RECENT NEWS

Royal Philips has announced the latest release of TissueMark, which now supports region of interest detection for the majority of molecular testing and helps research laboratories improve the accuracy of tumour estimation. The new version, which was showcased at the 30th European Congress of Pathology, leverages deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in prostate and ovarian tumour tissue identification.

EKF Diagnostics highlighted the new Stanbio Chemistry Glycated Albumin (GA) assay kit and its DiaSpect haemoglobin point-of-care (POC) analyser at the recent AACC 2018 Clinical Lab Expo in Chicago.

Royal Philips and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust have announced plans to create a digital pathology network to help drive faster and more efficient diagnoses for patients. The OUH Trust will deploy the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, which will serve as a central laboratory service for partner sites at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Swindon.

The increasing commercialisation of pathology services means there is an increasing need to consider service differentiation, competitive advantage and value-added service offerings. Berkshire & Surrey Pathology Services (BSPS) have long understood that the service provider who strengthens the relationship and communication with clinicians, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and end users of their service will have a clear advantage. With this in mind, BSPS has deployed the CliniSys Pathology Relationship Management (PRM) solution.

Only 3% of NHS histopathology departments have enough staff to meet clinical demand, according to a workforce census published recently by The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath). Meeting pathology demand focused on the histopathology workforce, and highlights the intense pressures that histopathologists face from increased workloads, such as new NHS screening programmes and the introduction of more complex work as personalised medicine develops.

Technidata has announced the launch of the Virtual Catalog Editor, a major new feature for its TDBioBank software solution. This new module enables biobanks to publish their collections of transferable biological specimens online, gain visibility and foster international scientific collaboration.

The Novartis CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel, formerly CTL019) has received European Commission approval for treatment of paediatric and young adults up to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (pictured) that is refractory, in relapse post-transplantation or in second-stage or later relapse; and for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory (r/r) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.

From the provision of clinical laboratory tests to scalable translational research solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific can assist in enabling clinical applications with efficient, robust and productive platforms.

Coeliac UK, the largest independent charity for people who need to live gluten free, has announced that recent research shows diagnosis of the autoimmune disease coeliac disease, which affects one person in 100, has risen in the UK from 24% in 2011 to 30% in 2015.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool will be the venue for this year’s Autumn Symposium of the British Society for Microbial Technology (BSMT) on Friday 19 October. The topic for the event will be ‘Going Overboard with Microbiology – Women and Children First’ – an appropriate choice for this maritime city which has a long and distinguished history in the discipline.

Spanish flu was a deadly influenza pandemic that struck in the autumn of 1918, just as the First World War was drawing to a close. It is estimated that the virus infected half a billion people worldwide and killed 50–100 million, significantly more than the war itself. A special exhibition, 'Spanish Flu: nursing during history’s deadliest pandemic', will be held at the Florence Nightingale Museum, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EW, from Friday 21 September 2018 until 16 June 2019.

Lab Innovations, the UK’s only trade show dedicated to the laboratory industry, will have a new focus this year on the increasingly important aspect of the ‘Sustainable Laboratory’. It takes place on 31 October and 1 November 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham, where attendees will be able to visit the new Sustainable Laboratory area to see and discuss the latest developments in environmentally-friendly products. The sustainable initiatives theme is also a core topic running through the agendas in both the Royal Society of Chemistry theatre and the ‘Insights and Innovations’ theatre run by Laboratory News.

The increasing commercialisation of pathology services means there is an increasing need to consider service differentiation, competitive advantage and value-added service offerings. Berkshire & Surrey Pathology Services (BSPS) have long understood that the service provider who strengthens the relationship and communication with clinicians, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and end users of their service will have a clear advantage. With this in mind, BSPS has deployed the CliniSys Pathology Relationship Management (PRM) solution.

The first-ever UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis (TB) will take place on 26 September in New York. After decades of neglect, political attention has finally turned to TB. In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to hold the meeting, where Heads of State from around the world will gather to make new global commitments to combat the disease. Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing over 1.5 million people last year – more than Ebola, HIV and malaria combined, but, through the efforts of public health field workers, it is preventable and curable with treatment.

While most people are still enjoying their summer holiday, planning for the IBMS Congress 2019 is already well underway, with the exhibition taking shape. The leading diagnostics companies have booked their exhibition space and are beginning their planning for product launches and demonstrations.

For many years, genomic techniques such as gene panel testing and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) have been used to guide treatment decisions for cancer patients. Large-scale molecular studies have also identified new disease classifiers and highlighted the potential to gain prognostic and predictive information to influence patient management. Also, ‘mutational signatures’ or patterns of alterations across the genome have been identified for different cancer types, and some of these are being evaluated for their power to predict drug response and patient prognosis. Today the potential of the genomics revolution to transform personalised medicine is a focus of healthcare systems across the world, and the UK is leading the way with the 100,000 Genomes Project, as Dr Clare Craig and Professor Louise Jones explain.

Health control measures alone could be ineffective in the long-term fight against Rift Valley fever, which affects both humans and animals, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

A 28-year-old African community youth worker, Evah Namakula, has won the first global CARES HIV/AIDS award, designed to recognise ordinary people who have shown ‘care, dedication and commitment’ in their communities as part of the fight against the disease.

Horiba UK Medical has announced the publication of two studies evaluating the use of its Yumizen H500 haematology analyser for point-of-care testing (POCT) to enhance the care of oncology patients. With near-patient, full blood count results, patients undergoing chemotherapy can receive treatment without delay and greatly reduce their hospital/clinic exposure times.

Eurofins Biomnis is a provider of pathology diagnostic testing and offers reliable and timely services delivered by dedicated and fully trained staff. The company’s microbial testing range includes panels for sexually transmitted diseases (Atopobium, Chlamydia, Gardnerella, Mycoplasma, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Ureaplasma urealyticum), bacterial and viral infectious diseases (HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses, human papillomavirus, CMV, EBV, parvovirus, , measles, influenza, pneumonia), specialised parasitology (toxocariasis, amoebiasis, ascariasis, filariasis) and emerging microbial diseases such as Zika and dengue fever. By ensuring that every test is performed to the highest standard every time, Eurofins Biomnis can help its customers make better informed healthcare decisions for patients. www.eurofins.co.uk/biomnis/our-services/medical-testing/microbiology/