Peripheral Device Integration guide
In this article, you will learn how to:
Install SynthaceHub
If SynthaceHub is not yet installed on the computer associated with your peripheral device please follow the steps below. SynthaceHub is required to register the device to your organization and to set up the file monitor. Registering the device gives you access to the parser for the device. The file monitor is used to “watch” a specific directory on the PC and automatically upload any newly created files to the Synthace platform. These files can then be associated with specific executions.
SynthaceHub manages communications between Synthace and the liquid handler. It runs on a computer that is physically connected to the liquid handler.
Ask your network manager to whitelist the following remote hosts:
any subdomain of https://synthace.bio;
any subdomain of https://antha.com;
any subdomain of https://storage.googleapis.com;
Physically connect a computer to the peripheral device..
Use an admin account to log in to the computer.
Install SynthaceHub on the computer. Use the following link:
http://environmentname.synthace.bio/hub/latest.msito access the installer.
Once installed, switch to the environment that your organization uses. Use the following link:
http://localhost:5001/api/v2/environment/switch?backendEndpoint=https://environmentname.synthace.bio/
You can just log in to SynthaceHub, and test that everything is correct and that your IT security setting are not blocking any of the essential web addresses required for SynthaceHub to work correctly. To test this, use the following link:
https://environmentname.synthace.bio/connectivity-test/
Note: Make sure to switch the environment name with the name of your specific Synthace environment.
Register a peripheral device
Once you have logged into SynthaceHub, navigate to the “Devices” menu using the icon highlighted below.
Click on Add Device to open the device selection menu.
Select the device you wish to register from the list of available devices. In this example, we will be adding the ViCell Blu.
Provide a name for the device. This name will be displayed in the Synthace Platform. Make sure you pick something clear and unique.
Click “Register Device”. The device will then be added to SynthaceHub.
Set up a file monitor
Now that the device has been registered we can set up a File Monitor. Firstly, navigate to the File Monitor menu.
Click on Add File Monitor to launch the file monitor setup window.
Click on Browse. You can then select the directory you want to monitor.
Confirm the selection by clicking Select Folder.
Control the files that are uploaded to Synthace
Should you wish to have more control over which files are uploaded to Synthace you can do so by specifying the file extension you wish to monitor for in the target directory. To do this simply enter a “*” followed by the file extension e.g. *.csv.
Click Save. Any files that are present or created in the monitored folder will automatically be uploaded to the Synthace platform.
Once files are uploaded, these files can be uploaded to liquid handling executions.
Follow these links for more details on adding and removing file monitors.
Associating a dataset with a liquid handling workflow
Any data uploaded to the Synthace platform can be associated and structured against an output plate from a simulation. You can do this from the execution interface of any successful execution.
1. Simply find the appropriate plate and select Add File.
2. Select the device that produced the dataset.
3. Find the associated file in the data selection panel, and select the data you wish to upload.
4. There you have it, this file will now be associated with the plate you selected.
Additional Information
Understanding Synthace Device Integration Levels
We broadly categorize our device support into three integration levels.
Integration level | Description | Some example devices |
1 | We support data parsing from this device and file upload via a file-watcher mechanism. We do not drive the device at all. | Beckman ViCell Blu |
2 | We generate instructions that can be executed on the device, however, we do not pass these instructions to the device, this is a manual process. | SPT Dragonfly Discovery |
3 | We drive the device directly from the Hub via a Device Plugin. | Tecan Fluent Tecan Infinite M200 |
Many of the peripheral analytical devices we currently integrate with are Level 1 integrations, meaning that we only support the upload and parsing of specific data formats from these devices.
For a full list of devices, please contact your Customer Succes or Sales team contact.
Data Parsing + File Monitors
Data files from level 1 integrated peripherals can be uploaded and parsed via the Synthace Platform. Simply upload the file to your execution