Mar 5, 2012 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Immediate access to TB and HIV testing means faster diagnosis and treatment for patients in remote areas
Use of a new mobile medical laboratory is boosting access to quality diagnostic testing for patients in remote areas of South Africa, while slashing turnaround times and courier costs. This German-built mobile clinical laboratory performs high complexity testing and may provide a new model for diagnostic testing for other developing countries.
Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT) in Saarland, Germany, built the $2 million mobile medical laboratory in collaboration with the government of the Western Cape, a province in southwest South Africa.
The clinical lab-on-wheels operates as an extension of the Caledon Hospital. This is a 75-bed community hospital located in the Overberg district, about 62 miles east of Cape Town. Specimens are sent to the mobile laboratory from health facilities in the surrounding area.
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Sep 9, 2011 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Recent advances in breath analyzer technologies may give pathologists new diagnostic tools
Does breath analysis have a promising future in pathology and clinical laboratory testing? That day may not be far off. Scientists in multiple research laboratories are developing cost-effective, non-invasive diagnostic test technologies based on breath specimens from patients.
Researchers say that breath analysis can provide critical information in real time and deliver numerous advantages over fluid and image-based testing. In fact, glucose testing via breath specimen may be just around the corner!
On May 31, 2011, Xhale, Inc. was issued a patent for its system and method for non-invasive monitoring of glucose concentrations in blood to provide critical information in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. The Xhale system consists of a small handheld device that analyzes exhaled breath condensate. (more…)
Dec 20, 2010 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Medical Laboratory Test Offers Improved Accuracy and Faster Time-To-Answer
It’s big news when an international health body endorses a new proprietary clinical laboratory test. That’s why pathologists will be interested to learn that, earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly recommended that nations incorporate a new rapid molecular test for tuberculosis into their disease testing programs.
The clinical laboratory test that the World Health Organization endorsed is the Xpert MTB/RIF test manufactured by Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD), the molecular diagnostics company based in Sunnyvale, California. The assay is a 100-minute rapid tuberculosis (TB) test. It is a fully-automated nucleic acid amplification test and WHO advised that the assay be introduced into clinical use under defined conditions as an integral part of a nation’s program to diagnose and treat TB and multi-drug resistant TB. (more…)
