We’re in an age in which cloud computing, data acquisition, analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and their interconnections via an intranet or the internet are making our lives easier and simpler. We get answers quicker. We make more informed decisions through devices like fitness trackers, which help us collect data on the number of steps we take each day or the calories we burn to help us meet our wellness goals.
Just as technology gives us insight into our own health, we also have visibility into the performance and processes of machines, and the ability to stay connected to the things that matter most to us — or that keep us up at night worrying.
In the lab, adapting to the connected world is proceeding at different rates and for different purposes. As remote monitoring and connectivity capabilities begin to be implemented in ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers, they’re enabling researchers, lab managers, service managers, and facility managers to monitor, analyze and keep a constant eye on sample safety — from anywhere at any time.
Sample Safety and Early Remote Monitoring
ULT freezers contain valuable — even priceless — research samples and therapies, often extremely temperature-sensitive. You need to know that those samples are safe, all day and all night, sometimes for years on end. There can be millions of dollars of biological specimens in a single ULT freezer. Consider it a bank vault.
A bank vault needs more security precautions than just a door latch and a lock; that’s why banks are so tightly secured and monitored. Yet for many ULT freezers today, all that secures sample safety is a simple latch and an onboard alarm with limited reach.
That’s not enough. At a minimum, today’s labs need to know that their samples are at the right temperatures, their ULTs are performing to specifications, and whether or when their ULTs will need maintenance — and they need immediate access to this vital information.
In incremental steps, ULT freezers are beginning to offer remote monitoring and connectivity solutions, from the simple to the sophisticated. And with each step, they’re able to gather more information and make it more accessible, providing more control, visibility and sample safety for the lab.
The first step in this progression is basic remote monitoring, essentially a “check engine” light for an ULT freezer. A dry-contact temperature sensor is wired to a building monitoring system (BMS). If the sensor detects a temperature anomaly, the BMS automatically sends you an alert. However, that’s all you’ll get: an alarm; it doesn’t quite convey all the information you’ll need to assess the severity of what caused it. It may have been triggered by an unlatched door, or it may be due to a complete freezer failure. The only way to know for sure is to get to the freezer, diagnose the problem, and take action to keep your samples safe — if it isn’t too late.
The next step is to add a resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensor inside the freezer, which sometimes is connected to a lab’s basic monitoring system. Then, when you receive an alarm from the BMS, you’ll also have access to real-time freezer temperatures — vital information to help you evaluate the urgency of the situation and possibly buy you time.
ULT Sensors and Enhanced Connectivity
Some ULT manufacturers realized that sensors could provide more information than just temperature readings. Sensors could help monitor the health of an individual ULT, and even the health of a fleet of ULTs in multiple locations through real-time event monitoring.
Added sensors could monitor humidity and ambient temperatures. They could monitor door openings and closings, send alerts about unlatched doors, and measure how many times doors are opened and for how long. Sensors could log the duration since the last scheduled maintenance was performed, allowing teams to know where and when to perform preventive maintenance. Together, sensors could monitor the health of a freezer and alert users before a complete freezer failure occurred.
But if that remote monitoring data is transmitted to a central monitoring center, that data can transform the lab.
When sent to a central data repository — whether to an individual server in a small lab, a sophisticated BMS, an intranet portal to a private microsite, or into the cloud — some or most of the data from any or all of your freezers can be accessed in real-time, whether a single freezer or thousands. Historical data can be visualized, examined and documented. And if you combine data with an effective AI component, such as a machine learning algorithm, the patterns, and trends within unstructured data can predict probable outcomes based on current conditions and provide insight into improving your efficiencies and processes. Software and analytics can give you a clear picture of the health of your ULTs — and other equipment in your lab — helping you to manage your lab better.
For example, data shows that lab personnel are opening an ULT door 25 times a day, for 30 seconds at a time on average. When that data is collated and reported back to you, you can effectively set measurable goals or procedures to reduce door openings and subsequent temperature recovery, protecting your samples and reducing energy use. The same data can help you evaluate whether the ULT is being over- or under-used.
It’s well known that the compressors in most ULT cooling systems are prone to failure. Monitoring and analytics of the freezers’ electrical consumption can determine if a ULT’s performance is beginning to deteriorate, allowing you to assess if compressors should be replaced before a complete breakdown occurs. You’ll know when maintenance should be scheduled to minimize disruptions in the lab.
By adding the appropriate sensors to ULT freezers to acquire and store an even fuller range of data, you can track sample processing, temperatures, ambient conditions, access detailed history and alarm logging for reporting requirements, and examine any variable that could impact sample safety and the efficient operation of a lab, regardless of how many ULTs you have. You can view live data, print it, and store it from anywhere, at any time, whether you’re on-site or thousands of miles away.
So, what might a ULT freezer with a comprehensive array of sensors look like?
The Smarter ULT
Nothing measured, nothing gained. Today, several manufacturers have equipped their ULTs with temperature, door opening, and energy consumption sensors. But there is still far more actionable information that can be gleaned from ULTs.
One major manufacturer has moved from older compressor-based ULT technology to a new, compact free-piston Stirling engine. Their engine design incorporates an onboard computer that continuously monitors data from additional system sensors, including engine voltage and current, piston amplitude and phase angle, and cold head and exhaust temperatures, in order to precisely and continuously adapt to maintain the desired freezer temperature.
This data from the Stirling engine delivers a richer data set for analysis. The information can be used to determine any anomalies with the freezer, warning users of the problem so it can be addressed long before a temperature warm-up alarm sounds or your samples are at risk.
A fully-connected ULT provides comprehensive information about the interactions of all the components inside its engine and in its cabinet. As that data feeds into the central data repository, it gives the machine learning algorithm something clear and simple to understand which variables affect the freezer in different ways. It can tell the user and the maintenance team exactly what is going on with the freezer, answering both “where” and “why”.
Whether connected to your private intranet cloud or the internet, you’ll get answers to any ULT concerns in one place, including: preventive and/or predictive maintenance status; real-time performance data; the location and status of each freezer in your fleet; and the ability to document performance data and maintenance records, collect information that could contribute to LEED certification. ULT freezers with these extensive connectivity capabilities could also interact with other key lab efficiency tools such as laboratory information systems (LIMS) and automated sample tracking tools to help identify the location of a specific sample in a specific freezer. All the information is stored in one location, a very useful way to manage individual ULT freezers or fleets of freezers as necessary.
Matching Capabilities to the Lab’s Needs
Different labs and institutions need different types and levels of connectivity, monitoring capabilities, data acquisition, and security. A small, private lab may only need basic freezer monitoring data to process on their own server. A company may want to protect its proprietary data with a private, secure cloud solution. Universities and major research institutions with thousands of ULT freezers in multiple facilities often need the richest and most robust data stream accessible for analysis across the internet through a web-based portal. Today’s ULT freezers should be configurable to accommodate any lab’s information needs at any level.
In a little more than a decade, the emergence of cloud computing, AI, machine learning and internet connectivity has transformed our world, and promises the same for ULT monitoring capabilities from simple temperature alarms to a full understanding of everything that is happening inside a ULT — and what may be about to happen. Given how essential ULT freezers are to a lab, and the high stakes of losing priceless biological assets, sensors, connectivity solutions, and cloud capabilities are increasingly critical to the feature set of many ULTs, including the most important feature of all: peace of mind.
Scott Masiella is the Director of Product Management at Stirling Ultracold.