
News • Autohaem smear and smear+
Automating blood smears for malaria diagnosis
Researchers have developed a device that removes one of the biggest bottlenecks preventing quick, reliable malaria diagnosis.

Researchers have developed a device that removes one of the biggest bottlenecks preventing quick, reliable malaria diagnosis.

Staffing shortages, increased testing volumes and the need to improve turnaround times have led to labs seeking to streamline services. Automation is the key, thanks to the role it plays in minimising time-consuming, costly mistakes. Over recent years, several factors have led to labs struggling to meet demands, facing a need to speed up and streamline services in order to counteract staffing…

The Swiss-based CAMAG DBS Laboratory in collaboration with the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bern, Switzerland, has developed a novel approach for the fully automated analysis of the direct alcohol marker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in dried blood spots (DBS). The use of a DBS autosampler with an embedded hematocrit (HCT) scanner combined with an LC-MS system permits analysis of large…

Innovations in technology continue to improve clinical laboratory productivity. Total lab automation systems are responding to dramatic growth in internet-driven streamlined processes.

Researchers in Thailand have developed a device to get the most out of vaccine supplies: The automated vaccine filling machine from the Faculty of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University can fill AstraZeneca vaccine into syringes with precision, speed, and safety, helping to increase the number of vaccinated people by 20 percent. The prototype is now operating at Chula Vaccination Center and more…

Molecular pathology company Xyall BV launches its Tissector High Throughput (HT) system for precision diagnostics. This is a world first – enabling high volume, molecular diagnostic laboratories to capitalize commercially on the company’s automated tissue dissection technology.

Computer scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed a more accurate navigation system that will allow robots to better negotiate busy clinical environments in general and emergency departments more specifically. The researchers have also developed a dataset of open source videos to help train robotic navigation systems in the future. The team, led by Professor Laurel Riek…

Clinical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter announced the European launch of the DxA 5000 Fit, a workflow-automation solution designed to fit into medium-sized labs that run fewer than 5,000 tests a day. The clinical laboratory has gone through trial by fire in 2020, where total testing was 245% of baseline volumes, with ~55% being SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests. Despite vaccines, many industry…

Thermo Fisher Scientific and Artificial have announced a strategic technology collaboration to develop an integrated and comprehensive software automation platform for Thermo Fisher’s standardized COVID-19 Testing Platform. The integration will result in increased testing throughput and support global healthcare initiatives.

Medtech company BellaSeno and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT have received a grant totaling EUR 1.4 million for the development of commercial-scale, fully automated additive manufacturing of resorbable medical implants. The grant was issued by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the funding program KMU-innovativ. BellaSeno and Fraunhofer IPT…

Health industry digitalization is one of the highest priorities in the healthcare sector these times. In perspective, it improves current living standards with quicker and easier access to help. The Healthcare Automation and Digitalization Congress business program will cover digital trends in the healthcare industry. The Congress will take place in Zurich, Switzerland on the 22nd - 23rd of…

As the leading supplier for tube identification and sorting devices, ASP Lab Automation AG designed the new generation of their tube sorter ASP SortPro for a throughput of 3.600 tubes per hour.

The academic teaching Karlsruhe Hospital, at the University of Freiburg, is the largest hospital providing tertiary care in the Middle Upper Rhine Valley. Every year, 63,000 in-patients and 180,000 out-patients are treated in the 1,500-bed facility with 50 departments and 30 out-patient clinics. Inevitably, a hospital of this size has a central lab. We spoke with Dr Horst Mayer, managing senior…

Scientists in the life sciences can now benefit from upgrades to a suite of analytical software solutions with new features designed to enhance productivity, confidence and accuracy in numerous fields, including proteomics, food safety and biotherapeutic drug development. The latest suite of software strengthens laboratory workflows across a range of applications through expanded capabilities,…

Like most technologies, X-ray imaging software is evolving, delivering more automation and improved image quality. However, the fundamental imaging basics for radiologic technologists remain unchanged. In this article, manufacturer Carestream provides a helpful review of the imaging basics for rad techs. In today’s digital world, basic functions once performed by the operator are now…

Engineers at Rutgers University have created a tabletop device that combines a robot, artificial intelligence and near-infrared and ultrasound imaging to draw blood or insert catheters to deliver fluids and drugs. Their most recent research results, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, suggest that autonomous systems like the image-guided robotic device could outperform people on…

Each year almost 80,000 new patients in France alone receive fluoropyrimidines, a group of anti-cancer drugs including 5-FU which is normally administered intravenously to treat digestive, breast and head and neck cancer. However, fluoropyrimidines-based chemotherapies can cause severe toxicities (incidence at around 20%) and sometimes lethal toxicity (incidence between 0.1 and 1%) with part of…

Touring the laboratory at the Clínic de Barcelona Hospital, Dr José Luis Bedini revealed how the latest Siemens Healthineers technology has transformed workflow to deliver quicker results, improve efficiency, conserve energy, and thus make the team of technicians very happy! In recent months the Core Lab Operative Area at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona has undergone a transformation due to the…

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.

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.…

The new Yumizen H2500 is a high-end haematology analyser with CBC, 8-DIFF, NRBC, reticulocytes, optical platelets and Body Fluids (CE). Full automation for demanding haematology diagnostics, can be integrated into the Horiba T6000 conveyor belt solution, with the option of a fully-automatic blood smear and staining unit (Yumizen SPS).

More than 16 years of experience in the complex matter of workflows within clinical labs leads to the latest generation of ASP SortPro tube sorter. To make the investment in sorting devices efficient, these must be integrated perfectly into the workflow. The ASP team sold hundreds of tube sorters to clinical labs and hospitals worldwide. In all these installations the German engineers have…

DRG's fully-automated analyzer with unique technology allows the automated determination of niche parameters like Calprotectin, Free Testosterone, Salivary Cortisol, Renin, Aldosterone, Hepcidin and brand new celiac disease tests: anti-tTG and -DGP.

Beckman Coulter announced that the latest addition to its market-leading automation portfolio, the DxA 5000 total laboratory automation (TLA) solution has achieved European CE Mark and China Food and Drug Administration approval. In today’s healthcare environment, laboratories are highly focused on enhancing patient care by driving faster turnaround time, delivering quality results and…

Digitalization offers great potential for hospitals: diseases can be detected earlier, internal processes more efficiently organized, health expenditure reduced and patients better cared for. Artificial intelligence, robotics, sensor technology, big data, additive manufacturing or augmented reality - the technologies for this have long been available.