RECENT NEWS

Approximately 41,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) in the UK each year, and over 90% of cases are treated successfully following early detection. Diagnosis of CRC is normally achieved by colonoscopy; however, UK endoscopy resources are stretched to breaking point.

Medical diagnostics manufacturer Helena Biosciences, working in collaboration with AB Scientific, has been awarded the Northern Ireland regional tender for the supply and delivery of clinical electrophoresis. Helena Biosciences is a manufacturer of medical diagnostics equipment used in clinical laboratories worldwide.

Melbourne-based Henley Health has been appointed as Intelligent Fingerprinting’s first Asia Pacific region distributor for its new non-invasive and flexible drug test solution. The world’s first portable fingerprint-based drug test – which works by analysing sweat from a fingerprint to determine if someone has recently used cocaine, opiates, amphetamines or cannabis – is now available in Australia and New Zealand following this agreement.

Autoscribe Informatics will be exhibiting for the first time at Analytica 2018.This will provide visitors with the chance to see the versatile and powerful Matrix Gemini laboratory I information management system (LIMS), which is supported through a network of distributors across mainland Europe. Characterised by its easy-to-use graphical configuration tools, and with a dual desktop/web interface included as standard, Matrix can be used to create LIMS solutions that meet the exact needs of customers.

A study recently undertaken and published by the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) has shown that Horiba’s Microsemi CRP point-of-care testing (POCT) analyser facilitates more rapid clinical decision-making, saving time and reducing costs, in emergency paediatric units. The study found that using POCT as a replacement for laboratory tests resulted in earlier decision-making in approximately 75% of cases across three hospital sites. Economic analysis across these sites found that this could result in net annual cost savings due to reduced staff time, as well as faster decisions on antibiotic use.

Radiometer has implemented its AQURE Enterprise point-of-care (POC) data management system at the University of Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust’s new emergency department (ED). Radiometer has also provided support in configuring the interface of the trust’s Sunquest Integrated Clinical Environment (ICE) EPR system so that blood gas test results are automatically linked to an individual’s electronic patient record (EPR).

The British Society for Microbial Technology (BSMT) is offering an excellent programme for its annual scientific conference, to be held on Friday, 18 May 2018 in London. This year, the focus of the meeting will be on Rapid Diagnostics – Time is Relative. While aimed at bench microbiologists, the conference is relevant for senior biomedical and clinical scientists, other scientists and medical microbiologists.

A new study has found that a blood test for cancer DNA could predict if a woman is responding to the new breast cancer drug palbociclib, months earlier than current tests. Scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, say the test could detect in two to three weeks whether or not the drug is working, although they caution that the results need replicating before they are used clinically.

Cherwell Laboratories has published an eBook entitled The Pharmaceutical and Cleanroom Industry’s Pocket Guide to Prepared Culture Media. Available to download from the company’s website, the new guide is intended for anyone involved in using and/or buying microbiological media. It aims to provide an understanding of the best practices and breadth of prepared culture media options for various applications.

Horiba UK Medical has announced that Thame and Marlow Community Hubs, within Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, have each installed the company’s latest point-of-care testing (POCT) analyser, the Microsemi CRP. These new analysers are now streamlining existing diagnostic pathways in the community and helping to reduce local accident and emergency (A&E) admissions for frail patients.

Horizon Discovery Group has entered into an agreement with Roche Diagnostics to assist in the development of immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays. Under the terms of the agreement, Horizon will develop and provide reference standard material expressing neurotrophic tropomyosin receptor kinase (NTRK) fusion biomarkers.

A new approach to the detection of immunity to Ebola virus infection has been developed by researchers in a collaboration between University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London. Published in ACS Nano, the new approach uses lateral-flow technology, coupled with smartphones to provide a promising alternative to laboratory-based testing.

Caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, diphtheria is an infection the signs and symptoms of which may vary from mild to severe. They usually start two to five days after exposure. Symptoms often come on fairly gradually, beginning with a sore throat and fever. Although popularly considered a disease of the past, widespread infection in South East Asia has brought the condition in sharp focus, as did a poster on the subject displayed at the IBMS Biomedical Science Congress last year.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as Spanish flu). It was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving the H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people around the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50–100 million people, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

The fifth in the series of articles on individual aspects of the assessment of uncertainty of measurement is scheduled for publication in the February issue of Pathology in Practice, and will see Stephen MacDonald consider some of the more difficult questions that may be faced in relation to measurement uncertainty

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has welcomed the launch of Jabs for the Boys, an initiative that aims to increase awareness of diseases in men caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes thousands of cases of cancer in men every year in the UK, such as p16-positive, HPV-associated squamous cell carcinoma (pictured), but there is very little public awareness of the virus, especially in relation to men.

Two of the key organisations in the UK and Russia leading efforts to combat the global problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have announced a formal agreement to work together. The AMR Centre (AMRC), located at Alderley Park, Cheshire, is to collaborate with Russian science and technology organisation, the Skolkovo Foundation, which is based in Moscow. They will work in partnership to identify opportunities for joint UK-Russian funding to support collaborative projects between organisations in both countries.

Labcold, the UK medical refrigeration organisation, is working with Ideagen to centralise its quality management systems in order to solidify corrective action management and customer feedback. The Basingstoke-based company, which was the first blood bank refrigeration manufacturer in the UK to gain a medical device certification, is to implement Ideagen’s Q-Pulse software across its UK operations.

Ebola virus causes severe haemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate. Human-to-human transmission is through contact with body fluids, and recent well-documented outbreaks occurred during 2013–2015 in West Africa. The natural reservoir of this RNA virus is thought to be bats, and several strains of the virus have emerged, including the Zaire, Sudan and Bundi variants.

A University of Manchester spin-out behind a medical device designed to detect life-threatening infections will begin its first clinical trial following a £1.4 million investment boost. Through its iPad mini-sized device, MicroBioSensor aims to help people with kidney failure undergoing peritoneal dialysis.