News • Sebum analysis
Are skin swabs the future of Covid-19 testing?
Skin swabs are "surprisingly effective" at identifying Covid-19 infection, according to new research, offering a route to a non-invasive future for Covid-19 testing.
Laboratory
Sponsored • Covid-19 management
Rapid and robust PCR testing for infectious diseases at Innklinikum Altötting and Mühldorf
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the fast and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in clinical settings. Harald Maier discusses the implementation of rapid molecular diagnostics in the central clinical diagnostics laboratory at Innklinikum Altötting and Mühldorf, highlighting how the use of PCR testing has benefitted the hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic.
News • Nanometer-scale imaging
Microscopy technique enables 3D super-resolution
Research team led by Göttingen University combine two techniques to achieve isotropic super-resolution imaging.
News • Nanochannels
Groundbreaking: Nanofluidic scattering microscopy
To develop new drugs, detailed knowledge about nature’s smallest biological building blocks is required. A new microscopy technique that allows proteins, DNA and other tiny biological particles to be studied in their natural state.
Article • Patient-based real-time approach
PBRTQC: improving quality control in the lab
Implementing patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC) protocols within the laboratory testing setting can offer benefits in terms of patient safety and reducing risks.
Sponsored • Handheld diagnostics
Veros™ COVID-19 test now available in Europe
Handheld, instrument-free test delivers lab-quality molecular results – 97.9% accuracy – in about 15 minutes, right at the point of care.
News • Infectious disease screening
Bronchial organoids and drug discovery applications advance Covid-19 research
A research group from Kyoto developed two in vitro models to study SARS-CoV-2, and showed that they can be used for drug screening for infectious diseases including Covid-19.
News • Biomarker from blood test
Lung cancer: Liquid biopsy accurately predicts immunotherapy response
A simple blood test could be a better predictor of whether cancer immunotherapy will be successful for a patient with lung cancer than an invasive tumor biopsy procedure.
News • New treatment approach
'Self-destructing' parasite: The solution for drug-resistant malaria?
Over the last 50 years, malaria parasites have developed resistance to seven drugs, but a new way to identify future antimalarials holds promise.
Video • Vacuette® Evoprotect Safety Blood Collection Set
The gentle touch: The next evolution of safety
Vacuette® Evoprotect is a user-friendly butterfly needle with an optimised design. The extra-thin walls have a positive effect on the flow rate and thus the duration of blood collection/infusion.
News • Macrophages
Hunting for immune cells that predispose people to severe Covid-19
When a virus makes its way into the body, one of the immune system’s first responders is a set of pathogen-removal cells called macrophages. But they don’t all target viruses in the same way.
News • Low-cost
Paper-based microfluidics enables rapid prototyping
Researchers have developed a novel way to fabricate diagnostic devices using paper-based microfluidics that can be rapidly prototyped and scaled for manufacturing.
Sponsored • Product of the month
New test with simplified preanalytics for simultaneous detection of GDH and toxins of Clostridioides difficile in compliance with recommendations
Sofia 2 C. difficile FIA is a new solution to provide reliable and rapid test results with high clinical relevance before empiric therapy decisions are implemented.
News • Analytical performance assessment
Assay for rapid D-dimer quantification validated in independent study
In a new study, scientists from the Hematology Department, University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, have successfully evaluated the analytical performance of the Yumizen G DDi 2 hemostatic immunoassay.
Article • Impact of the new regulation
IVDR: Stop complaining, start contributing
The in vitro diagnostic regulation (IVDR) aims to make tests safer, more reliable, and sustainable. Unfortunately, it is also widely regarded a bureaucratic nightmare. At the ECCMID Day on Diagnostics, an expert proposed a more constructive approach.
News • Multiplex immunoassay
Dengue Fever: hope for low-cost diagnostics
Accurate home testing could be used for a wider range of illnesses, as new research shows the capability of smartphone-powered tests for Dengue Fever.
Article • Standardisation in drug monitoring
How traceability eliminates lab-to-lab variability
The advantages and limitations of the value of traceability chains in therapeutic drug monitoring will be explored during a key session at the EuroMedLab event.
Article • Point-of-care testing
POCT: a “win-win” scenario for all involved
Point-of-care testing (POCT) is a “win-win” scenario for patients and healthcare professionals in delivering care when and where it is needed, according to pathologist Adil Khan, MSc, PhD.
Sponsored • Pathogen detection
MolGen introduces high quality DNA/RNA extraction kits for efficient high throughput testing
SARS-CoV-2 has heavily impacted global society with high pressure on public health and economics. MolGen is proud to assist in relieving some of the pressure and support the testing framework.
Sponsored • Infection management
New sepsis marker speeds up detection and therapy
Sepsis is the cause of one in five deaths worldwide, killing nearly 11 million people each year, many of them children. It is also a major cause of disability, affecting millions more. To combat the condition, many hospitals have implemented sepsis performance improvement programmes. A meta-analysis of 50 observational studies showed that these programmes are associated with better compliance…
News • cfDNA to assess tumours
Recurrent breast cancer: liquid biopsy improves detection, monitoring
Liquid biopsy performed on serum samples taken from breast cancer patients can provide increasingly accurate information on progression and enable earlier detection of recurrence.
Interview • Urinalysis for Covid-19 diagnostics
Automation to relieve pandemic pressure from laboratories
To provide a solution for the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, Beckman Coulter recently launched the DxU Iris, a urinalysis solution which aims to improve lab workflows.
Article • Cancer diagnostics
Bringing liquid profiling to the clinic
Liquid profiling is offering clear benefits in terms of cancer diagnostics and targeted therapy, but challenges remain in bringing it into the clinic.
Article • Chromatogram analysis
AI raises reliability for peak detection in mass spectrometry
Chromatograms from mass spectrometry feature characteristic peaks to signify the response of a target molecule. Artificial intelligence can help in the challenging task of identifying these peaks.
News • ATP and lactates in the blood
A sensor to monitor disease severity
Scientists have developed a prototype sensor that could help rapidly measure adenosine triphosphate and lactate levels in blood samples, aiding in the rapid assessment of disease severity.