Swedish researchers first in the world to gain access to BIMS

Owing to the system now being developed at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and that was presented this week at an
international conference on biobanks, the university's biobank will now be based on informatics as well as tissue and blood
samples. The system will enable researchers to seek biobank samples linked to the vast databases of phenotype and genotype
information on the individual donors and to a variety of other data sources.



The existence of large national epidemiological databases, such as the Swedish twin register, and a large number of tissue
sample collections of national importance gives the Karolinska Institutet Biobank a unique position in biobank-related
research. Since the information is highly sensitive and authorised data access unacceptable, the biobank system is protected
by tight security.


"We're the first institute in the world with such an informatics system," says Professor Jan-Eric Litton of the Department of
Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "Other prominent medical centres like the Mayo Clinic in the USA are also developing
similar systems."


The establishment of the BIMS informatics system is a strategic investment at KI to support and enable future advanced
clinical research. It makes it easier to find causes, diagnostic tools and cures for diseases by allowing more research
scientists and research fields to make use of huge amounts of connectable data; something which will be of immense value to
the next generation of research scientists.


"The main advantage is that researchers can save time and access information without having to be specialists in the area,"
says Professor Litton. "So in other words they can search in English in all databanks and get comprehensible responses."
FACTBOXES


Biobank


The Biobank Act (introduced on 1 January 2003) defines a biobank as a collection of human biological material that is stored
for more than two months and that can be traced back to a particular individual. The law makes it possible to archive human
biological material for the purposes of research, development, healthcare and treatment without violating the integrity of
the patient. The law also lays down special rules on the handling of samples and on information technology, which can
efficiently process the sensitive information linked to these samples.


The Karolinska Institutet Biobank


The Karolinska Institutet Biobank is a national non-commercial resource for the collection, handling, storage and recording
of human biological material intended to promote scientific cooperation. The Biobank also serves as an asset for research
into a diversity of fields, such as genetics, functional genomics and genetic and molecular epidemiology. An important
scientific incentive is to make it possible for researchers to test unexplored hypotheses in a more effective and large-scale
environment than has previously been available. For more information, see meb.ki.se/biobank/about.php


Professor Jan-Eric Litton at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB) can be contacted on 08-524 877 59
or 070-836 68 10 (mobile), or at jan-eric.littonmeb.ki.se.


Contact: Sabina Bossi

sabina.bossiadmin.ki.se

46-852-483-895

Karolinska Institutet

info.ki.se/ki