title: iLAP: a workflow-driven software for experimental protocol development, data acquisition and analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, the genome biology community has expended considerable effort to confront the challenges of managing heterogeneous data in a structured and organized way and developed laboratory information management systems (LIMS) for both raw and processed data. On the other hand, electronic notebooks were developed to record and manage scientific data, and facilitate data-sharing. Software which enables both, management of large datasets and digital recording of laboratory procedures would serve a real need in laboratories using medium and high-throughput techniques.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We have developed iLAP (Laboratory data management, Analysis, and Protocol development), a workflow-driven information management system specifically designed to create and manage experimental protocols, and to analyze and share laboratory data. The system combines experimental protocol development, wizard-based data acquisition, and high-throughput data analysis into a single, integrated system. We demonstrate the power and the flexibility of the platform using a microscopy case study based on a combinatorial multiple fluorescence in situ hybridization (m-FISH) protocol and 3D-image reconstruction. iLAP is freely available under the open source license AGPL from http://genome.tugraz.at/iLAP/.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  iLAP is a flexible and versatile information management system, which has the potential to close the gap between electronic notebooks and LIMS and can therefore be of great value for a broad scientific community.
authors: Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 14, 8010 Graz, Austria. gernot.stocker@tugraz.at
authors: Gernot
authors: G
authors: Stocker
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Fischer
authors: Dietmar
authors: D
authors: Rieder
authors: Gabriela
authors: G
authors: Bindea
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Kainz
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Oberstolz
authors: James G
authors: JG
authors: McNally
authors: Zlatko
authors: Z
authors: Trajanoski
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D003628:Database Management Systems; D016208:Databases, Factual; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface