Providing insights into new cardiac testing methods, Professor Stefan Holdenrieder, Director of the Institute of Laboratory Medicine at Munich’s German Heart Centre, explained why biomarkers are a game changer in diagnostics.
A Swiss hospital group is using drones to fly medical laboratory specimens between its key centres. In what is believed to be a world first, the eight-hospital Ticino EOC organisation has partnered with Swiss Post and US drone manufacturer Matternet to spearhead faster, more efficient specimens transport.
BBI Solutions (BBI), immunoassay developer and reagent supplier, acquired Maine Biotechnology Services Inc. (MBS) in July 2017, adding antibody development to the firm’s end to end assay development services. This also strengthens BBI’s reagents antibodies portfolio, providing a wide range of high quality biomarkers for infectious disease.
A new blood test to detect heart attacks has been developed by a team of researchers at King’s College, London, which could speed up diagnosis, according to results from pan-European trials. The test is quicker than the standard test, which combines an ECG with a blood test to measure the levels of troponin. Under current guidelines, suspected heart attack cases are tested for high blood…
Not long ago, POCT was a specialist diagnostic discipline used by only few laboratory staff. This has changed considerably over recent years. Initially, the main focus had been on determining electrolytes, blood gases, blood clotting and blood count, but further parameters, such as kidney function, cardiac enzymes, urine tests and testing for autoimmune diseases have now been added. Whilst the…
For POCT, point-of-care testing, a lab has to purchase new equipment, perform new measurements and handle new parameters – right? Right! However, more importantly, POCT requires the adaptation and integration of the existing lab organisation, with all its consequences, from additional quality control down to new areas of responsibility. Dr Herbert Stekel is currently integrating three…
Antibiotic resistant bacteria lead to infections that are difficult to treat, particularly in hospitals. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria which have developed special enzymes that render antibiotics ineffective frequently cause such infections. DZIF scientists from Gießen University examined these bacteria more precisely and discovered a strain of Escherichia coli that has been…
Just as for other medical fields, DICOM is expected to play a significant role in pathology as a universal and fundamental standard in digital medical imaging. The value chain of solution components in a digital pathology lab is both long and complex, which makes the adoption of standards as DICOM all the more important. "One of the visions driving DICOM in general is to give users the…
In the modern world, ergonomics is everywhere – and when microscopy is a big part of your daily routine, ergonomics should be at the forefront. Olympus’ BX53 microscope is designed with laboratory professionals in mind, allowing the microscope to be customized so that every user can work in their ideal posture.
Researchers at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, UK, have developed a highly sensitive blood test that could be used before surgical operations to predict which patients are at risk of complications will survive in the long-term.
Modifying a DNA sequence to alter a cell to cure a disorder, prevent a genetic disease being passed on to next generations, or to use genetic modification as a way to diagnose a virus: yes, these tasks are possible. The recently discovered CRISPR technique can do it all.
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are keeping infection specialists worldwide on their toes. One of these specialists travelled all the way from Leipzig to India to gain insights in one of the sources of the problem.
Neagen and Visiopharm announce an integration which improves the data quality of cancer patient samples in a single PACS-driven digital pathology workflow also offering time and cost savings. This in term enhances quality for pathologists working in cancer research and diagnostics and benefits the patients.
Hamamatsu Photonics introduces the NanoZoomer S360, a new high throughput Whole Slide Imaging scanner, engineered using Hamamatsu Photonics’ extensive experience of imaging technology and designed to meet the challenging requirements of digitizing routine clinical pathology.
Early adoption of image analytical tools and artificial intelligence are crucial if health systems across Europe are to see the full potential of digital pathology, according to a leading expert. While a growing number of European institutions are beginning to embrace digital pathology, Professor Johan Lundin remains concerned about the slow pace of progress. He acknowledges that more…
Certain members of Generation Y, who grew up alongside enormous information technology (IT) advances, now occupy decision-making roles. Meanwhile, generation Z is emerging into the continuing IT revolution; the digital world surrounds us.
In the nineties Deep Blue, the famous chess computer, defeated Kasparow. Only a year ago Google’s Deepmind managed to master the ancient Chinese Go, known for its utmost complexity.
Digital pathology has been the next big thing for about a decade. Yet, today only a few pathology laboratories are fully equipped to digitise their workflow, mainly for legal or financial reasons.
A national pathology image exchange platform for The Netherlands is expected to be in place and operational within the next 12 months.
Among the earliest centres to embrace the concept of digital pathology, the Leeds Digital Pathology Project began in 2003 thanks to a Department of Health grant. Today the centre is Europe’s largest.
Over recent years, virology, once medicine‘s step-child, moved into the limelight, pushed by impressive progress and pulled by globalisation-induced need for expertise in virus diagnostics and viral epidemics.
Antimicrobial resistance mortality is set to surpass cancer and traffic-related deaths by 2050, according to the UK National Health Service (NHS).
German researches have linked the increased production of a certain enzyme in the liver to fatty liver and insulin resistance.
Of the nearly 4 million women in the United States who have had either breast cancer or ovarian cancer, at least 1.5 million have a high risk of carrying certain types of genetic mutations that could increase their risk for additional cancers in the future.
The stimulant methamphetamine, also popularly known as ‘speed,’ ‘ice’ and ‘meth,’ is linked to a heightened risk of stroke among young people, reveals a review of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.