Vials management

Physical vials are represented in visionCATS by their name or identifier, the Vial ID. Several rules about the vials are enforced in visionCATS.

  • Vials are common to all analysis in the software.

  • Vial IDs are unique (expect for imported vials, see below). Vial ID is case insensitive.

  • Imported analysis and comparisons will also import the vials.

    Note

    Imported vials are identified in Track Assignment and Vial/Substance Editor with the icon document-import_16.

    Important

    Each import will create a new vial, even if the ID already exists. This is needed to keep each imported analysis independent from the others.

  • Disabled vial cannot be used in new analysis. Imported vials are always disabled. See Vial/Substance Editor.

    Important

    Disabled vials are not visible when editing Track Assignment.

  • Evaluation will create link between substances and vials (also possible via Vial/Substance Editor). The vial/substance link is unique. After being defined, it can’t be modified anymore in the evaluation as soon as it is used more than one time.

  • Vials are not deleted automatically when they are not used anymore.

    Note

    It is recommended to regularly use the Vial/Substance Editor to deleted orphaned vials.

Vial ID naming

Aside the uniqueness of the vial ID, it is recommended to use a structured naming process.

For example, an S or R prefix to signify the sample or reference nature of the vial. Another part of the identifier could be a project number, and the final part a unique number for the vial in this project. This could give S12345-111 or R12345-001.

Reuse of vial

Reusing the same vial ID in different analysis should be avoided. If reusing, a vial ID should only represent a unique physical vial (with the same content).

Important

As the vial/substance link is unique, reusing a vial will not allow a new definition for the same substance.

Additional vials management features

The management of vials (ID) in visionCATS is limited to the needs of the software itself (and rack position for the corresponding instruments). If you need additional features, like vial tracking or barcode printing, you should use a third party laboratory information management system (LIMS).

The communication between visionCATS and the LIMS is made via the import/export (CSV) functions of Track Assignment.