Staying Ahead of the Game in Clinical Trial Sample Tracking: How LabConnect Delivers Unmatched Visibility

Sample tracking is often an overlooked yet critical component in clinical trials. While many assume it’s as simple as seeing where a shipment is and when it’s delivered, similar to tracking a package you ordered online, the reality is far more complex than that. Sample tracking is about ensuring that every specimen is collected, handled, and analyzed correctly in order to maintain data integrity, meet compliance requirements, and keep trials on track.

LabConnect is redefining what’s possible in sample tracking, providing sponsors and CROs the visibility they need to mitigate risks, prevent costly delays, and ensure every patient visit contributes to a complete and accurate dataset.

A Day in the Life of a Clinical Trial Sample

Sample tracking isn’t just about knowing where a sample is in transit, it begins long before that. From selecting the correct collection kit and following protocol-specific procedures to ensuring that every collected sample reaches its destination intact and on time, sample tracking plays an important role in the success of a clinical trial.

A lack of robust tracking can result in missing samples, incorrect data points, and, in some cases, the loss of an entire patient’s data. Since many trials involve time-sensitive collections that cannot be repeated, missing a single visit window could compromise the integrity of the study.

This is why LabConnect’s SampleGISTICS™ technology provides real-time tracking that extends beyond logistics, offering end-to-end sample visibility and enabling immediate intervention if something goes wrong.

The Risks of Poor Clinical Trial Sample Tracking

No two clinical trials are the same. Each study has unique protocols, sample types, and collection requirements that demand a tailored approach to tracking. Some trials involve routine safety samples with flexible collection windows, while others require strict time-sensitive sampling that cannot be repeated. For rare disease studies, every single sample is invaluable, as finding replacement patients may not be an option.

Without proactive sample tracking, clinical trials face several risks, including:

• Delayed Issue Identification: Many sites only ship samples on a set schedule, such as monthly. Without real-time tracking, errors or missing samples may not be discovered until weeks later, when it’s too late to correct them.
• Data Integrity Concerns: Inconsistent patient data, misrecorded collections, or missing visits can lead to unusable results, requiring costly workarounds or additional patient enrollments.
• Regulatory Compliance Challenges: Missing or inaccurate sample data can raise red flags with regulatory agencies, jeopardizing trial approvals.

LabConnect’s approach ensures that discrepancies are caught early, whether it’s a missing visit, an incorrect collection, or a data inconsistency. By proactively monitoring sample data as it’s collected, LabConnect helps sponsors and CROs prevent these issues before they become larger problems.

How LabConnect Stays Flexible with Technology-Agnostic Tracking

One of LabConnect’s biggest differentiators is its commitment to flexibility. Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all technology, LabConnect provides multiple options for sample tracking, ensuring that clinical sites can use the method that works best for them.

Digital Pen Technology

A minimally disruptive solution that allows sites to maintain paper-based processes while transmitting collection data digitally in real time.

QR Code Technology

A new, mobile-friendly solution that allows site staff to submit sample data by simply scanning a QR code, ensuring instant transmission without requiring special equipment or connectivity.

By offering different tracking methods, LabConnect makes it easy for sites to stay compliant and ensure data accuracy – without adding undue burden to site staff.

Strengthening Sample Tracking with Slope Integration

In addition to its own proprietary solutions, LabConnect’s recent API integration with Slope brings even greater efficiencies to sample tracking. Slope’s real-time inventory management ensures that sites always have the right kits available, reducing the risk of collection errors and missed visits.

The bi-directional integration with Slope offers key benefits:

• Automated Kit Management: Slope tracks kit inventories at trial sites and automatically requests resupply orders when stock runs low, ensuring that sites never run out of the necessary materials.
• Real-Time Data Validation: The system flags potential errors before data is submitted, preventing incorrect collections or data mismatches that could compromise the study.
• Seamless Data Transfer: Sample collection data is transmitted directly to LabConnect’s system, reducing manual data entry errors and ensuring greater accuracy.

By combining LabConnect’s expertise in sample tracking with Slope’s automated inventory management, sponsors and CROs gain a seamless, error-reducing workflow that enhances trial efficiency.

LabConnect in Action: Lost and Found

In one study nearing a key interim data analysis, the sponsor assumed all their samples were at the lab and ready for testing. However, based on LabConnect’s sample tracking data, it became clear that more than 100 samples were still sitting at sites, unshipped. Because LabConnect had real-time visibility into sample collections, they were able to identify the issue, work with the sites to get those samples shipped, and ensure the dataset was complete in time for analysis, preventing potential delays and data gaps.

Adapting to Decentralized Trials

As clinical trials continue evolving, decentralized trials are becoming more common. These studies introduce new complexities in sample tracking, as collections may occur in patients’ homes rather than traditional trial sites. LabConnect’s adaptable approach – leveraging its SampleGISTICS® platform, QR code tracking, and partnerships with companies like Slope – ensures that decentralized trials maintain the same level of visibility and control as traditional site-based studies.

By partnering with LabConnect, you gain a central lab that prioritizes sample tracking, helping to keep your clinical trial on track from start to finish.