May 15, 2017 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Low-cost assay would be a boon in remote areas, war zones, and emergency departments by providing fast and reliable blood typing without the need for specialized clinical lab equipment, and by reducing demand on type-O blood supplies
Chinese researchers claim to have invented an inexpensive point-of-care (POC), paper-based blood test that can determine a patient’s blood type in seconds and with nearly perfect accuracy.
Such an inexpensive, simple-to-use assay would be game changing for pathology groups and clinical laboratories since traditional tests to classify blood into blood groups remain time consuming and labor intensive despite recent advances.
Changing Colors Reveal Blood Type
Hong Zhang and colleagues at Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China, published their results in the March 15, 2017, issue of Science Translational Medicine. (more…)
Oct 24, 2016 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Early results are promising and this technology could lead to a clinical laboratory test that would give microbiologists and pathologists a new tool for helping diagnose infections
Infectious disease physicians and clinical laboratory scientists will be interested to learn that researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine recently developed a new blood test that can identify whether the source of an infection is bacterial or viral.
These findings were published in Science Translational Medicine in July. The paper was authored by Stanford staff members Timothy Sweeney, MD, PhD, and Purvesh Khatri, PhD, Assistant Professor (Research) of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics Research-ITI Institute) and of Biomedical Data Science. Hector Wong, MD, of the University of Cincinnati was the third co-author of the study.
These findings are timely because, starting on January 1, 2017, hospitals and health systems will need to implement more rigorous antimicrobial stewardship programs to comply with new requirements of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission (TJC). A clinical laboratory test that makes it easier to determine whether the cause of an infection is bacterial or viral would be a welcome tool for physicians, pharmacists, pathologists, and microbiologists involved in a hospital’s infection control program. (more…)
Oct 5, 2015 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
This breakthrough in technology miniaturization holds great promise for improving public health, but portends a disruptive future ahead for the medical labs
Is the medical laboratory industry ready for a handheld device that can do immunoassay testing without requiring any stored energy? The secret of this device, already undergoing field trials in Rwanda, is that it uses a smartphone accessory, or “dongle,” to capture and transmit the results of the lab tests.
This innovative smartphone device accurately diagnoses HIV and syphilis with a finger prick of blood and displays the results on the smartphone screen within 15 minutes, according to a Columbia Engineering News Service report.
An Ideal Device for Field Work in Resource Poor Areas
It’s mobile and inexpensive, making it an ideal diagnostic tool for use in poor, remote regions of the world. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, the highest percentages of all sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases occur in developing and underdeveloped nations. (more…)
Jun 12, 2015 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
In a trial, the lens-free microscope invention from the UCLA California Nano Systems Institute enabled a board-certified pathologist to detect cancers and other cellular abnormalities at 99% accuracy
One of our favorite innovators is at it again, this time with a device that could eventually allow pathologists to use a device coupled with a smartphone to view cancer and other abnormalities at the cellular level.
At UCLA, Professor Aydogan Ozcan, Ph.D. is already well known for having invented attachments that use a smartphone’s camera to create a tiny, lens-free microscope. Now Ozcan, who is the Chancellor’s Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, has created an inexpensive smartphone device that produces holographic images of tissue samples that allow pathologists to view cancer and other abnormalities at the cellular level, according to a December 17, 2014, Science Translational Medicine (STM) article. (more…)
Feb 27, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathologists and medical laboratory managers will want to stay informed about how genome sequencing data is being translated into clinical applications
There is a vigorous debate unfolding about the ability of personal genome sequencing to reliably predict disease. That is not news to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. What is a novel twist in the arguments by both sides is whether media coverage has the potential to undermine public support for genomics and personalized medicine.
For example, one media story on a study of the power of personal genome sequencing to predict disease drew fire from some genomics experts on two counts. First, they questioned the validity of the study. Second, they fear that such coverage by the media could weaken public support for genomics and personalized medicine.
Public Perception of the Value of Genetic Testing
During 2012, The New York Times published a story on a study by Johns Hopkins University that sought to determine whether genetic testing can predict future disease. According to the results of this particular study, it cannot.
Some noted genomics experts took the Times—and the study—to task. One is Ronald W. Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Davis is Director of the Stanford Genome Technology Center. (more…)
