RECENT NEWS

Digital and computational pathology is opening up a new dimension for pathology services. Philips Digital Pathology invites those attending the European Congress of Pathology (ECP; 2–6 September) in Amsterdam to visit Booth 44/45 for hands-on experience as well as tips from Dr Alexi Baidoshvilli (LabPON, The Netherlands). LabPON was one of the first laboratories to move to a fully digital histopathology workflow, and Dr Baidoshvili (pictured) believes that digital pathology will open up the potential for building “a global network of experts communicating remotely”.

Phasefocus is the recipient of a 2017 Microscopy Today Innovation Award for its Livecyte Kinetic Cytometer system. Livecyte enables quantitative label-free, live-cell analysis of single and multiple cell types in heterogeneous cell populations using ptychographic quantitative phase imaging (QPI).

BBI Solutions recently showcased its Morffi signal enhancement technology and Novarum smartphone reader at the Next Generation Dx Summit, held in Washington DC. For BBI, a manufacturer of raw materials and finished test platforms for the in vitro diagnostics market, it was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how Morffi can improve sensitivity, specificity and time to result for lateral-flow immunoassays.

Philips recently announced the expansion of its IVD portfolio at EuroMedLab 2017 as part of the drive to deliver on-the-spot testing for critical care patients. Marcel van Kasteel, CEO Philips Handheld Diagnostics, explained that laboratory managers were getting closer to clinical leads and cardiologists in understanding ways of collaborating to resolve unmet needs, especially around crowding and workflow in the emergency department (ED).

North West London Pathology (NWLP), hosted by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Abbott recently signed a $252 million managed equipment services contract for the supply of all analytical equipment and consumables, including Abbott's Alinity ci and Alinity h series diagnostic instruments, as well as professional services and informatics solutions known as AlinIQ.

The August issue of Pathology in Practice features the third in a series of articles on the assessment of uncertainty of measurement, and this month Stephen MacDonald considers standard uncertainty, where all contributors are expressed in a common currency.

Researchers have identified properties in the protective structure of DNA that could transform the way scientists think about the human genome. Molecules involved in DNA’s supportive scaffolding go through dynamic and responsive changes to shield against mutations, recent research has shown. Experts say this finding is crucial to understanding DNA damage and genome organisation, and could impact current thinking on DNA-linked diseases, including cancers.

SpeeDx has entered into an agreement with Cepheid for distribution of its PlexPCR and ResistancePlus molecular diagnostic products in key markets throughout Europe. The agreement, covering Germany, France, Italy and the UK, will increase coverage for the ResistancePlus MG test, the first CE/IVD test for Mycoplasma genitalium to combine detection with testing for azithromycin resistance.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics has entered a partnership with Diazyme Laboratories that allows customers access to a procalcitonin (PCT) assay, an important marker for the detection and management of bacterial infections and sepsis. The high-quality, fully automated PCT assay is available for use with Beckman Coulter AU analysers (models 480, 680 and 5800).

The two major roles of the haemoglobinopathy laboratory are the recognition of clinically important variant haemoglobins and the accurate and precise quantification of haemoglobin A2 for the diagnosis of β-thalassaemia heterozygosity. Both can be met by capillary electrophoresis (CE), which is now regarded as a suitable technique for the diagnosis of β-thalassaemia and the detection of variant haemoglobins.

Biomed Online offers a well-established programme of M-level short courses for MSc, PG Dip, PGCert qualifications. These are fully supported by tutors over 12 weeks and cover specialist healthcare and quality management topics for the professional development of biomedical scientists and workplace practitioners.

Researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) have revealed the atomic structures of one of the two types of abnormal filament which leads to Alzheimer's disease. The researchers, whose study was published recently in the journal Nature, believe the structures uncovered could also suggest how tau protein may form different filaments in other neurodegenerative diseases.

Congress – in the UK the word means a large, formal meeting of delegates and representatives at which ideas are discussed and information is exchanged.

Lab Innovations will return for its sixth consecutive year on 1–2 November 2017 at the NEC, Birmingham. With the largest gathering of laboratory suppliers in the UK, this free-to-attend show has much to offer professionals across a wide range of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to food and drink.

University of Hertfordshire researchers have developed a new concept which could lead to the discovery of universal anti-influenza drugs. It is hoped that this new way of including more than 12,000 influenza virus gene sequences will ensure that predicted antivirals are effective against most influenza virus strains. The findings were published recently in the journal Virology.

Experts have repeatedly warned that medical science is on the cusp of a ‘post-antibiotic era’, where some infections could become untreatable. Now, scientists in the USA have re-engineered a new version of vancomycin in a bid to wipe out one of the world's most threatening microorganisms. The new antibiotic is designed to be ultra-tough and appears to be a thousand times more potent, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA.

MediSieve, the company behind a revolutionary magnetic sieve that filters out malaria-infected cells directly from a patient’s bloodstream, is now developing new methods to combat leukaemia. Following the successful development of its magnetic filter device, which will soon move into clinical trials, MediSieve is now commencing research into the treatment of other conditions using magnetic particles to target specific disease-causing components in blood.

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) has made several advances in hybridisation-based target enrichment protocols that now enable researchers to prepare samples for sequencing in just one day. Researchers can now access the high-quality results of hybridisation-based targeted sequencing with a speed comparable to that of amplicon-based approaches.

Roche Diagnostics has been awarded a seven-year contract by Barts Health NHS Trust to transform its laboratory services across London. The investment, which follows a competitive tender process, will see laboratories at St Bartholomew's Hospital, The Royal London Hospital, Whipps Cross University Hospital and Newham University Hospital upgraded to benefit from the latest in advanced automation.

Diagnostic tests or associated pre-analytical steps are being performed increasing outside the confines of the medical laboratory on a point-of-care (POC) basis. Widespread though such POC testing (POCT) has become, the required governance, quality control and quality assessment is perhaps lagging behind technological application. It will be no surprise, therefore, that accreditation of these widespread services is high on the agenda, and those bodies providing external quality assessment services are sharpening the focus on this near-patient activity.