'''Laboratory informatics''' is the specialized application of information technology aimed at optimizing and extending laboratory operations.<ref>Perry, Douglas. Laboratory Informatics: Origin, Scope, and its Place in Higher Education: Journal of Laboratory Information, December '''2004''', ''9(6)'', 421-428</ref> It encompasses [[data acquisition]] (e.g. through textsensors and hardware<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Padhee|first=Subhransu|last2=Prusty|first2=Sankata Bhanjan|last3=Biswal|first3=Aditya P.|last4=Pati|first4=Umesh Chandra|date=2016-03|title=Design of an educational laboratory for measurement and data acquisition system|url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7509298/|journal=2016 IEEE Students' Conference on Electrical, imageElectronics and Computer Science (SCEECS)|___location=Bhopal, India|publisher=IEEE|pages=1–6|doi=10.1109/SCEECS.2016.7509298|isbn=978-1-4673-7918-2}}</ref> or voice<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/the-marketplace/labtwins-ai-powered-digital-assistant-now-talks-back-and-connects-data-sources-in-the-lab-with-new-open-api-66040|title=LabTwin's AI-powered Digital Assistant Now Talks Back and Connects Data Sources in the Lab with New Open API|website=The Scientist Magazine®|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.labtwin.com/blog/why-we-use-voice-technology|title=Why We Use Voice Technology|last=Singh|first=Guru|website=www.labtwin.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Behrman|first=Alison|url=https://books.google.de/books?id=BGVGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA453&lpg=PA453&dq=laboratory+data+acquisition+system+voice&source=bl&ots=SDMfes_2BH&sig=ACfU3U0y1pv-Kt67TJAWOfudh36vXiz6mg&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi14JakkfDnAhVKxoUKHVnzC2cQ6AEwC3oECBEQAQ#v=onepage&q=laboratory%20data%20acquisition%20system%20voice&f=false|title=Speech and Voice Science, Third Edition|date=2017-08-28|publisher=Plural Publishing|isbn=978-1-63550-075-2|language=en}}</ref>), instrument interfacing, laboratory networking, [[data processing]], specialized data management systems (such as a [[chromatography data system]]), a [[laboratory information management system]], scientific data management (including [[data mining]] and [[data warehousing]]), and knowledge management (including the use of an [[electronic lab notebook]]). It has become more prevalent with the rise of other "[[informatics]]" disciplines such as [[bioinformatics]], [[cheminformatics]] and [[health informatics]]. Several graduate programs are focused on some form of laboratory informatics, often with a clinical emphasis.<ref>http://www.unmc.edu/pathology/clinical/clinical-programs/lab-informatics.html. Retrieved 2016-04-09</ref> A closely related - some consider subsuming - field is [[laboratory automation]].
