Jul 19, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Smaller, more affordable sequencers and genome sequence interpretation computers are catching the interest of pathologists and medical laboratory scientists
In the field of whole human genome sequencing, the technology continues to improve at a remarkable pace. Products now entering the research and clinical marketplace offer speedier, more accurate gene sequencing capabilities at prices that are within the budget reach of many clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology group practices.
Miniaturization and lower cost is driving genomic medicine ever closer to the routine clinical setting. The combination of next generation gene sequencers with a smaller footprint and advances in genomic data analysis technology mean that genomic testing will increasingly migrate to smaller lab settings. Dark Daily offers its readers a look at some of the latest gene sequencing products and what their manufacturers say about the capabilities of these gene-sequencing systems. (more…)
Mar 18, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Goal is to deliver more accurate medical laboratory testing in developing countries to improve quality of care
Picture a point-of-care (POC) device that produces highly accurate HIV results at a lower cost and 10 times faster than traditional ELISA testing currently done by clinical laboratories—then automatically, instantaneously transmits and synchronizes the results with cloud-based electronic healthcare records. This device is a reality and was developed by researchers at Columbia University in New York City.
Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals should know that this POC device was developed specifically to support laboratory-quality HIV-testing in remote areas of developing countries. Its creators want to also revolutionize the ability of patients and consumers worldwide to manage their health. (more…)
Oct 29, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
Clinical laboratory professionals and pathologists should be aware of significant levels of errors in clinician gene test orders
Almost one-third of medical laboratory test orders for complex gene tests contained mistakes in handling by ordering clinicians. This finding comes from a study by ARUP Laboratories, Inc.. The finding is an early warning flag for pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals that a gap exists between the availability of genetic tests and clinician knowledge of how and when to use them and how to interpret the results. (more…)
Apr 25, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists have an opportunity to expand the presence of laboratory medicine
IBM (NYSE: IBM) recently issued a press release announcing its new Watson Healthcare Advisory Board (WHAB). The board is comprised of healthcare leaders with a broad range of research, medical and business expertise. Unfortunately, that expertise does not include pathology or specialists in laboratory medicine.
“Watson represents a technology breakthrough that can help physicians improve patient outcomes,” said Herbert Chase, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine (in Biomedical Informatics) at Columbia University, in a recent IBM press release. “As IBM focuses its efforts on key areas including oncology, cardiology and other chronic diseases, the advisory board will be integral to helping align the business strategy to the specific needs of the industry.”
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Aug 17, 2011 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Handheld device promises reliable, fast, cheap point-of-care Medical laboratory testing in world’s remote areas
New clinical laboratory testing technology is about to revolutionize how HIV and syphilis testing is conducted in developing nations and remote areas. For the first time, researchers have successfully field-tested a rapid, sensitive, and low-cost test for HIV and syphilis that could replace the more expensive and less efficient tests currently available for use.
The new multiplex assay is called “mChip” and consists of a clear plastic device approximately the size of a credit card. It uses blood samples of 1 microlitre and produces results within 20 minutes. During the field study, this pathology testing device was 100% accurate in detecting HIV-positive cases and there was only one false positive out of 70 total samples, according to the report published online by Nature Medicine. This pathology testing device showed equally impressive results when used as a dual test of HIV and syphilis, with similar accuracy for HIV and 94% detection of syphilis cases. False positives for syphilis ran at four out of 67 total samples. (more…)
