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Getting Started

Iris is a cloud solution for integration of laboratory instruments to any LIS. It supports a long list of laboratory instruments. Iris gives to the LIS an abstraction layer to any instrument and unifies interaction with them.

Iris has an advanced mechanisms for unified processing of incoming results and variety of options for mapping tests between LIS and the instruments.

Connectivity

Iris is a cloud service, i.e. it is accessible through Internet. Iris connects to the instruments and the LIS through encrypted channels as shown bellow:

flowchart LR

    subgraph Laboratory
    INSTR1([Instrument 1])
    INSTRDOT([Instrument ...])
    INSTRN([Instrument N])
    AG(Iris Agent)
    end

    subgraph Iris 
    CORE(Iris)
    end

    subgraph Target LIS
    ADP(Iris Adapter)
    LIS[[LIS]]
    end

    INSTR1 <-->|RS-232| AG
    INSTRDOT <-->|...| AG
    INSTRN <-->|TCP/IP| AG

    AG <---> |mTLS| CORE 

    CORE <---> |https| ADP
    ADP <---> |...| LIS

Connection with instruments

The instruments are always connected to Iris as TCP/IP clients with mTLS. As very few instruments are able to hold such a connection, in most of the cases the connection will be proxied through Iris Agent. It acts as raw data proxy between the instruments and the Iris. From the instruments side, it can communicate through variety of physical and logical interfaces, including serial connection (RS-232), TCP/IP client and server, etc. From the Iris side, Agent is always TCP/IP client and authenticates itself with a digital certificate over standard mTLS. The mTLS connection between the Agent and Iris act as a trusted encrypted tunnel, preventing data leaks.

Depending on the needs, one laboratory could have any number of Iris Agent in one or more locations (networks).

Iris Agent is a multi platform application, that could be deployed in many ways, including:

  • Windows
    • Command line utility
    • Windows Service
    • IIS web site
  • Linux

If you want to deploy Iris as Linux Daemon or Windows Service, follow these instructions. It should be possible to run Akita on MacOS, as well as other *ix systems, but we've never tested such a scenario.

In production environment docker container is a preferred deployment option.

Connection with LIS

Iris itself connects to the target LIS through web API over https, using API key as authentication mechanism.

User interface

The users (laboratory technicians and doctors) interact with the Iris User Interface, authenticating them with OpenID Connect standard. The could use any device and access the system from anywhere, including smartphones over public networks.

Iris User Interface supports all modern web browsers. It could be used as a Progressive Web Application (PWA) as well (preferred).

Iris UI uses up to date technologies and approaches, such as front-end and back-end separation (jamstack), responsive and touch friendly design, real-time messaging (web sockets), browser storage (caching), role based access control (RBAC), etc. As look and feel design system, Iris uses Google's Material Design.