APPLICATION MODErNIZATION – PHARMACEUTICAL
Global pharmaceutical manufacturer launches next-gen clinical testing solution
Overview
The pharmaceutical industry relies on precise, finely configured equipment.
It uses diagnostics and clinical testing instruments to reliably analyze patient samples to diagnose and provide care to patients. That precision and accuracy extends to the software and communication layers that dictate how testing equipment operates.
One of our clients in the pharmaceutical space needed to augment their development team to architect and develop software for it’s next-generation diagnostics and clinical testing equipment.
With our industry experience and generalized software engineering skills, we were able to help them build out a variety of the testing equipment’s UI screens, connect and transmit data over HL7 and ASTM, as well as improve code quality and test coverage of their existing codebase.
Our Solution
Our team helped build the system with strict processes and FDA approval in mind
During the development process, we used Jira to track progress and diligently documented changes. The client also had strict code review and automated unit testing requirements. One Six Solutions software developers collaborated with our client’s internal teams on the platform’s design and various quality assurance tasks.
The client’s clinical testing device connects to other systems and transmits data using Google Protocol Buffers and health care specific protocols (ex. Health Level 7). We built the communication layer to transmit data based on internal events, as well as deal with incoming messages, errors, connectivity issues etc. We worked closely with different parts of their existing teams that wrote embedded code, clinical testing logic and third party simulators, communicating with them on design requirements, testing and existing bugs.
The communication layer was built in Windows Communication Framework (WCF)
Windows Presentation Framework (WPF) served as the front-end interface on the machine’s screen
Google Protocol Buffers was used to facilitate HL7 and ASTM communication with back-end third-party systems
LLBLGen Pro was used as the ORM/Data Access Layer to the client’s existing databases
NUnit and moq was used for testing
The Results
The finished clinical testing device can successfully communicate with a variety of third-party machines and platforms, has passed FDA approval, and is being used in labs globally.
