Implementation of the QR Code system in the Medical Malacology Collection of the René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

Abstract

The Medical Malacology Collection (Fiocruz-CMM) was inaugurated in 1993 and is located at the René Rachou Institute in Fiocruz (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil). The collection has about 16,000 limnic mollusks of medical and veterinary importance. Information about each specimen is stored in an electronic Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and is available on the Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental (CRIA) webpage. A QR Code system was implemented for convenience: it can be printed in reduced format with flexible representation on different surfaces and has a low cost of implantation. A script in PHP language was developed to load the spreadsheet in XLS format using an open-license library, PHP-ExcelReader. A PHP script was created to read and process this spreadsheet line by line and generate individual HTML pages, which were formatted with the Bootstrap tool. Then, the PHP QR code was used to create the images of the QR codes corresponding to each specimen. The QR codes were printed and affixed to the lids of the bottles containing each specimen. Using a device with a camera and internet access, the QR code redirects to the file with the information for each mollusk. The use of QR codes at Fiocruz-CMM facilitates the organization of the collection and allows quick and easy access to information about each specimen.