News • MammaPrint test
New test to save breast cancer patients from over-treatment
A new test may help to identify breast cancer patients with the lowest risk of death, therefore helping them to avoid unnecessarily aggressive treatment.
News • Microscopy
New Olympus BX53 microscope with True Color LED
Olympus’ new BX53 microscope provides bright, sharp images with excellent color rendering performance equivalent to halogen lamps. The long-life LED light source, the True Color LED, is brighter and more uniform than a 100-watt halogen bulb – matching every contrast method and providing bright images to multi-head discussion systems for up to 26 people.
News • "Bad cholesterol"
Mechanism shown to reverse disease in arteries
A certain immune reaction is the key, not to slowing atherosclerosis like cholesterol-lowering drugs do, but instead to reversing a disease that gradually blocks arteries to cause heart attacks and strokes. This is the finding of a study in mice led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.
News • FDA-cleared Procalcitonin (PCT)
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics expands chemistry menu
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics along with partner Diazyme Laboratories announces FDA clearance of a new procalcitonin (PCT) assay, an important tool for the management of bacterial infections and sepsis.
News • Predicting antibiotic resistances
GEAR succeeds in competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas"
Ares Genetics GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH and a developer of pioneering solutions for the detection of genetic resistances in pathogens, announced that the project "GEAR - Predicting Antibiotic Resistances with Genetic Data" has been awarded in the competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas".
News • Clinical trial
A simple breath test could evolve breast cancer diagnostics
The University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is actively recruiting for a clinical trial that is researching the effectiveness of a breath test for breast cancer diagnostics. The BreathLink device, manufactured by Menssana Research, Inc., captures a two-minute sample of a patient’s breath and provides immediate results on whether there are indications of breast…
News • Regenerative medicine
Sugar-coated nanomaterial excels at promoting bone growth
There hasn't been a gold standard for how orthopedic spine surgeons promote new bone growth in patients, but now Northwestern University scientists have designed a bioactive nanomaterial that is so good at stimulating bone regeneration it could become the method surgeons prefer.
News • Cardiovascular disease
New vaccine offers hope of immunising against atherosclerosis
A vaccine to immunise people against high levels of cholesterol and the narrowing of the arteries caused by build-up of fatty material (atherosclerosis) may be possible following successful results in mice. Now, a phase I trial in patients has started to see if the findings translate to humans.
News • RKI national statistics
Health-related behaviour in Europe – How well is Germany doing?
The population in Germany is more physically active than the European average. Regarding smoking, the data for Germany are quite close to the European average. However, the country does not do so well in other areas of health-related behaviour: Germany has the third lowest level of fruit consumption and the proportion of heavy episodic drinkers is above average.
Article • MRSA and refugees
Screening, isolation, hygiene equal money well spent
Comprehensive examinations of 143 refugee patients hailing mostly from Afghanistan and Syria, which were conducted between June and December 2015, showed a high prevalence of MRSA, ESBL and MDRGN upon hospital admission. The figures exceed not only those of the general population but, alarmingly, also those found in high-risk groups, such as residents of nursing homes or home care service…
Sponsored • Lab software
LabCentre – agility and accuracy for all laboratory disciplines
Laboratories are an essential part of effective modern healthcare. They provide clinicians with vital information that helps them make life-saving decisions, diagnose conditions and monitor patient treatment.
Sponsored • Blood collection device
Cell-Free DNA BCT CE protects patient samples
Scientists have discovered that dying tumor cells release small pieces of their DNA into the bloodstream. These pieces are called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA).
Article • A very special juice
The patient blood management concept
'Blood is a very special juice’ – something even Goethe’s Mephistopheles knew. Medics have also known this for centuries, so it’s nothing new that the ‘juice’ and its properties receive a lot of attention in medicine. However, what is new is that dealing with the use of blood through patient blood management (PBM) is coming to the fore.
Sponsored • Greiner MiniCollect Complete
MiniCollect weds carrier tube
Since autumn 2016 a small tube has been making daily life easier for users and patients. A simple but effective addition now offers many new advantages in analysis, the manufacturer reports.
Sponsored • Analysis management
A new generation of coagulation analysers
Teco Medical Instruments has produced coagulation analysers for a quarter of a century.
Sponsored • Clinical Laboratory Automation Module
Highly flexible automated sample preparation module for LC-MS / MS
While IA’s (Immunoassay) has been the most used technic for clinical analysis, the shift to LC-MS / MS is constantly increasing for several type of analysis like immunosuppressant, vitamin D or steroids panel, but also for several new assays including anti-coagulants, antibiotics, plasma renin activity, etc. The change from Immunoassay to LC-MS / MS could have been faster if sample…
Article • Harmonising practices
IFCC structure heralds a new era for lab medicine
A new drive to increase the clinical effectiveness of laboratory medicine and take the discipline into a new era is being launched. Coupled with steps to harmonise laboratory medicine services across Europe, a move to make lab medicine more clinically effective is being spearheaded by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC). The latest position were…
Article • Benefits of standardisation
A mandatory comparability of results
Following its success in establishing reference methods and values for a range of simple molecules, International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine’s Scientific Division takes on the challenge of harmonization for hormones and endocrine tests.
Sponsored • Interview
Clostridium difficile: Routine diagnostics in the medical laboratory
In our interview with the physician Dr. Fabian Berger, we want to know about the advantages of molecular biological procedures compared to conventional C. difficile diagnostics.
Article • LC-MS/MS
Wanted: automated clinical analyser with broad, expandable testing menu
Combining the physical separation power of liquid chromatography with the mass analysis capability of mass spectrometry – i.e. liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) – enables accurate, sensitive and selective separation, detection and identification of molecules in complex mixtures such as blood, serum and urine.
Article • Unifying register
Seeking greater harmonisation in laboratory medicine
Improved harmonisation of laboratory medicine practice across Europe will help lead to better patient outcomes and produce comparable laboratory information irrespective of where and how the data have been generated.
Article • Quality standardization
Lab accreditation: One for all and all for ISO 15189
People working in clinical laboratories often believe their work is of the highest quality, and adhere to what they believe is the highest standard – which is their personal opinion.
Sponsored • Clinical testing
Total laboratory automation with Tosoh and DiaSys
Tosoh and DiaSys announce a collaboration for clinical laboratory testing with the combination of Tosoh’s new generation analyzers (AIA-CL1200 for immunoassay and G11 for HbA1c) and DiaSys’ BioMajesty JCA-BM6010 / C. Instruments are linked through Evoline and Evoline Manager, Tosoh’s open laboratory automation and middleware solution. The collaboration addresses current requirements…
News • Neuropathology
Detecting Alzheimer's disease before symptoms emerge
Long before symptoms of Alzheimer's disease become apparent to patients and their families, biological changes are occurring within the brain. Amyloid plaques, which are clusters of protein fragments, along with tangles of protein known as tau, form in the brain and grow in number, eventually getting in the way of the brain's ability to function. These biological changes can be detected early in…
News • Computer-based analysis
AI is getting closer to predicting our lifespans
A computer's ability to predict a patient's lifespan simply by looking at images of their organs is a step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to new research led by the University of Adelaide. The research has implications for the early diagnosis of serious illness, and medical intervention.
