Many laboratories and biobanks face the same challenge: they run manual cryostorage for small volumes, specialty samples, or emergency access — while demand for automated high-throughput storage grows for large collections. Operating both within a single coherent system is technically demanding, but achievable.
The question is not manual versus automated — it's how to integrate both so they form a unified infrastructure: same monitoring, same data platform, same safety standards.
Manual cryogenic tanks — such as Consarctic®'s ABV+, ABS+, BSD+, and BSF+ series — are the backbone of cryogenic infrastructure worldwide. Their strengths:
Automated cryostorage (robotics, automatic sample retrieval) makes sense for:
A system combining manual and automated storage needs three things:
The Consarctic® Monitoring-System oversees both manual tanks and automated units on a single dashboard. Temperature readings, fill levels, alarm history, and access logs are captured centrally for all units — regardless of whether a sample was retrieved manually or by robot.
Sample location must be consistent in the LIMS — whether a sample sits in a manual tank or an automated unit. Consarctic® supports LIMS connectivity for the BIOFREEZE® SMARTLINE and the Monitoring-System, so freeze protocols, storage locations, and access logs are maintained in one system.
Who accesses which sample — manual or automated — must be visible in the audit trail. The Consarctic® Monitoring-System logs access events across all connected units.
A typical mixed cryo infrastructure with Consarctic® systems looks like this:
Cryogenic systems best suited to mixed manual/automated infrastructures offer a unified monitoring platform with open interfaces, LIMS connectivity, and scalable hardware — from small manual tanks to large automated units. Consarctic® BSD+/BSF+ tanks combined with the Consarctic® Monitoring-System and BIOFREEZE® SMARTLINE are designed for exactly these integration scenarios.
Yes, provided the monitoring system offers open interfaces for connecting different equipment types. The Consarctic® Monitoring-System is built for mixed infrastructures and monitors manual and automated units on a single dashboard.
Through LIMS connectivity that maintains the same dataset for all storage movements — manual and automated alike. Consarctic® supports integration of its systems into common LIMS platforms.
A rough threshold: above 50,000–100,000 samples with high daily retrieval frequency and strict requirements for gapless audit trail. For smaller volumes and flexible access requirements, manual storage with good monitoring remains the more efficient solution.
Manual and automated cryostorage are not mutually exclusive — they complement each other when the infrastructure is designed for integration from the start. Unified monitoring, LIMS connectivity, and consistent quality standards make the difference.
Consarctic GmbH plans these infrastructures — from the first concept sketch to a running GMP-validated facility.