Alexion-AstraZeneca · 20231 min read
Real-time inventory for a research lab
A barcode-driven inventory system for biological samples and a BSL2 chemical inventory, built during a lab software internship.
- Role
- Lab Software Developer Intern
- When
- October – December 2023
- 1,600+Biological samples tracked
- 20,000+BSL2 chemical inventory items
The short version
- Problem
- A research unit needed a live view of a large sample and chemical inventory without reconciling spreadsheets by hand.
- What I did
- Led development of a barcode-driven, real-time inventory system in Python and Neptyne.
- Result
- One source of truth for 1,600+ biological samples and a 20,000+ item BSL2 chemical inventory.
Barcode scan
Sample or compound
Real-time database
Python + Neptyne
Live inventory view
Quantities and unique IDs
The problem
A large inventory without a live view
The Rare Disease Unit needed one place to see what samples and compounds it had, how much, and where, without reconciling spreadsheets by hand.
My contribution
Designing the system
I led development of the inventory system in Python and Neptyne, with a real-time database keyed by barcode, quantity, and unique ID.
Outcome
One source of truth
The system handled more than 1,600 biological samples and a BSL2 chemical inventory of more than 20,000 items.
Built with
- Python
- Neptyne
- Barcodes