Conception, Implementation, and Integration of Heterogenous Information Technology Infrastructures in the Qatar Biobank

Abstract

The overall goal of the Qatar Biobank (QBB) is to collect, manage, and distribute high-quality human biospecimens with appropriate clinical and/or research annotation and associated phenotypic data, aiming to be an important and essential resource of medical research and evidence-based health care system policies in Qatar. To manage and collect large volumes of data, the QBB has been investing in a number of information management solutions, trying to avoid inflexibility of traditional systems and accommodate changes in data sources and workflows. This article aims to present the information technology solutions of QBB based on a free, open-source software solution, considered a reliable alternative to commercial solutions. After evaluating the free, open-source software solutions available for biobanks, Onyx from ObiBa was utilized to develop custom components to interface various clinical devices, LIMS and Picture Archiving and Communication System, which has varying integration capabilities. This is a showcase for biobanks to carefully evaluate and select hardware and software to automate their operations providing the functions required for business continuity.