FEATURE ARTICLES

This year’s British Society for Microbial Technology Annual Microbiology Conference will be held on 15 May at the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London, and will cover a range of different topics. Here, Pathology in Practice provides the first of two previews of the programme.

With digital equipment and workflows now proliferating in pathology laboratories, the next technological leap is the introduction of artificial intelligence. Here, Dr Kayla Hackman MD, Benjamin Dyer and Hallie Rane look at the roles for AI in clinical and diagnostic workflows.

Clinisys’ second big customer summit of 2024 saw more than 150 people gather at The Belfry to hear about the roadmap for its order communications and results reporting system, innovative use-cases, and why it all matters. Matthew Fouracre reports.

Adoption of digital pathology has the potential to transform histopathology services within the NHS, but a cohesive strategy is required to realise the full benefits nationwide. Source LDPath looks at digital adoption so far and previews key recommendations from a forthcoming white paper from a National Working Group for Digital Pathology.

EQA scheme directors Chantell Hodgson and Becky Treacy explain the complex and rigorous process that demands experience and in-depth clinical and laboratory knowledge to produce purposeful external quality assessment.

To mark its 40th anniversary, Dr Jim Cooper, the European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures’ Operational Lead, looks back at the department’s fascinating history, the collection’s achievements and impact on the scientific community and public health.

Dr Andrew Kemp and Dr Vanessa Hodgkinson present a study comparing the bacterial load on surfaces and the air particle counts in a working office environment, after the introduction of two new disinfecting technologies.

For their discovery of microRNAs, the Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun received this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Here, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation compiles a selection of current research interest in these tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in health and disease.

David Norcliffe and David Manuel examine the role that plasma viscosity could play in the future diagnosis of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Helen Peat, HCPC-registered Biomedical Scientist, and James Cottam, UK General Manager for Cepheid, examine how point-of-care multiplex PCR testing for respiratory viruses alleviates winter pressures on health systems.

With the festive season upon us, Dr Neil Bentley takes a look at Christmas tree syndrome, and considers the risks of a live tree in the home or office.

Sharing knowledge is the key to more accurate laboratory testing, and also for longer-term, better patient outcomes. Scheme Directors Melody Tabiner and Richard Haggas reveal the many and varied ways in which UK NEQAS shares its expert knowledge.

Building innovative solutions to common laboratory challenges has been Advanced Instruments’ mission since 1955, a time when electronic automation was just beginning to be applied to laboratory methods. Throughout its 70-year history, Advanced Instruments’ osmometers have helped global clinical laboratories revolutionise workflow efficiency on the chemistry bench. Over the last two decades, this mission has expanded to microbiology, haematology, and beyond.

In this final article in his latest series, Stephen MacDonald concludes by focusing on the importance of uncertainty measurement outside the narrow boundary of analytical process, into the wider realm of equipment calibration, monitoring and performance.

The recent development of disease-modifying therapies for type 1 diabetes, coupled with increased difficulty in diagnosing diabetes subtypes is reinforcing the need for accurate and cost-effective methods of identifying those at risk of developing the disease. Genetic risk scores may provide novel methods to help identify those at risk and to improve discrimination between subtypes of diabetes.

Course leader Dr Sean Brown and tutor Robyn Wilson describe the development and content of Abertay University’s new Biomedical Sciences with Point-of-Care Testing MSc.

A novel high-sensitivity troponin point-of-care test has the potential to have a positive impact on accident and emergency departments. Professor Paul Collinson discusses how this new technology could help the NHS, and his involvement in a study evaluating it.

Although rare in occurrence, breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma recently found its way into the national news. Here, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation compiles a selection of current research interest in this iatrogenic disease.

With increasing demands for advanced immunohistochemistry staining, a new system promises to deliver consistent, standardised results via a closed workflow which also places fewer demands on an already stretched laboratory workforce.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has transformed the service it offers to GPs and patients for phlebotomy appointments by deploying two key innovative technologies that make the whole process paperless.