The key challenges and opportunities surrounding High-Content Screening have been outlined in a presentation to leading scientists and technologists at a major lab conference. Speaking at the recent SLASEurope 2019 event in Barcelona, Professor Matthias Nees from the Institute of Biomedicine in the Department of Biology at the University of Turku, Finland, outlined the potential of High-Content…
Analytically sensitive and specific detection of pharmaceuticals or metabolites in bodily fluids, as well as fast and reliable detection of human pathogens, are major challenges for instrument-based analytics in medical diagnostics. Over the past few years the combination of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and microfluidic devices (Lab-on-a-Chip) has emerged as a perfectly suited…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is destined for a significant role in assessing histology data but the key to developing the necessary algorithms lies in data quality – rather than the quantity, according to Professor Jens Rittscher. He also warns that we are some distance from seeing AI replacing human pathologists in this scenario, primarily because presently the risks of automated…
If a health sector employee falls ill with a bloodborne disease, the cause is often a previous injury from a sharp, contaminated object. Direct blood-to-blood contact, such as with a needlestick injury (NSI), is among the recurring causes of infection. It isn’t possible to vaccinate against HIV, for instance, and the consequences of an infection remain fatal. Among the most effective ways to…
At the 71st AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, Siemens Healthineers features in Booth #1039 its innovative IT solutions to combat the laboratory’s staffing challenges, limited budgets, and the increasing complexity in sample management and testing. “We will be demonstrating the power of our broad IT offerings and how the data they deliver, and artificial intelligence, can…
Beckman Coulter Life Sciences launched the online DURA Innovations calculator tool, a powerful cost benefit analysis resource to accompany its latest Cost Benefit Calculator Handbook. The free online tool enables laboratories to quantify the value of converting to a standardized flow cytometry workflow using the company’s dry reagent technology. The new calculator enables customers using liquid…
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is showcasing its latest instruments, assays and software for improving speed, accuracy and usability across clinical and research labs during the 71st American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Exposition (AACC 2019). Thermo Fisher is exhibiting in booth 2110 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif., August…
Acoustic Mist Ionization Mass Spectrometry (AMI-MS) has played a pivotal role in the evolution of high-throughput screening (HTS) and now steps are being taken to advance this field to other potential applications. AstraZeneca has been an important player in this area, having already run more than 10 full collection HTS campaigns against a range of enzyme target types, and the company is now…
A group of scientists from Vilnius University have developed the world’s fastest DNA testing method, reducing DNA testing costs by 90%. It identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins to determine a genetic condition or eliminate the chance of the formation or passing on of a gene-based disorder amongst humans and animals. At present, the sole method of genetic testing is the DNA…
Since the microprocessor entered the medical laboratory we have watched how those responsible also have been confronted with the errors in the software supplied with it. Obviously, such errors are to be avoided or found and corrected before use. Nonetheless complete error-free software remains a dream. ISO 15189:2012 makes it obligatory for the manufacturer to identify errors in the form of…
The need to effectively address HCI – Human-Computer Interaction – is emerging as the key challenge in creating a productive and efficient laboratory of the future. The subject was examined in detail by Andreas Schuller from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, during a conference in Barcelona, which brought together more than 1,000 scientists and technologists.
Today’s educational landscape is changing rapidly thanks to technological advances. Introducing wireless capabilities to science classrooms enables lecturers to teach and students to learn in an engaging digital environment that promotes teamwork. Equipped with a WLAN-capable Olympus EP50 camera, every microscope in a classroom becomes a wireless imaging system. Using its own WLAN signal*, the…
Olympus and Cytosurge AG, developer of the disruptive and patented FluidFM technology, announced their collaboration to significantly expand the awareness and availability of the FluidFM BOT* – a cutting-edge system for single cell manipulation and live cell imaging – in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). By pooling together each other’s world-class competences and by listening to…
We talked to Dr Annika Blank, Consultant and Lean green belt, about eight-year experience with the concept and optimisation of processes, the implementation of digital pathology and a voice recognition system for patient management. "The biggest and most cost intensive step taken to optimise workflows was the refurbishment of our laboratory, which was completed in 2016. This allowed us to…
Treating physicians need information about the molecular subtype of the tumor if they are to provide targeted therapy for colorectal carcinoma. A research team from University Hospital Zurich and the University of Oxford have now developed a method to predict the molecular classification of colorectal cancer from digital pathology slides.
Many countries across the world are challenged with a rising number of incidences of multi-drug resistant (MDR) organisms infecting the population, and for several years, a clear pattern of increased resistance has emerged in southern and eastern European countries. For example, in countries such as Italy, a reduced number of therapeutic options remain available for highly pathogenic infections,…
Oncimmune Holdings plc, a leading global immunodiagnostics group, announces it has entered into an exclusive partnership agreement which it believes will unlock the full potential of EarlyCDT Lung in the United States, bringing this lung cancer test to more patients as a result. This agreement with Biodesix, Inc., a leading lung cancer diagnostic solutions company, encompasses both the…
The majority of women who undergo surgery for suspected ovarian cancer do not have cancer. A novel blood test developed by researchers at Uppsala University and the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, now offers the possibility of more precise diagnostics without the need for surgery. This could lead to a reduction in unnecessary surgery and to earlier detection and treatment for…
Image analysis of prostate cancer is a challenging area for clinicians. The disease shows a low mutation burden compared to melanoma and stomach cancer, for example, making morpho-molecular correlation more difficult, and there is often very low inflammation. With the role of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in prostate cancer currently unclear – and with the advent of new approaches to prostate…
As reporting workload for pathology departments continues to rise rapidly, artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions are set to play an increasing role in daily practice. ‘I see this as the future of digital pathology,’ said histopathologist Professor David Snead at the Digital Pathology and Artificial Intelligence Congress held in London.
A new deep learning algorithm, which demonstrates the potential of artificial Intelligence (AI) to support pathologists, has been developed for PD-L1 scoring in tumour cells and immune cells in urothelial carcinoma samples. Speaking at the Digital Pathology and Artificial Intelligence Congress in London last December, Dr Michel Vandenberghe, from AstraZeneca, outlined how PD-L1 expression level…
With a case fatality rate of 35 percent, a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection – also called camel flu – is a dangerous disease. About seven years ago, when the virus was first isolated, mortality was close to 100 percent since only severe infections that led to the patient being in intensive care were recorded. Today the environment of each victim is…
Olympus has broken down barriers to imaging quality with the launch of its next-generation objectives. The breakthrough polishing technique enables the company to produce ultra-thin lenses that overcome the traditional trade-off between numerical aperture (NA), flatness and chromatic correction – enabling all three parameters to be significantly improved. Olympus has harnessed this proprietary…
Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), A Sysmex Group Company, has celebrated the opening of its new facility in Cambridge, UK. The opening ceremony, which took place at the company’s new premises on the prestigious Cambridge Science Park, was attended by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and local media as well as top-level representatives from OGT and its parent company, Sysmex Corporation.…
A new benchtop automated reading and incubation system is now available in Europe for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The new instrument provides microbiology laboratories with the accurate MIC results that clinicians need to confidently select an effective antibiotic for critically-ill patients while safeguarding future patient care through more successful antimicrobial stewardship.…