Before creating fields, please take a moment to review our video on The Freezerworks Hierarchy.
Samples are a sort of umbrella record that will link together one or more Aliquots, while Aliquots are your actual physical items, often taking the form of vials, slides, tubes, wells, blocks, cassettes, etc. In Freezerworks, an aliquot is always the thing that holds a position in the Freezer.
Samples can take many forms depending on how you want to track your inventory. For example, a Sample with multiple Whole Blood aliquots could represent a single draw at one visit. Samples can also represent the visit itself and could have multiple different aliquot types (blood, urine, saliva) all under the same Sample record.
Keep in mind that all information tracked on the Sample level will be true for the Aliquots below it. Any information tracked on the Aliquot level is true for that Aliquot and can vary between aliquots.
Common Patient Level Fields: Patient ID, DOB, Sex, Ancestry, Name
Common Sample Level Fields: Collection Date, Collection Site, Study, Timepoint
Common Aliquot Level Fields: Barcode, Aliquot Type, Storage Date, Number of Thaws, Current Amount
Please discuss your workflow with a support representative to determine which hierarchy structure is best for you.