News • Inexpensive invention
Test kit enables quick and accurate screening of diseases
Test results are denoted by a colour change and could be further analysed by a smartphone app, making it attractive as a point-of-care diagnostic device.
News • Market report
Digital pathology: when technology and medicine unite
When two powerful products are combined, the outcome often becomes much more effective. One such proof is the digital pathology, where technology coupled with medicine. The introduction of technology has completely transformed the face of medical diagnosis, providing new hope to many sufferers. It has become essential to identify the cause of diseases to prevent them in the early stages to avoid…
News • Scientific breakthrough
New accelerated diagnosis of multi-resistant hospital pathogens
A team of researchers at the University of Cologne's Faculty of Medicine and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) use a novel immunochromatographic method to detect bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic group carbapenemes within 20 to 45 minutes from blood cultures with 100 percent certainty.
News • Oncology
Blood test detects early stage pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is currently very difficult to detect while it is still resectable. A new blood test developed by researchers at Lund University in Sweden, Herlev Hospital, Knight Cancer Center and Immunovia AB, can detect pancreatic cancer in the very earliest stages of the disease.
News • Research
First evidence that soot from polluted air is reaching placenta
Evidence of tiny particles of carbon, typically created by burning fossil fuels, has been found in placentas for the first time, in new research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. Previous research has indicated links between pregnant mothers’ exposure to air pollution and premature birth, low birth weight, infant mortality and childhood respiratory problems.
News • World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
Robot helps with early screening for Alzheimer’s patients
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports as many as five million Americans had the disease in 2013. They estimate that by 2050, nearly 14 million will have it. Age is the best known risk factor and memory loss is at the forefront of symptoms. Researchers of the Michigan Technological University investigate how technology can…
News • Fat attenuation index
Biomarker helps to predict coronary inflammation
Researchers at Cleveland Clinic, University of Oxford, and University of Erlangen have identified a novel imaging biomarker – and found it can be used to predict all-cause and cardiac mortality by measuring inflammation of fatty tissue surrounding the coronary arteries.
News • HIV
Researchers date 'hibernating' HIV strains
Researchers have developed a novel way for dating "hibernating" HIV strains, in an advancement for HIV cure research in the province. The HIV cure research confirms that dormant HIV strains can persist in the body for decades.
Sponsored • Testing technology
Vitamin D testing: LC-MS outperforms immunoassays
In recent years, clinicians have increasingly focused on vitamin D deficiency. Studies show that previous reference values – particularly for Vitamin D3 – were most probably set too high. Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can help achieve more precise measurements of vitamin D levels than previously established immunoassay procedures, explains Dr Torsten Binscheck-Domass,…
Sponsored • Fungal testing
One test winning over a run of 10 New β-Glucan test delivers rapid results
Fungal testing plays a critical role in patient care. However, the turnaround for results can be lengthy because the existing tests need 10 samples in a run. Professor Maurizio Sanguinetti, Professor of Microbiology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Università Cattolica del S. Cuore), in Rome, Italy, is comparing the results of a new test with those from existing tests. Created by…
Article • Hematology
Recommendations on venous blood sampling
Pre-analytics, in particular venous blood sampling has a major impact on the quality of laboratory diagnostic results. An estimated 75 percent of all "lab errors" are caused by errors during pre-analytics. Thus, the German Medical Association’s national guideline on laboratory diagnostics includes detailed guidance on pre-analytics, in particular venous blood sampling. In their…
Sponsored • Innovation
Hematology: Advancements and future trends
While the role of the laboratory in disease diagnosis and management has expanded in recent years, causing an overwhelming rise in testing demands, the availability of skilled technologists and specialists has been diminishing. To meet the needs of an overworked and increasingly generalized workforce, today’s products not only must deliver more clinical data than ever before, but also must be…
Sponsored • Lab equipment
It takes a team
Clinical laboratories need to meet greater testing demands, improve efficiency, and deliver reliable, high-quality results, while at the same time, facing an increasing shortage of skilled employees and growing budget constraints. Both patient and physician satisfaction are frequently tied to the time it takes to receive lab test results. In a recent survey commissioned by Siemens Healthineers,…
Article • Precision CV medicine
New biomarkers for cardiovascular disease
A range of new biomarkers and diagnostics for precision cardiovascular medicine were outlined in a session at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference held recently in Manchester. Speakers from King’s British Heart Foundation Centre looked at how mass spectrometry allows clinicians to measure large numbers of proteins simultaneously, discussed a new biomarker for cardiac ischaemia…
Article • Implementation
En route towards digital pathology
The benefits of digital pathology have been well-documented along with the need for significant capital investment. Yet, as some pathology networks are discovering, there can be ongoing challenges to bringing an integrated system into play. Path Links – a single managed clinical pathology network operating across Lincolnshire in the east of England – and Nottingham University Hospitals in the…
Article • Lab shopping list
Marry (a LIS) in haste, repent at leisure
Buying a laboratory information system (LIS) means entering a long-term relationship with a software vendor. The selection criteria are many, but which, ask Markus Neumann, Harald Maier and Gabriele Egert, are just fashionable and which might be underestimated? The decision to buy a LIS – i.e. to form a relationship with one or more software vendors – is based on a slew of criteria, and…
News • Infectious disease
Evolution of leading cause of malaria outside of Africa
The genome sequences of ape parasites related to Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax), the main source of mosquito-borne malaria outside Africa, provide insights on the origin and early evolution of the human parasite. This finding could have implications for better comprehending and eradicating malaria infection worldwide.
Article • Mobile cMyC analysis
The future POCT heart attack test
Experts report that a new blood test to diagnose heart attacks could be carried out on a hand-held device in the not-too-distant future. The test, devised by a team at Kings College London, uses similar technology to the troponin test, but instead analyses cardiac myosin-binding protein C (cMyC). In research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester, UK, this June,…
News • Cancer
'Liquid biopsy' predicts lymphoma therapy success within days
Changes in circulating tumor DNA levels quickly predict how patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma are responding to therapy, according to a Stanford-led study. Currently, patients wait months for the results.
News • Infections
Reliable point-of-care blood test can help prevent toxoplasmosis
A recent study, performed in Chicago and Rabat, Morocco, found that a novel finger-prick test for infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy — and many other potential applications — is 100 percent sensitive and 100 percent specific for detecting the presence of this life-damaging microorganism.
News • Rare cancer
A simple blood tests could improve diagnosis of myeloma
A pioneering study into myeloma, a rare cancer, could lead to General Practicianer (GPs) using simple blood tests to improve early diagnosis. The study investigated the best combination of blood tests that could be used to diagnose myeloma in GP practices.
News • Lab equipment
Thermo Fisher presents new compact refrigerators for clinical storage
The Thermo Scientific TSG Series of refrigerators maintain optimal cold storage conditions with minimal energy consumption and noise output. They have been specifically developed to address the need of clinical laboratories and patient care facilities for cold storage equipment that enable secure and energy-efficient storage of vaccines, medicines, lab kits and breast milk, while offering quiet…
News • AACC Disruptive Technology Award
Developers take diagnostics to the patient
Over the last several years, technological advancements have enabled the development of tests that can be performed right where the patient is, whether that’s in a hospital room, primary care office, or community health center. This is a paradigm shift in healthcare delivery that will make it easier for patients to get accurate diagnoses and treatment, and could especially benefit patients in…
News • Diagnostic lab system
DxM MicroScan WalkAway System now available on the market
Beckman Coulter announced commercialization of its DxM MicroScan WalkAway system, a diagnostic solution for bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing for microbiology laboratories. The DxM MicroScan WalkAway system uses direct minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for detection of antimicrobial resistance, offering greater confidence in results through gold-standard…
News • Lab equipment
Atellica Solution gets 'thumbs up' from early adopters
Clinical laboratories are challenged to meet greater testing demands, improve efficiency, and deliver reliable, high-quality results, while facing an increasing shortage of skilled employees and growing budget constraints. Recognizing that technology can play a critical role in addressing each of these challenges, Siemens Healthineers brought to market the Atellica Solution immunoassay and…
