News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
Sign In

Pathologists Performing Molecular Autopsy in Cases of Sudden Unexpected Death Could Identify Genetic Clues That Help Surviving Family Members Assess Their Own Risk

Pathologists could benefit if postmortem genetic testing becomes more commonplace following incidents of sudden unexpected death

Pathologists are discovering that molecular autopsy, also called postmortem molecular testing, could boost the chance of discovering the likely or plausible cause of sudden unexpected death, according to preliminary results from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Researchers led by Ali Torkamani, PhD, Director of Genome Informatics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) and Assistant Professor of Molecular and Experimental Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute, sequenced samples from 25 sudden death cases. They identified: (more…)

UCLA Device Enables Diagnosis of Antimicrobial Resistance in Any Setting; Could Save Lives Lost to Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria

In studies, the automated microbial susceptibility testing device for smartphone performed with 98.2% accuracy, meeting FDA criteria

Imagine doing antimicrobial susceptibility testing outside a clinical laboratory. That’s the goal of researchers on the West Coast who are developing a smartphone-based diagnostic device with the capability of performing this type of point-of-care testing (POCT).

This new mobile POCT device is under development at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). It promises to bring antimicrobial susceptibility testing—a routine procedure in the most medical laboratories—to remote, resource-limited areas of the world.

The device, which attaches directly to a smartphone, contains an automated diagnostic test reader that examines the body’s antimicrobial resistance, according to a UCLA news release. (more…)

Is mHealth an Opportunity or Threat to Medical Laboratories and Pathology Groups?

As cognitive and cloud computing continue to advance, and mobile technologies become more accessible across the globe, innovative apps and mobile attachments are using algorithms to replace the need for complex and time-consuming diagnostic tests

Mobile healthcare—also known as mHealth—is attracting plenty of research dollars as entrepreneurs look for ways improve consumers’ access to various medical services in ways that could reduce healthcare costs. For that reason, some mHealth solutions may be used by clinical laboratories and pathology groups to give patients faster access to diagnostic services and information about medical laboratory tests.

Most mHealth solutions excel at doing a single, defined task well. In some cases, they are faster and as accurate as human-based testing or observation. However, few solutions can tackle complex diagnostics, such as determining the pathogens involved in sepsis. And mHealth cannot replace the human element of communication and empathy, which will always have a place in the medical process. (more…)

Top-5 Diagnostics Trends Identified by Kalorama Will Impact In Vitro Diagnostics Manufacturers, Medical Laboratories in 2017

Report states IVD companies are focusing on core lab, seeking China FDA approval, and targeting urgent care

Several of the same powerful trends reshaping healthcare and clinical laboratory services are having equally significant influence on in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturers. In particular, the consolidation of hospitals and physicians, as well as the emergence of new sites of service—such as urgent care centers and retail clinics—are motivating IVD companies to tailor new diagnostic systems to the unique needs of these entities.

Kalorama, a division of MarketResearch.com, has released its list of Top-Trends that will affect IVD developers in 2017. IVDs are at the heart of the medical laboratory industry. Thus, these reports are critical to keeping clinical laboratory managers and pathology groups informed on anything that could affect the production, voracity, and availability of diagnostic testing. (more…)

Technologies on IBM’s 5-in-5 List Could Impact Pathology and Clinical Laboratories

This year, one of IBM’s closely-watched picks of the technologies most likely to have the greatest impact on society is the medical lab-on-a-chip

Clinical laboratory testing and diagnostics are one of the five technologies included in IBM’s 2017 list of the technologies it predicts will have the greatest impact on society during the next five years. Of equal interest to medical laboratory professionals is that several of the other technologies included in IBM’s list have the potential be used in medical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups.

IBM Research, corporate research laboratory for parent company IBM (NYSE:IBM), has more than 3,000 researchers working in 12 labs on six continents. Each year the lab releases a list of five technologies it forecasts will have the greatest influence on how our bodies, minds, society, and the planet, develop over the next five years. The list is called “5-in-5” and has been released annually for the past 10 years by the tech giant. (more…)

Research Showing Mesentery Is Single Organ, Not Separate Entities, Could Offer Clinical Laboratories New Methods to Diagnose Disease

Once thought to be separate components, the new model of a contiguous mesentery could lead to new medical laboratory tools for diagnosing and treating digestive diseases such as Crohn’s and colorectal cancer

For more than a century, pathology professionals have treated the network of tissue folds surrounding the human digestive system, known as the mesentery, as separate entities. However, new research  indicates the mesentery is in fact a single, continuous organ and therefore reverses that thinking. This could impact the way pathologists and medical laboratories currently perform diagnostics and testing of digestive diseases.

Dr. J. Calvin Coffey, Professor of Surgery at the University of Limerick, Ireland, and Dr. Peter O’Leary, PhD, MBBS, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), published their findings in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology. (more…)

;