IRIS — Integrated Registry for Investigational Samples
Biological sample tracking for hospitals and clinical research
IRIS replaces scattered Excel sheets and paper notebooks with a single system that records every sample, its exact location, and everything that happens to it. Runs inside the hospital, with no data leaving the institution.
In development
The problem
In most labs, samples are tracked in a paper notebook, an Excel file on someone's laptop, or in the head of the most senior technician. When that person leaves, when the file gets corrupted, or when a freezer fails over a weekend, what's lost isn't just material: it's years of work and, sometimes, the clinical and research value of irreplaceable samples.
What it does
- RegistryEach sample gets a unique code and QR label
- LocationFreezer, rack, box, and exact position
- HistoryWho moved it, when, and why
- AliquotsSplitting samples without losing the link to the original
- IncidentsProblem logging and quality control
- ExcelBulk import and export, so you don't start from scratch
How it works
Nothing to install on individual workstations: IRIS opens in the browser, like any hospital intranet. Each user logs in with their credentials and sees what their role allows.
- 1Register the sampleJust once, with its basic details. IRIS assigns a unique code and prints a QR label, ready to apply.
- 2Place it physicallyFreezer, rack, box, position. IRIS shows which slots are free and warns if a position is already taken.
- 3Work with itAny action — taking it out, splitting into aliquots, processing, discarding — is logged: who did it, when, and why.
- 4Look it up when neededFor a patient, a study, or an audit: finding a sample and reviewing its full history takes seconds.
Who it's for
- Lab technicians who need to know, at any moment, where a sample is and who moved it last.
- Researchers with their own biobank who maintain sample collections over years and need traceability to publish and audit.
- Quality and compliance leads who need to demonstrate chain of custody for internal reviews or audits.
Privacy and security
On-premise deployment. IRIS is deployed inside the hospital's internal network. Sample and patient data never leaves the institution's infrastructure: no cloud services, no telemetry, no third parties.
- Controlled accessEach professional logs in with their own credentials. Sessions expire automatically and access is logged.
- Protected dataInformation travels encrypted within the hospital network. The database only accepts the queries it was designed for: no outside tampering is possible.
- Real traceabilityEvery movement is logged with user, date, and reason. Nothing is silently deleted: actions are reversed with justification and the trail remains.
- BackupsAutomated daily backups inside the hospital itself, with tested restore procedures. If something fails, recovery takes minutes.
- GDPR complianceBy running inside the hospital and sending no data outside, IRIS makes it easier to comply with GDPR and Spanish health data regulations.
Project status
IRIS is under active development. The essentials — registering, locating, moving, and looking up samples — already work. Advanced processing, quality control, and reports are being added progressively.
The source code is private. If you work in a service or lab interested in IRIS, feel free to reach out through the portfolio.
Back to portfolio