Date: 23/5/24
Unit 4: laboratory techniques and their application.
Learning aim D: understand how scientific information may be stored and
communicated in a workplace laboratory
Communication is transferring and/ or exchanging visible or verbal data
across two individuals or more.
Informatics is the science of processing data for storage and retrieval. The
data is collected and classified, which allows for large amounts of complex
data to be shared easily. Science data can be stored in large databases.
Some areas of science where these large databases are useful include:
- DNA sequencing
- healthcare records
- data relating to population surveys (humans/animals/plants)
- fingerprints.
Informatics is really useful because it helps companies, like AstraZeneca,
manage large volumes of data that change frequently. It is important that
the data can be organised and so easily accessed. Furthermore, the data
obtained can be available to a variety of research organisations that require
the same data and use it as secondary research. Informatics for healthcare is
essential to medicine and healthcare in general because multiple clinical
trials are carried out for the drugs used in modern society. Information will
be stored on clinical guidelines, electronic health records and communication
systems. To summarise, informatics benefits those who use it as well as
other parties such as patients.
Bioinformatics describes the storage and use of biological information.
However, there can be issues with gathering and sharing large amounts of
information if it is personal information because there may be moral or
ethical issues. Computers are used to gather, store, analyse and integrate
biological and genetic information which can then be applied to gene-based
drug discovery and development.
An example of bioinformatics are fingerprints which is an impression of the
friction ridges found on the inner surface of a finger; they start to develop
when someone is born never changing throughout the entire life which
makes it unique to the individual. Fingerprint patterns provide a method of
identification. The detailed analysis of fingerprints is based on minutia, small
,characteristic differences such as burifications and ridges along with loops,
arches and whorls that make up the pattern of fingerprints.
AFIS: (automated fingerprint identification systems)
- the dataset for an individual's 10 fingerprint is referred to as a “ten
print”
- these data are stored and analysed in bioformatics database systems
known as AFIS
- In the UK: the AFIS system IDENT1 has searchable records of 6.5
million ten prints
- In the US: IAFIS (integrated automated fingerprint identification
systems) is a searchable database of 70 million ten prints
(Reference 15)
There are 3 sort of categories related to bioinformatics:
- Data analysis - raw material is cleaned up for visual and statistical
interpretation.
- Software development - a software is made to do bioinformatics
analysis and to be used by other scientists in the same field. This is
what helps communicate to other research facilities etc.
- Modelling - simulations are made for equations to represent biological
systems.
The benefit of informatics is that it is efficient with the task it was made for,
helping researchers retrieve information quickly and feel assured that the
records they receive are accurate and complete. Healthcare professionals
have benefited from the integration of significant improvements in records
management, such as the implementation of cloud-based systems.
Furthermore, it is even more helpful by the fact that it can help summarise
the health records, medical imaging, and genomic data regarding the
patient; this overall improves decision making on behalf of the researcher or
healthcare professional. This can all be shared amongst a group through
their system no matter how much data is being shared.
However, the downside is that the information is important and must be kept
confidential hence why high standard cybersecurity must be put in place to
prevent security and data breaches leading to corruption or exposure of
sensitive information; this can be very costly for the company to keep
running regardless of a breach occurring as well as physical issues like the
infrastructure of the informatic system.
, There are also more in-depth benefits and challenges regarding healthcare
relating to the informatic system:
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information
electronically. For example, during COVID-19’s quarantine, the medical field
was forced to adapt quickly by ensuring care could be given in a drastically
changed landscapes. Increasing patient loads and technological limitations
proved to be a challenge during the pandemic, in addition to a rapidly
changing understanding of the virus and treatment for it, presented
difficulties for medical professionals. Fortunately, clinicians, researchers and
other healthcare and informatics professionals rose to the occasion, quickly
integrating telehealth services into their practices as the need grew.
(Reference 13)
Maintaining cybersecurity is difficult when cybercriminals are advancing with
their own methods of gaining access of information or financial aspects of a
company. If a medical company falls into one of their tricks it can set the
medical company far behind financially if the attacker’s intention is to steal a
large sum of their accumulated profits which could have been used for
research and development of a new drug. Hence why investing money into
cybersecurity is important but a challenge because there will be new ways to
go around it. Therefore, informatics can equip you with the knowledge and
experience to identify potential threats and the skills to make a difference in
protecting patients’ personal information.
(Reference 13)
Benefits of informatics would be the development, adaptation and
integration of AI to greatly help produce detailed diagnoses and treatment
plans from complex data and much more like helping to train new candidates
for healthcare in the latest health information systems, data collection
methods and analytic techniques. Furthermore, it can help professors
innovate new solutions to solve challenges.
(Reference 13)
Another benefit would be the overall improvement of healthcare quality. This
is done by a recent innovation and introduction of Clinical Communication
and Collaboration (CC&C) platforms, which are dedicated spaces for
clinicians to communicate with each other over HIPAA-compliant smartphone
or desktop applications. CC&C platforms allow professionals to send
confidential information, such as lab results and medication lists, safely and
