different instrument types and vendors, and (4) automated quality assurance communications that allow remote review and approval by CDC statisticians and supervisors. The system has been tested under exercise and real conditions for more than five years and has proved to be robust and effective.