Basic Concepts

Specimens

Specimens are the basic unit tracked by tube.tracker and are identified by a Specimen ID. Typically, specimens are test tubes labeled with a bar code containing the Specimen ID. However, a specimen can be anything identified by a number such as culture plates, urine containers, and requisition forms. In tube.tracker, specimens are organized into Racks.

Racks

Racks are a storage unit for specimens. In most situations, specimens are placed in racks and tube.tracker is able to track a specimen's location within a rack by coordinate (i.e. A-6). The most common rack type is the standard 6x12 rack, however racks are not limited to conventional test tube racks. For urine containers, a rack could be a plastic bin. For requisition forms, the rack could be a file box. In tube.tracker, racks are organized into containers.

Containers

Containers refer to the places where racks are stored. Typical containers include standing refrigerators, shelves in walk-in coolers, incubators, and storage shelves. Sometimes, facilities that move specimens between labs will create containers representing transport carts and satellite laboratories.

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