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
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New Biosensing Film Can Diagnose Both Viral and Bacterial Infections Cheaply and Without the Need for Traditional Clinical Pathology Laboratory Tests

Sep 18, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University believe this technology could also be used to detect bacteria in food and water and to follow patients’ progress after leaving acute or outpatient care

New technology could shift the paradigm in infectious disease testing by clinical laboratories, while also giving hospitals a faster way to identify hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and monitor patients for infections post-discharge. The diagnostic technology is built into a special “biosensing film” made of cellulose paper and a flexible polymer.

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) developed the biosensing film. They say it can detect and discern HIV, Staphylococcus aureus, E-coli and other bacteria in blood, plasma, and saliva. The test is inexpensive, disposable, and portable. Best of all (at least for developing countries, remote locations, and places that have few resources), it requires no expensive infrastructure or a clinical laboratory.

And yes, the biosensing film is designed to work in tandem with a smartphone app. But in this case, the mobile app is only part of the story. The real genius is the piece of lightweight, flexible, “electronic paper” or “biosensing film” used with the app. The film acts as a platform that detects infections, both viral and bacterial.

The story of this inventive biosensing film is detailed in a Scientific Reports article in the March 5, 2015, edition of Nature. (more…)

Companies Developing Non-invasive and Wearable Glucose Monitoring Devices That Can Report Test Data in Real Time to Physicians and Clinical Laboratories

Oct 17, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Goal is to shift glucose testing away from medical laboratories and make it easier for diabetics to do their own testing, while capturing glucose test results in patient records

Because of the tremendous volume of glucose tests performed daily throughout the world, many companies are developing non-invasive methods for glucose testing. Their goal is a patient-friendly technology that does not require a needle stick or venipuncture and may even eliminate the need to send specimens to a medical laboratory.

What is intriguing about these initiatives is that, in their final form, they may create a flow of useful diagnostic data reported to clinical laboratories in real time. This would create the opportunity for pathologists and lab scientists to consult with the patients’ physicians, while archiving this test result data in the laboratory information system (LIS).

These glucose monitoring methods would also ensure that a complete longitudinal record of patient tests results is available to all the physicians practicing in an accountable care organization (ACO), medical home, or hospital.  (more…)

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