FEATURE ARTICLES

To combat concerns about the dangers posed by the use and transport of formalin solutions, histopathology staff in Sheffield explored an innovative biospecimen transfer system, as Karen Lester explains.

Thrombin is at the heart of haemostasis, the balance between thrombosis and bleeding. Being able to measure thrombin generation accurately can have a fundamental impact on a patient’s treatment plan and survival, as Laurence Loï explains.

A new approach to point-of-care bladder cancer detection and risk stratification has been introduced to UK urologists, which could provide important diagnostic information to patients in a single visit.

With more than 2000 Ortho AutoVue systems in use around the world and the rolling launch of its successor, the Vision analyser, now underway, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is well established in the transfusion medicine sector.

The New Technologies Showcases and Hall 4 programmes at the IBMS Congress both take place in conjunction with the Exhibition and offer free content that is also CPD credited.

Following trials of the DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics System, a new automated platform for routine viral load assays, Duncan Whittaker describes the workflow and turnaround time improvements achieved and how this might impact on service provision in the future.

The humble swab may receive scant consideration when addressing quality issues related to pre-analytical processing; however, the M40-A2 standard offers a benchmark for performance, as Monika Stuczen explains.

As point-of-care testing becomes ever more prevalent, Afia Boamah takes a look at how NHS trusts can benefit from an integrated ecosystem approach to services undertaken outside the confines of the laboratory.

With laboratory results playing a key role in an estimated 70% of clinical decisions, Janice Caputo looks at a customisable user interface that allows pathologists to determine how much or how little patient information they see in order to arrive at a diagnosis.

Pathology in Practice talks to Beckman Coulter’s Ibti Rashid about recent acquisitions and the role of automation in microbiology, with particular focus on the Iris urine testing solution.

With the pressure to deliver more test results at lower cost set to intensify, advanced information technology will enable laboratory professionals to be the drivers rather than the victims of change, as Martin Wilkinson explains.

The early detection of sepsis is vital in order to provide an appropriate patient treatment plan. Here, Wayne Kipp provides an overview of the condition and looks at the merits of the latest procalcitonin assay.

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For some years bloodstream infections caused by microorganisms have been highly topical, especially in the context of hospital-associated infections. Such infections can be particularly problematic when they progress to sepsis, as Richard Broadhead explains.

A recent CliniSys user group meeting and annual conference provided an ideal opportunity to update delegates on a range of cutting-edge developments in areas such as wearable technology, portable learning and the application of social media.

Capturing circulating tumour cells in the blood would appear to offer women the chance of earlier detection of ovarian cancer, which is often diagnosed late in the course of the disease.

At the IBMS Biomedical Science Congress, almost every exhibitor will display their most recent technological advances and latest products. More than just an exhibition, this aspect of the biennial event offers, which is open both to delegates and visitors, has something for everyone.

David Gibbs and Kevin Watts recount the recent successful procurement for Bristol and Weston pathology services and suggest that the methodology used could be an exemplar healthcare IT procurement model.

Recently opened new pathology facilities at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent are seen as vital to the 10-year expansion plan for hospital services in the north of the county known as the garden of England.

Pathology services south of the Tyne have undergone a multimillion-pound transformation that has seen one company’s expertise in coagulation at the heart of a successful reorganisation of services across three hospitals.

Against a background of concern regarding possible carry over when using primary tube samples on automated urine analysers, Jamie Laughlin and colleagues report on a recent validation study.