Electronic Laboratory Notebooks From Pen-Based Computing

The paper-based laboratory notebook remains one of the last bastions of manual information in the sworld. Until recently, its unique characteristics - light-weight, portable, and durable, with free-findelible data entry - could not be provided by any information technology. The emergence of pen-bastechnology offers an opportunity to replicate the highly usable features of paper based notebooks wiones, and bring added benefits to electronic information to the scientist and scientific organizatioestablish the feasibility of creating a pen-based Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) system, direcneeds of pharmaceutical and related health-science research. The Phase I research performs a functioorganizational end-user analysis, to define an ELN user interface with a package of functionality thpharmaceutical chemistry. The research also defines a system-level interface between the ELN and itsregulatory community. After determining whether the current or near term pen-based computing technolappropriate software, support the unique functional demands of the ELN, a complete architecture andplan for a full-scale ELN prototype is created.