Hunt Biobank, Norway's biggest research biobank, is using Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's Nautilus LIMS in its HUNT 3 study, to gather, store, manage, track and retrieve the biological data of approximately 100,000 people from Nord-Trøndelag County.
First emerging at the beginning of the '60s, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a nosocomial infection - healthcare associated MRSA (haMRSA) - has become an increasingly prevalent infection control problem in many countries.
The world's first symposium on the molecular analysis of sudden death syndrome (SDS) among athletes drew in leading cardiovascular researchers and several top Spanish footballers. Sponsored by Applied Biosystems, and held in the Madrid's Hospital Clinico San Carolos, the I Symposium de Prevención en el Futbol aims to initiate the development of new tests to identify sports players at SDS risk.
Countries vary widely in their capacity to manage hypertension, but globally the majority of diagnosed hypertensives is inadequately controlled. Not treated it can cause cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction and stroke. According to the WHO, hypertension is estimated to cause 4.5% of the current global disease burden and is as prevalent in many developing countries as in the…
The probability of woman of suffering from cardiovascular diseases is often underestimated. A recent study evaluated the risk of nearly 9.000 women in the U.S. screened for heart-health risk: one in five women had a higher risk than measured by a frequently used predictor.
bioMérieux developed three new microbiology laboratory automation platforms: Two new lab automatic tools and the the UF-1000i, a urinary screening tool to accurately detect and enumerate the bacteria and particles presented in urine specimens.
Engineers from the University of Michigan are seeking to develop a "lab-on-a-chip" kit that people can assemble on their own. It could bring a new generation of instant home tests checking out for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases.
Diabetes fires researchers imagination: Two scientists at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center developed a new screening device that gives early warnings of diabetes and its vision complications within five minutes.
Scientists in Singapore are reporting their development of a complete, palm-sized sensor that can detect disease-causing microbes, toxins, and other biological threats instantly without the need for an external power source or a computer.
Siemens Healthcare has developed an sample management system that can be matched with analysis systems for immunology and clinical chemistry. It identifies the test to be performed for which patient by barcodes and automatically feeds the samples to the correct module.
An innovative robotic sample management system developed by the SME-led PMS project carries out complex sample transport operations rapidly and with a high level of reliability. It includes a new transport system based on magnetic hover railway technologies, a new laboratory information system and a special selective analyser. PMS partners are now predicting a substantial market share for their…
So called circulating tumor cells (CTC) seem to be an indicator of the progression and therapy outcome for cancer patients. US- and UK-researchers have shown concurrently that blood tests of CTC's are as reliable as painful biobsies to predict how well patients respond to therapy.
Bayer loves sports. Therefore it developes medical devices to work under extremes. Recently extrem-athlete and diabetic Geri Winkler conquered the Seven Summits - a group of mountains comprising the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. The blood glucose monitoring system from Bayer HealthCare is always with him.
Prevalence of adult obesity has increased three-fold since 1990. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased ten times since 1970. In Europe, almost 50% of adults and over 20% of children are overweight. A third of these are obese. Conservative estimates show that, in Europe, about 100 million adults and 10 million children are obese. Obesity is accountable for c. one million deaths…
An estimated 92 million Chlamydia trachomatis infections occur annually. Often, this disease presents no clear symptoms. Inverness Medical reports that its Clearview Chlamydia MF test can provide a diagnosis in as little as 30 minutes, so that, during a single visit, a patient can also begin treatment.
Laboratory automation of the 21st century demonstrates, every second, that in the 30 years since labs took their first tentative steps towards automation it has advanced by orders of magnitude - and moved far beyond the ambitions of its progenitors. Driven by the imperatives of greater efficiency, more precision and round-the-clock operation, ever more sophisticated forms of automation are now…
Work procedures have been radically simplified since, over one weekend five years ago, two specialist laboratories owned by Dr Helge Riegel GmbH Medical Supply Centre in Wiesbaden, Germany, installed two Olympus OLA2500 systems.
Lean Laboratory and Lean Automation are vital ingredients for the efficient and productive running of today's modern pathology laboratories. Automation serves as an essential endorsement to Lean, says Paul M Button, Senior Consultant at ValuMetrix, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics*
UNIQA, Austria's leading health insurer* recently initiated a preventive inspection of the technical water lines and systems at around 40 of the hospitals it insures, to identify any possible contamination by Legionella bacterium. Following the inspections many of the hospitals opted to undergo TÜV certification. Their motivation is not only medical concern, but also economic and legal issues.
Since 2002 the number of children in England needing hospital care for complications of diabetes has risen about approximately 25 percent. The Patient group Diabetes UK blames cuts in the NHS service for this trend, BBC News reported yesterday.
The NHS is still suffering from wide variations in infection control standards, according to a survey of health staff in the UK. The study carried out by the watchdog body the Healthcare Commission, after questioning more than 155,000 NHS staff, indicated that there had been improvements in infection control in several areas.
France - Clinical biology is faced with many internal and external developments, notably advances in medical science, automation, quality assurance, electronic data transmission, and the impact of the European legislation.
Austria - An unusually high number of measles cases is currently causing concern amongst the public as well as health officials. Presumed to have originated in a private school in Salzburg, increasing numbers of cases were being reported at the end of March and beginning of April.
'Lean Laboratory' and 'Lean Automation' are vital ingredients for the efficient and productive running of today's modern Pathology laboratories. Automation serves as an essential endorsement to Lean, says Paul M Button, Senior Consultant at ValuMetrix, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics*
Germany - Managing a lab for out- and in-patient care involves not only mastering increasing pressures in terms of efficiency and cost-optimisation, but also being au courant with ever evolving clinical issues and state-of-the-art lab technology and procedures.