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Software Systems for Laboratory Instruments in Life Science: Design Principles and Challenges
Abstract:
The digital transformation irrevocably changed the way life science research is done. Software used in life science has gradually shifted from a supporting tool to being a central part in laboratory instrumentalization and workflows. In modern laboratories, software is part of every step of the scientific process, from experiment planning and real-time instrument control to data acquisition, visualization, analysis, and results reporting. Besides other categories of software used in life science, laboratory instrument control software (LICS) has a particularly critical role. It must ensure reliable communication with hardware components that enable precise instrument control and data acquisition while maintaining a high level of usability and user-friendliness, which is expected of modern applications. Based on the author's combined experience in life science research and instrument software development, this paper reviews key design principles and common challenges in developing LICS. The paper explores several design principles, including human-centric design that minimizes the cognitive load and aims to prevent errors, and modular, layered architectures that support reusability of software components and facilitate maintainability. Additionally, it covers hardware-software synchronization, interoperability based on FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) principles, and data integrity and safety mechanisms that are required for regulatory compliance. Furthermore, this paper describes some of the common challenges in the field of LICS development, such as balancing between real-time performance and usability, and managing legacy systems and backward compatibility. It also explores the complexities of regulatory compliance, the difficulty of achieving maintainability across different data standards, and addresses security concerns.
CITATION:
IEEE format
A. Stančić, S. Anđelić, “Software Systems for Laboratory Instruments in Life Science: Design Principles and Challenges,” in Sinteza 2026 - International Scientific Conference on Information Technology, Computer Science, and Data Science, Belgrade, Singidunum University, Serbia, 2026, pp. 599-606. doi:10.15308/Sinteza-2026-599-606
APA format
Stančić, A., Anđelić, S. (2026). Software Systems for Laboratory Instruments in Life Science: Design Principles and Challenges. Paper presented at Sinteza 2026 - International Scientific Conference on Information Technology, Computer Science, and Data Science. doi:10.15308/Sinteza-2026-599-606
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