Bits and Stripes ...
Bits and Stripes is an independent service provider in Healthcare IT, focusing on medical laboratories using or wishing to use the GLIMS and CyberLab applications. Bits and Stripes presents to you a unique offer as a system architect and database expert, focusing on performance, data security, high availability, business intelligence and much more.
After 24 years as a technical expert at MIPS (now Clinisys), I decided to go my own way and build a portfolio of IT services for the lab and hospital myself.
Besides a reference to the widely known “bits and bytes”, the company’s name is a nod to its founder, Steven Ver-strepen: “stripes” are “strepen” in Dutch.
Bits and Stripes is a completely independent service provider and has no formal relationship with Clinisys NV. References to products such as GLIMS and CyberLab are solely intended to illustrate our expertise and experience. Our services do not imply any form of affiliation, collaboration, or official recognition by Clinisys NV.
This full independence ensures that I always provide objective advice and act solely in the best interest of my clients, with the freedom to choose the solutions that best meet their specific needs.
My offer ...
Here are some suggestions of assignments where I can help labs, hospitals and other healthcare institutions …
- System architecture for GLIMS, CyberLab and other critical medical applications:
Building out a critical 24/7 application environment using virtualisation, clustering, database replication, … - System management in the broadest sense:
Besides a thorough knowledge of Windows, I have a great preference for Linux and other UNIX environments. I also have a thorough knowledge of networking, virtualisation and the cloud. - Performance tuning of GLIMS and CyberLab:
Delays in medical applications can have several causes: poor system architecture, poor database configuration, poor application configuration or simply bugs in the application itself. I identify the bottlenecks and help to solve them. - Data security:
Many medical applications are already a couple of years older and therefore no longer 100% secure. I map the vulnerabilities and propose a solution where possible to close the gap. - Monitoring of your medical applications, both at system level, database level and application level. If necessary, I integrate this into existing monitoring solutions.
- Database management (DBA) of Oracle and Progress OpenEdge databases:
I do day-to-day management as well as more complex operations such as server migrations and database upgrades. - Database migrations from Oracle to Progress OpenEdge:
Many customers want to get rid of their expensive Oracle database. Progress OpenEdge offers a cost-effective alternative here. We explore the possibilities together. - Data warehouse and business intelligence:
I help you “mine” the database via ODBC and JDBC. - Connectivity:
Do you want your medical application to talk to other applications, installed on-site or in the cloud? I am happy to help set up this connection. - A second opinion:
Are you not completely satisfied with the way your application supplier has handled a problem? I am happy to take a second look at it objectively. - System administration training:
Many healthcare institutions have good IT knowledge, but sometimes they still lack specific system knowledge about GLIMS, CyberLab and their underlying databases. I identify the missing knowledge and provide tailor-made training. - MISPL training courses:
For people without a specific IT background, learning to program in MISPL is often a hard nut to crack. I start from the premise that anyone can learn to program! Individually or in small groups, I teach you the necessary knowledge step by step, at your own pace. - IT project management in the broadest sense:
I have extensive experience in both hardware and software implementation projects. - IT management ad interim:
Finding good IT forces is often a challenging and long-running process. I am happy to fill this position in the meantime. - Assistance in drafting and evaluating technical aspects of tender specifications.
My assets ...
Experienced
I have been working in the Healthcare IT sector for 24 years, both within Belgium and in surrounding countries.
Allround
As a developer, project leader, product architect, system engineer and team lead, I have collected a lot of useful experience that can be used in a wide range of IT projects.
Independent
Because I am not tied to brands or suppliers, I can always offer the best solution for every question with complete objectivity.
Small scale
I believe that as a small player I can respond more personally and quickly to your IT needs, cheaper and with more flexibility and less overhead than with the larger players.
My experience ...
In the many years I have been active in Healthcare IT at home and abroad, I have collected a lot of useful knowledge in my backpack.
My career started as a developer, mainly in C(++) and Java. However, sitting in front of a computer all day turned out not to be for me, so I reoriented myself to lead GLIMS and CyberLab projects for customers. Meanwhile, for a long time I also did the system administration of the international IT network of the company. When my children were born, I returned to the inside service as technical GLIMS and CyberLab product architect and Oracle and Progress OpenEdge database expert. In recent years, I grew to become team lead of the international System Engineering team
My realisations ...
During my career, I have realised many great things. A brief overview:
- As an independent IT consultant:
Support during upgrades to new GLIMS and CyberLab versions for various clients in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Successful migration from Oracle to Progress OpenEdge for a large private laboratory in Luxembourg and two hospitals in Belgium.
Custom Java developments for electronic data exchange with external systems for a private laboratory in Belgium.
Data extraction from GLIMS for AI purposes for a startup in the Netherlands.
Support for a private laboratory in setting up a large-scale health screening project in Belgium.
Guidance for a private laboratory in selecting a LIS in Switzerland.
Smooth server migrations at several hospitals in Belgium.
Design and implementation of a custom Progress OpenEdge database monitoring solution for a large private laboratory in Switzerland.
Automation of the GLIMS client installation process in multiple hospitals in Belgium.
Investigation and resolution of a GLIMS system instability issue under Linux for a large private laboratory in Switzerland.
Second opinions on software issues for various clients across Europe.
Implementation of electronic invoicing from GLIMS via the Peppol network and automatic payment import in Luxembourg.
Detailed and well-founded advice regarding GLIMS and CyberLab system architecture during the major expansion of a laboratory group in Switzerland. - As a system architect:
Design and implementation of the Belgian National Covid-19 testing platform in the Azure cloud. This was later reimplemented for a Belgian private lab group.
Design of a commercial testing platform for 400,000 Covid tests per day in Austria.
Successful and innovative design of a mixed Linux / AIX / Windows architecture for the roll-out of lab software at the merger hospitals of a large French city. This design came about in close cooperation with IBM, Oracle and Progress. - As a database expert:
Successful migration from Oracle to Progress OpenEdge, with minimal downtime, in two Belgian private laboratories and one hospital. - As a system administrator:
Construction of an IPSec-based Wide Area Network to the company’s foreign subsidiaries.
Pioneer in virtualisation.
Construction of a completely new data centre when moving to a new location. - As a project manager:
Successful total implementation of lab software in a group of four hospitals in Belgium and in one independent hospital. - As a developer:
Final responsibility for the installation procedures of GLIMS and CyberLab.
Design and implementation of the management scripts for GLIMS.
Design and implementation in Java of a flexible link between CyberLab and an Active Directory or other LDAP servers. - Previously, I pioneered ADSL in the research lab at the University of Ghent and was involved in the launch of commercial Internet in Belgium.
Interested ..?
Feel free to contact me without obligation using the contact information below, or fill out the convenient web form. I will be happy to arrange an initial introductory meeting, either on site or via Teams.