RECENT NEWS

Microbiology services in East Lancashire have benefited from automated blood culture testing solutions from bioMérieux for many years, and are now enjoying the flexibility offered by the BacT/ALERT 3D microbial detection system. Ian Byrom (pictured with the BacT/ALERT system), operational manager at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, explained: “We have been using bioMérieux’s automated blood culture systems within the hospital for nearly 30 years, and have always had a good relationship with the company.

A recent Medical Devices Directive demands that accessories such as water purification units be treated as medical devices in their own right. This empowers the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with the right to seize and to remove unsafe products from manufacturers and to retain them as evidence if proceedings are taken.

Recently, Lab Tests Online-UK launched a free mobile application (app) version of its website. The app is written by practising NHS laboratory doctors and scientists to help patients, carers and healthcare professionals understand the many clinical laboratory tests that are used in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease.

A Personal DeltaVision (DV) cell microscopy imaging system supplied by Image Solutions UK is assisting scientists at Cancer Research UK to understand how tumours develop drug resistance. The system is being used by a team of researchers based in the Translational Cancer Therapeutics (TCT) laboratory, using parallel clinical trial and functional genomics approaches to develop new predictive tools that will improve the prognosis of patients with solid tumours.

The new Roche cobas HPV test application (app) for iPad, which provides essential information about cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and HPV genotypes, is now available free of charge from the App Store (http://thehpvapp.com).

Randox Laboratories and French diagnostics company Aterovax have announced a strategic partnership to commercialise Aterovax’s biomarker secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) for the assessment of cardiovascular risk.

Special Invitation – Free Seminar: Focus On: Innovation Partners for the Future 26th and 27th June 2013 Central London

Innovation is important to Roche, and in this, our 35th year of working with Hitachi to produce analytical systems with unsurpassable performance and throughput, we are delighted to host the "Innovation Partners for the Future" event.

Recently, British autoclave manufacturer Priorclave celebrated 25 years since first opening its doors for business on 16 February 1988 and during this period has delivered from its London factory almost 5000 steam sterilisers worldwide. It makes Priorclave the most successful UK laboratory autoclave producer.

GE Healthcare Life Sciences recentlyannounced Jane Stout from the United States, Anushree Balachandran from Australia, and Markus Posch from the UK as the winners of the GE Healthcare 2012 Cell Imaging Competition.

Rhodri Morgan has been appointed a director of an innovative stem cell research business developing medicines that could assist patients around the world. The former First Minister of Wales has joined Cell Therapy (CTL), which was founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Martin Evans and biotechnology entrepreneur Ajan Reginald.

At its recent meeting in Birmingham, the Department of Health’s Pathology Harmony group considered the implementation on reporting new units for haemoglobin and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The deadline for all clinical laboratories to report in g/L is set as 31 March 2013. Pictured are Professor Keith Hyde, (seated centrally), who led the haematology subgroup, surrounded by members of the DH Pathology Harmony group at the recent meeting in Birmingham.

The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme has been recognised as the best in the public sector for its innovative use of social media. Recently, the scheme run by the NHS Leadership Academy was presented with the ‘best use of social media in the public sector’ award at the national Graduate Recruitment Social Media Conference Awards.

The IBMS Sheffield branch held its AGM at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, in November, and was preceded by two presentations. Chris Teather, an advanced biomedical scientist from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, gave a presentation entitled ‘HPV Testing… The Story so Far’.

The IBMS Council has announced the election of Nick Kirk CSci FIBMS as President Elect. Nick’s year as President Elect commenced on 1 January 2013 and he will succeed Derek Bishop as IBMS President on 1 January 2012.

The Chest Pain Assessment Unit at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) relies on Radiometer’s compact AQT90 FLEX point-of-care (POC) analyser to provide a gold-standard, streamlined treatment pathway for patients presenting with chest pain.

LGC Standards’ webshop, featuring over 30,000 products, represents the most comprehensive source of online reference materials available. Webshop registrations have increased by almost 300 % in the past four months. Customers can search the webshop quickly and easily, and enjoy the convenience and flexibility of being able to order 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

BD Diagnostics and Lab21 are to collaborate to develop oncology assays for the BD MAX fully automated bench-top molecular system. Under the terms of the collaboration, Lab21 will develop polymerase chain reaction-based assays on the BD MAX platform for a series of oncology markers, while BD will be responsible for manufacturing and commercialising the tests worldwide.

Unilabs, a supplier of cellular pathology services in the UK, has announced that patients will now have access to the Oncotype DX breast cancer test at partner clinics and hospitals, including the Harley Street Breast Clinic in London. Developed by Genomic Health, the Oncotype DX test is a genomic assay that enables doctors and their patients with early-stage oestrogen receptor-positive invasive breast cancer to make more informed, individualised treatment decisions.

A milestone is fast approaching for Gilson as it celebrates 40 years of delivering innovation. Four decades ago, the PIPETMAN pipette was created as the first continuously adjustable volume pipette on the market. Today, it remains one of the most popular pipettes in laboratories worldwide.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has upgraded its RAPIDComm data management system to version 4.0 to integrate the control of blood gas, urinalysis and diabetes point-of-care (POC) testing to help drive compliance and improve patient care.