Laboratory

News • Innovation

Siemens Healthineers debuts new thermocycler and AI-powered interpretation software

At the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2018), Fast Track Diagnostics, a Siemens Healthineers company, launches a new molecular thermocycler, the Fast Track cycler, and the complementary new FastFinder software. The Fast Track cycler is a compact platform that enables laboratories of all sizes to implement molecular testing with simplicity and speed…

News • Equipment

A tiny, more cost-effective white blood cell counter might be available soon

A thin copper wire wrapped around a channel slightly thicker than a strand of hair could be the key to manufacturing a compact electronic device capable of counting white blood cells from the comfort of one’s home, a Kennesaw State University researcher says. Hoseon Lee, an assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering…

Article • Value based lab medicine

Meeting the challenge of modern laboratory demands

Faced with the constant challenge of increasing demand and a backdrop of falling reimbursement, Mayo Clinic in the United States has adopted an innovative and proactive approach to managing its laboratory services. That has seen the US-based medical giant embrace a variety of tools and reference materials to aid clinician decision making, improve care and lower costs. Dr Curt Hanson, Chief…

News • Product launch

Horiba Medical expands Hemostasis range

Horiba Medical is proud to announce the development of its offer with the extension of the Hematology portfolio into the Hemostasis field. For over 30 years, Horiba Medical has developed its recognized proficiency in blood cell analysis. This scientific knowledge, innovation, leadership and cutting edge technology has been utilized to propose a new and comprehensive range of systems and reagents…

Diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common infectious disorder that affects millions of women worldwide. Women of all ages are at risk for BV and its complications, which include a greater susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as herpes simplex virus and HIV. If left undetected and untreated, BV can increase a woman's risk of upper genital tract infections such as pelvic…

Reliable Diagnoses with Olympus True Color LED

Ensure reliable diagnoses in pathology with Olympus’ market-leading LED technology. True Color LED illumination is a durable, bright light source especially designed to closely match halogen illumination, delivering accurate color reproduction every time. The light produced by many LED designs does not allow reliable color distinction in a specimen. In fact, when compared to halogen light…

Interview • Clinical practice

LC-MS/MS enters the medical laboratory

Over the last four years, Dr Thomas Stimpfl and his team have integrated mass spectrometry into routine analysis. The analytical technique liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) combines the physical separation capabilities of liquid chromatography (or HPLC) with the mass analytical capabilities of mass spectrometry (MS). LC- and MS procedures were not originally developed for…

Article • Economies of scale

Lab medicine: Network consolidation continues

Laboratory networks are consolidating across the globe as they seek to deliver a more efficient and cost effective service. The latest developments on several continents were outlined at the FiLM 2018 – Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine congress held in Birmingham, UK in January. With consolidation viewed as a way to deliver economies of scale, it was a recurring theme at the congress with…

Article • Antibiotic resistance

End animal growth drugs to tackle superbugs

A major summit meeting in London, Great Britain, has seen politicians, doctors, scientists, farmers and other experts come together in a bid to tackle the growing global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Among these experts was Dame Sally Davies, England’s Chief Medical Officer, who described AMR as a ‘problem without a face’ because most patients are not told they have a resistant…

Article • Disinfection

Going for high-performance hospital hygiene

Room decontamination using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has proved to be a powerful solution for complete surface and final disinfection as well as outbreak management in modern hospital hygiene. Most final disinfections in hospitals are carried out using the scrub and wipe method, the specialist disinfection company Diop GmbH and Co. KG explains. ‘However,’ the firm adds, ‘this essential…

Article • Automation

Mass spectrometry is advancing laboratory practice

Mass spectrometry is moving laboratory medicine to increasingly automated discrete analysis methods, resulting in ever faster and more reliable results. It is also leveraging economies of scale as an increasingly cost-effective tool, says Craig Webster, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Clinical Lead, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham. Speaking about…

New cutting-edge products and clinical applications

“With Your Stories – lifetime healthcare support” is the future-driven approach combining the best of two worlds by using our insight and expertise in medical imaging systems and laboratory instrumentation to benefit patients through even better prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up and thus help them in the pursuit of a healthy life.

Hologic surgical devices gain European CE Mark

Two new systems developed by Hologic Inc. recently received the European CE Mark: The MyoSure Manual and the Brevera Breast Biopsy System with CorLumina Imaging Technology.

Article • Therapy monitoring

Liquid biopsy versus radiomics – the race is on

The development of new procedures to monitor cancer treatments is gathering momentum. One such innovation is liquid biopsy. This new lab technique allows non-invasive identification, characterisation and monitoring of circulating tumour DNA. Thus, liquid biopsy can potentially revolutionise oncological diagnostics – and put a spoke in the wheel of radiology. High time to act, says Professor Dr…

News • Replicas from the lab

Growing 'mini tumours' to personalise drug treatment

Testing cancer drugs on miniature replicas of a patient’s tumour could help doctors tell in advance which treatments will work, a major new study reports. The exciting new technique involves growing ‘mini tumours’ from biopsy samples – and could help end reliance on trial and error in selecting cancer treatments for patients where genetic tests are not predictive of response. Researchers…

Article • Mass spectrometry

Analytics meets diagnostics

Up to the early 16th century, essentially medical diagnostics was limited to uroscopy – the observation of a urine sample in a uroscopy flask with a candle providing light. One hundred years later, the first microscopes were developed and from then on the development of technical devices and instruments boomed. Combining chromatography instruments and mass spectrometers began with the sole…

‘We will master this problem’

Manufacturers are required to prevent so-called anomalous use. This includes, for instance, the use of cuvettes that are not licensed in products like Teco’s Coatron-X. Norms and directives are the backbone of medical devices manufacture. Frequent updates keep them current, but also often create unforeseen problems, especially for smaller and medium-size companies, because the bureaucracy is…

News • Immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzers

This is why laboratories worldwide adopt the Atellica Solution

LBM Bioesterel in France, Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova in Italy and Friarage Hospital in the United Kingdom are among the first laboratories to install the Atellica Solution immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzers. The trending motivators for installing the latest innovation from Siemens Healthineers include the unprecedented flexibility to automate redundant and complex procedures to simplify…

A New Chapter for Clinical Lab LC-MS/MS Systems

Every day you’re challenged to deliver faster, reliable results to inform clinicians. Now the power of LC-MS/MS technology is available with the Topaz™ System from SCIEX, developed with the demanding clinical lab in mind. It is the first FDA-reviewed integrated LC-MS/MS IVD system, that is open by design and closed when you need it.

News • New presidency

Siemens Healthineers names Deepak Nath head of laboratory diagnostics

Siemens Healthineers has appointed Dr. Deepak Nath as President of Laboratory Diagnostics effective February 1. Nath succeeds Franz Walt, who served from 2014-2017, and led the business during its launch of the Atellica Solution. Nath will continue the endeavor to transform care delivery in the laboratory by growing the business, leveraging his extensive operational experience in healthcare. He…

News • Point-of-care testing

HORIBA Medical’s unique POC CRP analyser reducing unnecessary admissions

HORIBA UK Ltd, Medical announces that Thame and Marlow Community Hubs, within Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, have each recently installed HORIBA Medical’s latest point-of-care testing analyser, the Microsemi CRP. These new analysers are now streamlining existing diagnostic pathways in the community and helping to reduce local A&E admissions for frail patients. The Microsemi CRP is a…

News • Clinical diagnostics

SCIEX launches high-performance mass spectrometry technology

SCIEX Diagnostics, the in vitro diagnostics division of SCIEX, a global leader in mass spectrometry in the life sciences industry, announced the launch of the Citrine Triple Quad MS/MS and Citrine QTRAP MS/MS systems for clinical diagnostics. The Citrine system is designed specifically to meet the unique needs of clinical labs that require maximum sensitivity, the highest throughput, a wide…

News • Nano-scale diagnostics

Researchers are developing a ‘Lab-on-skin’ to monitor biomarkers

Move over, lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-paper. There’s a new diagnostic technology in research labs that is gaining credibility. It is called lab-on-skin technology and some scientists are quite excited about how it might be used for a variety of clinical purposes. A recent story published in ACS Nano titled, “Lab-on-Skin: A Review of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics for Wearable Health…

News • Simulated CNS

This ‘brain-on-a-chip” could be a new medical testing ground

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and engineers have developed a “brain-on-a-chip” device aimed at testing and predicting the effects of biological and chemical agents, disease, or pharmaceutical drugs on the brain over time without the need for human or animal subjects. The device, part of the Lab’s iCHIP (in-vitro Chip-Based Human Investigational Platform) project,…

Article • Improved workflow

UK uptake increases in digital pathology

Professor Jo Martin, the newly-appointed President of the Royal College of Pathologists in the United Kingdom, believes the National Health Service (NHS) is on the brink of embracing digital pathology more widely. A number of UK laboratories, he explained, are adopting digital pathology in histopathology – in line with some labs in Sweden and Holland, where it has become routine – and the…

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