FEATURE ARTICLES

The latest developments in automation will come to the aid of histopathology departments that offer fluorescence in situ hybridisation testing for HER2 gene amplification. Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) is a transmembrane receptor with tyrosine kinase activity that exist in low levels on normal breast epithelial cells but is over-expressed in 20–30% of patients with invasive breast cancer. This is caused by amplification of the HER2 gene on chromosome 17, and there is a very good correlation between HER2 receptor protein over-expression and HER2 gene amplification in breast cancer.

Managed service contracts continue to provide a valuable asset in the provision of modern pathology services. Two years after introducing Beckman Coulter’s Three60 inventory management to the laboratory in Chester, the department comfortably meets and often exceeds expected service levels. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust decided to enter a partnership with laboratory automation expert Beckman Coulter when it developed one of the first combined blood science units in the NHS. Now, two years on, the impact is already recognised – workflow improvements, a consistently reduced turnaround time, increased revenue opportunities, and staff able to multitask in a less stressful environment.

A powerful but comopact NMR analysers has enabled one contract laboratory to eliminate bottlenecks associated with fat testing and dramatically increase sample throughput. The quickening pace of business has caused one of Europe’s leading independent testing laboratories to seek an alternative to the standard solvent extraction/acid hydrolysis (Soxhlet) method for testing the amount of fat in foods.

Nephelometry is used to measure the specific level immunoglobulins circulating in the blood. With 50 years’ experience, Siemens is one of the leaders in the field, as workers in hospitals in Cambridge and the south-east are able to testify. The BN II and the BN ProSpec allow laboratories to provide uncompromising performance in plasma proteins analysis, favoured by the majority of nephelometry users in the UK. The ease of use and comprehensive menu make the BN II and the BN ProSpec the ideal solution for any size of laboratory, including protein reference units and dedicated immunology departments, as well as special chemistry laboratories and clinical trials organisations.

The recently launched Congress programme clearly demonstrates the vital importance of the symbiotic relationship that exists between the commercial sector and the profession it supports. Attendance, however, offers so much more, and now is the most cost-effective time to book and pay.

As hospital admissions increase due to severe cases of influenza infection, so does the demand for isolation facilities. With the ever present threat of healthcare-associated infections, Michelle Holland explores the importance of the rapid diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection as an aid to patient prioritisation and appropriate resource allocation.

The Sebia Capillarys instrument is an automated capillary electrophoresis (CE) system for serum protein analysis, and is now a popular platform for the routine analysis of serum proteins in the investigation of myeloma. Clinical interpretation of protein electrophoresis requires experience of pattern recognition and can be subjective.

A new cobas point-of-care blood gas analyser was previewed at the UK Roche Symposium last year. Destined to find application across the hospital setting, the cobas b 123 is compact, configurable and flexible in use. Diagnostic tests or associated pre-analytical steps are being performed increasing outside the confines of the medical laboratory on a point-of-care (POC) basis. In the hospital setting, such procedures include blood gas testing in theatre and intensive care units. Modern POC blood gas analysers also provide the facility to test for other critical care parameters, such as electrolytes and glucose, as the system introduced in this article demonstrates.

A new 10-minute nasal swab test for influenza has been introduced by Washington, Tyne & Wear-based diagnostics company CDx. It claims to allow A & E departments to triage incoming patients showing signs of influenza and allocate resources appropriately to treat each patient more effectively.

In a regular feature, Pathology in Practice will speak with leading personalities from the diagnostic industry to gain their views and opinions on current topical issues facing the profession. In the spotlight in this issue is Peter Nest, who is no stranger to the diagnostics industry, having been employed within it since 1987 following a 10-year career as a biomedical scientist at the Royal East Sussex Hospital in Hastings. Peter eventually left the NHS to commence work as a sales engineer for Clandon Scientific, following which he enjoyed a spell in sales at Roche, before forming a small company called Apex Diagnostics, selling Biotrol chemistry reagents to the UK market. Later he became a product manager for Alpha Laboratories, and then their UK sales manager (diagnostics), before joining IBG Immucor in 2003 as sales and marketing manager. Peter took up his present post as UK general manager for IBG Immucor in September 2009.

Recently Selly Oak Hospital added serology testing to its automated Roche serum work area platform running in the blood science laboratory. The result is an improved service to the trust’s transplantation programme. Increasingly over the past decade or so the boundaries between the distinct pathology disciplines has become blurred. Furthermore, the advantages of a more holistic, centralised approach to the provision of, for example clinical chemistry, haematology and immunology has seen the evolution of blood sciences as a 21st-century pathology specialty. An excellent exemplar of this service consolidation is reported in this article.

Routine first trimester Down’s syndrome screening supports an earlier decision-making process. Now, precise, specific and reliable results are available with the Roche Elescys PAPP-A and free ßhCG screening assays.

Oxoid and Remel are the specialty microbiology brands of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Within these brand ranges are some of the fastest identification tests available to clinical microbiologists today.

The Biomedical Science Congress is now less than 10 months away. More than just a scientific meeting, this complete experience clearly demonstrates the vital importance of the symbiotic relationship between the commercial sector and the profession it supports.

Biomedical scientist Barry Hill explains the value of point-of-care diagnostic testing schemes in primary care and explains how recently introduced web-based resources can enable users to take greater advantage of their local pathology services.

Addenbrooke’s Hospital recently evaluated an innovative antinuclear antibody screening test from Phadia. The assay offers Lean working, increased flexibility and fewer false-positive results, as Graham Wood explains.

Building on the success of last year’s Siemens Academy meeting, the 2010 three-day gathering of over 200 managers and biomedical scientists from the UK and Ireland took place in Manchester. Achieving efficiencies and productivity in times of change was the theme.

Personalised healthcare, the tailored treatment of a patient based on genetic make-up, is moving away from the research laboratory into mainstream medicine. Here, Jane Theaker, Jennifer Lewis and Marc Egelhofer look at progress so far.

Eighteen months on from the acquisition of Olympus by Beckman Coulter, Pathology in Practice spoke to marketing manager Leanne Annereau, a senior manager who came from Olympus to the newly expanded company.

The field of cytogenetics has undergone significant change over the past few years. The rapid development of microarrays has meant that traditional techniques are now taking a subsidiary role in the detection of chromosomal abnormalities to array comparative genome hybridisation for constitutional disorders.