It has to be kept in mind that in the near future we
will have an increasing amount of data (cf. big data) especially
from the ‘Omic’-sciences (metabolomics, pharmacogenomics…),
individualized medicine, gene sequencing
and microarray testing. There will be newer techniques,
such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Raman
spectroscopy as well as matrix-assisted laser desorption/
ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) spectroscopy. A
new generation of measurement systems is expected to
become part of routine diagnostic procedures including
nano diagnostic systems [quantum dots (QDs), gold nanoparticles,
cantilevers] [2]. According to the demographic
trend in some countries the number of tests will increase.
The increasing number of analytes (e.g., in drug monitoring)
and type of sample (e.g., saliva diagnostics) also
expand the amount of data to be processed.