News • News
Beckman Coulter launches diagnostics system
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics will be showcasing its new DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics System at ECCMID 2015 in Copenhagen.
Laboratory
Sponsored • QUALITY CONTROL
Made to measure laboratories
In 1995 Claudia and Robert Karl risked self-employment in a sector already dominated by experts. Those manufacturers, however, sold standardised products. The Karls, with backing from a stainless steel producer, decided to produce tailor-made solutions to fit customers’ needs. To that end they attended international medical equipment exhibitions from Dubai through to Malaysia. Today, Claudia…
News • ECCMID 2015
Curetis launches next-generation pneumonia application
Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, announced the successful completion of the clinical and analytical CE performance evaluation of its next-generation Unyvero P55 Pneumonia Application. The upgraded cartridge will launch at the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID, April 25 – 28, 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark) and is…
News • Low energy usage
Temperature freezer: green solution in lab
New ultra-low temperature freezer reduces energy usage by up to 50 percent compared to conventional refrigerant ultra-low freezers
Interview • Health Apps
Can medical apps replace conventional medical diagnostics?
The question as to whether or not there is a point in using medical apps on private smartphones is being asked more frequently. Issues around medical diagnostics are among the key points here. We asked Prof. Dr. Dr. Norbert Gässler, Head of the Centre for Laboratory Diagnostics at the St. Bernward Hospital, Hildesheim, for competent advice. Interview: Walter Depner
Article • Growing Cells
Novel tissue substitute made of high-tech fibers
Regenerative medicine uses cells harvested from the patient’s own body to heal damaged tissue. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a cell-free substrate containing proteins to which autologous cells bind and grow only after implantation.
Article • Computer Model
How our livers will store fat?
As part of an effort to understand how an experimental drug for atherosclerosis causes the build-up of fat in the liver, scientists have developed a computer model that can predict how the rate at which liver stores fat in response to various situations.
Researchers create 'Wikipedia' for neurons
The decades worth of data that has been collected about the billions of neurons in the brain is astounding. To help scientists make sense of this "brain big data," researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used data mining to create a publicly available website that acts like Wikipedia, indexing physiological information about neurons.
Diagnosing infectious diseases at the point-of-care
A new "lab-on-a-disc" technology developed by an EU project research team can diagnose malaria and other febrile infectious diseases simultaneously in just an hour - allowing faster point-of-care treatment and precise drugs administration that could save thousands of lives.
Long-standing mystery in membrane traffic solved
Researchers discovered that NSF unravels a single SNARE complex using one round ATP turnover by tearing the complex with a single burst, contradicting a previous theory that it unwinds in a processive manner.
News • Neuropsychiatric disorders
Philips develops handheld blood test
Royal Philips today announced that it has entered into a multi-year development agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen). The collaboration aims to develop a new handheld blood test to provide doctors with a novel tool to improve the care of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
News • Test automation
Fluke updates its software platform
Fluke Biomedical released Ansur 3.0, the largest update to its test automation software platform to date. Ansur 3.0 provides new login features, customization options and reporting choices to customers than ever before.
Article • testing Ebola
New mobile lab case sees action in Guinea
Dr Ahmed Abd El Wahed, research associate in the Department of Infection Models at the German Primate Centre (DPZ) in Göttingen, has developed a portable laboratory for fast diagnosis of Ebola. The new procedure is six to ten times faster than the one currently used, and equally sensitive. Report: Anja Behringer
News • Heart failure
Researchers identify 'missing culprit'
Working with lab animals and human heart cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions have identified what they describe as "the long-sought culprit" in the mystery behind a cell-signaling breakdown that triggers heart failure.
Sponsored • Critical care
European launch of in-line blood gas analyser
Sphere Medical, launches its in-line patient dedicated arterial blood gas analyser in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium at ISICEM 2015. The advanced Proxima System delivers true point-of-care testing (POCT) by enabling critical care staff to obtain frequent laboratory accurate blood gas measurements without leaving the patient’s bedside. This facilitates effective and timely clinical decisions…
News • Fighting Infection
WHO joins ESCMID to fight global infections
The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has been joined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the 7th annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ (April 24th, 2015). This year’s event sees the European society exploring vaccines as a possible solution in the global, cross-border fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Article • Treating Ebola
An isolation unit flying on 60-metre wings
The ‘Robert Koch’ plane for medical evacuations (MedEvac) is the winged equivalent of a German hospital isolation ward. Within it, medics with viral haemorrhagic fever while working on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, receive intensive medical care during any stages of the disease, while being evacuated. Report: Anja Behringer
Article • Diagnostics
Part II: Iron deficiency and anaemia
Iron deficiency and resulting anaemia cause fatal comorbidities worldwide. Despite this, they are generally underestimated. Professor Lothar Thomas, specialist in laboratory medicine at the Central Laboratory in the Frankfurt/Main University Hospital, is seeking more information about new laboratory parameters for diagnosis and monitoring of iron deficiency and iron substitution therapy. The…
Sponsored • Testing Infections
One step detection of toxigenic C. difficile
A new CE-IVD certified molecular test has been added to Greiner Bio-One’s Genspeed test portfolio for nosocomial infections. In addition to the recently introduced MRSA test, the Genspeed C.diff OneStep test addresses the international need to combat Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections. The test is analysed on the Genspeed R2 Analyser.
Article • Automation
Reducing laborious microbiology testing
Automation of high-volume biochemistry and immunology laboratories has been on-going for more than a decade, yet central laboratories only recently dared to take on the daunting task of automating the more complex processes of microbiology. Report: John Brosky
News • Diabetes
Biomarker for steatohepatitis
40 percent of people in the EU suffer from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a disease which is becoming increasingly more frequent as a result of diabetes and excess weight in an affluent society.
Article • IT mobil
Mobile apps take students into the laboratory
Mobile apps have proved to be valuable educational tools, but laboratory instructors thus far have been limited to using mobile devices only for virtual laboratories with simulated experiments. Now, researchers at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering have developed a series of mobile applications that allow students to remotely interact with real data and equipment in real laboratories.
News • Research
New revolutionary culturing technique for liver and pancreas
Researchers at the Hubrecht Institute and the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht successfully developed a culturing system for human liver stem cells as well as stem cells from pancreatic cancer. They describe the development of these culturing systems in two articles in this week’s edition of Cell magazine.
Article • Ebola
Seeking best practice
On 29 July, Dr James Ritchie was attending the American Association of Clinical Chemistry’s annual conference in Chicago when he received the call that a physician and missionary worker, who had been in West Africa, were headed to Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital. Report: Lisa Chamoff
Article • Infection Control
Periprosthetic infections: a new disease
Early diagnosis and effective therapy of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) remain a challenge for many physicians due to the complexity and heterogeneity of clinical symptoms. As individual solutions are needed, opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas are welcome, as clearly shown during the satellite symposium on the diagnosis and treatment of periprosthetic knee infections held at this…
