What a lab should know before using CryoIndex.

CryoIndex is offline-first software for locating and tracking cryogenic cell vials in research laboratories. It runs as a standalone application on an Android tablet or Windows PC and records each vial’s configured dewar, cane, box and grid position together with its history.

CryoIndex is designed around one shared lab device and one authoritative local inventory. That device can be an Android tablet at the bench or a Windows PC in the lab. Lab members are named inside the app so moves, removals, audits, liquid-nitrogen fills and corrections retain who recorded them.

No account with CryoIndex is required, and the core inventory works without an internet connection. Internet access may still be needed to obtain the app and its updates.

CryoIndex supports Android 7.0 or later tablets in landscape and 64-bit Windows PCs with at least a 960×600 working area. Android phones, iPhone, iPad and Mac are not currently supported. Camera scanning is Android-only; HID hardware scanners and manual entry work on both supported platforms.

Yes. The interactive website demo uses the real CryoIndex interface with a complete fictional lab. Importing files, saving exports and camera access are switched off. Each browser tab has its own temporary in-memory database, and reloading or closing the tab discards every change. The demo is intended for a desktop or landscape tablet at least 700 pixels wide and has been formally verified in Chrome; Firefox and Safari are not yet claimed as tested browsers.

The working database remains on the Android tablet or Windows PC selected by the lab. CryoIndex does not upload it to our servers. A file leaves the app only when the lab deliberately chooses a destination or sharing action provided by the operating system.

CryoIndex keeps automatic safety copies on the working device, but those cannot survive loss or failure of the entire device. The lab should regularly save a complete backup to a separate, institution-approved destination and verify that the file exists there.

Install an equal or newer CryoIndex version on the replacement Android tablet or Windows PC and restore the newest complete backup. CryoIndex validates the file before replacing anything. After restoration, verify several known vials, users and storage locations before returning the new device to service.

No. The Android and Windows editions are standalone choices, not a primary app and companion. A backup can transfer the complete lab between them, but restore replaces everything currently stored in the destination app. It does not merge records or keep two devices up to date. Pause work on the old device, restore and verify the new one, then use only the chosen system of record.

Yes. CryoIndex imports CSV inventory during initial setup or later from Settings. It reviews column mappings and previews what it understood before writing. An optional Parent barcode column can preserve reviewed same-line lineage when exactly one record matches; ambiguous or impossible relationships remain Not recorded and are disclosed.

Yes. Each vial can name one exact parent vial, including a parent already removed from storage. From a vial’s details, Trace lineage shows its ancestor chain, other vials from the same parent, and descendants below it, with the in-stock records identified. Purchased stock, gifts and primary isolates can be marked New to the lab, and genuinely unknown origins remain Not recorded rather than being guessed.

The first release is designed for one liquid-nitrogen dewar arranged as canes, boxes and vial positions. The lab configures that dewar’s cane, box and grid dimensions. Support for −20 °C and −80 °C mechanical freezers is being considered separately because those laboratories may need different locations and temporary checkout-and-return workflows.

CryoIndex provides a complete inventory for one dewar, including storage and retrieval, parent-vial lineage tracing, batch entry, scanning, box audits, activity history, CSV import and export, backup and restore, and an optional Admin PIN for high-impact actions.

No. CryoIndex is research-laboratory inventory software for cryogenic cell storage. It has not been designed, validated or marketed as clinical laboratory software.