What’s New in Freezerworks 2022

Introduction – 00:00

Hi there, and welcome to the Freezerworks 2022 learning series, your visual guide to our new and improved sample management software. In this introductory video, we’ll take a quick look at the most notable new features in Freezerworks 2022, many of which have been applied to both our Desktop and Web Clients in the continued effort to merge these two ways of using Freezerworks. Should you need any more information after today, everything we cover is explained in greater detail in our User’s guide and other videos to come.

Sample Pooling – 00:54

All right, the most substantial update we have made to Freezerworks 2022 is the addition of Pooling Workflows to the Ascent, Summit, and Pinnacle Editions. Pooling has been a major part of numerous labs and testing processes for many years now, and the advent of COVID-19 only made it a more pervasive practice. Therefore, we determined it was time to bring it to Freezerworks, and Workflows seemed like the perfect place for it. As you may know, Workflows allow you to create a predetermined set of activities that Users can run on different selections of Aliquots in Freezerworks. Now, you can run a Workflow that will also combine the data of the Aliquots you are processing to create a new Pooled Sample. Pooled Samples can then be tested and further manipulated using all the features Freezerworks has to offer, all while maintaining the traceability and metadata of each Aliquot that was used to make it. After Pooling Workflows are created on the Desktop Client, they can be processed on both the Web and the Desktop. Pooling information will be available in both clients as well. For help creating and running Workflows in general, see our Workflows series of videos. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, as there will also be Pooling videos coming soon to help you learn this new expansive feature.

Web Client Updates – 02:20

Now, if you love using the Web Client already, get excited for even more. The awesome and powerful Explore Freezers has been added to give you a browser-based method of managing your Freezer inventory. It has been designed to look and feel like the current Desktop tool, so if you’re familiar with that, you’ll feel right at home. Another addition we’ve made to the Web Client is Batch Update. This feature has been a staple in Freezerworks for quite some time, and now you’ll be able to make those quick changes to large selections of data from a browser. The Batch Update option is available on nearly every list of records you find in the Web Client; just click open column headers to see if it’s there for the field you want to update.

Pinnacle Additions – 03:40

Those two updates to the Web Client weren’t quite enough for us, so we chose to include Study Management there as well. With our Pinnacle Edition, you can now view Studies, Visits, and (a brand new addition) Enrollments on the Web Client, and use the fields contained in those tables for searches, reports, charts, etc. The inclusion of Pinnacle in the Web Client means you will also be able to enroll Patients and create Kits without having to open the Desktop.

However, our Study Management update wasn’t just for adding things to the Web Client; we have also added brand new features to both sides of the software. Along with the new Enrollments table, which gives you the ability to track a Patient’s connection to a Study more easily, you will now be able to manage Kits prior to receipt, meaning that the Samples and Aliquots that are pregenerated when Kits are created are now available for editing. This allows you to better prepare for receiving those Kits, say if data has changed from the original Visit Model or data simply wasn’t modeled. Speaking of, Modeling Visits is easier now due to a number of quality of life improvements, including a Batch Update option and drag and drop capabilities for reordering records. Lastly, our powerful Import tool can now be utilized for large-scale Study Management tasks, including creating and modifying Enrollments and adding Samples to Studies. The updates to Import and the additions of Enrollments and Kit Management can all be found in the Web as well as the Desktop Client, but Study Configuration and Modeling Visits are still exclusive to the Desktop. 

Freezer Aliases – 05:00

Finally, Freezer Aliases have been given a bit of an upgrade. If you’re not familiar, Freezer Aliases allow you to give nicknames to specific locations in Freezers and use these nicknames for a number of purposes throughout the program. Aliases have been around in Freezerworks for a long time, but we have expanded their presence so they can be used as a viable form of Box ID. In this vein, Freezer Aliases can now be assigned by day-to-day users while they work outside of configuration: in Aliquots Entry, Explore Freezers, and Move Aliquots. Of course, as you saw a moment ago, you will even be able to create Aliases on the Web Client.

Conclusion – 05:48

And that about wraps up Freezerworks 2022. If you’re looking for more on the new product, the What’s New topic in our user’s guide has contextual links that will open detailed explanations of everything discussed today. If you’re more of the visual type, videos diving into each new feature in Freezerworks 2022 are coming soon so be sure to subscribe and click that notification bell. For assistance with anything else, including how to upgrade to Pinnacle or acquire the Web Client, contact your account manager or Freezerworks support staff. Thanks as always for watching and see ya next time!