Sponsors

FEATURE ARTICLES

A dyeing art in microbiology

In the ever-changing, evolving and developing scientific arena that is laboratory medicine, Mark Reed spares a thought for a traditional product that is still part of the foundations of diagnostics... the stain.

A name to remember in women’s health across Europe

Delegates including consultant gynaecologists, obstetricians and cytopathologists in the fields of surgical and diagnostics procedures gathered in Brussels last autumn for an Hologic user meeting.

Tuberculosis: the molecular fight back has started

Optimum tuberculosis management requires rapid detection, prevention and treatment, but David Persing believes current technology is inadequate. Here, he explains why a new test could prove to be one of the most important diagnostic developments to have occurred in many years.

Right cell, right result with contolled-rate freezing

Advances in embryology that have characterised medical progress over the past quarter of a century have relied on the application of methods such as controlled-rate freezing, as Paul Lakra and Geoffrey Planer explain.

Microbiology laboratory automation: a coming of age

In today's healthcare environment, automation is vital for streamlining operations and advancing patient care. Full automation has now become standard in chemistry and haematology; however, bioMérieux products are now helping microbiology laboratories enjoy similar benefits. Thierry Bernard and Jean-Louis Tissier explain.

Introducing Chester’s automated single-site blood sciences facility

Managed service contracts are seen as a valuable asset in the provision of modern pathology services. Now, Beckman Coulter is branding its next-generation offering as Three60,bringing with it a new level of support expertise.

Blood on demand: a roadshow experience

Dispensing blood from a vending-style machine located inside the operating theatre has now become a reality, as Pathology in Practice discovered at a recent UK patient safety roadshow.

Antibiotic-resistant organisms: three powerful screening tests for ESBLs, VRE and MRSA

Recently, measures have been introduced which aim to combat the spread of hospital-acquired infections. Now, Oxoid’s range of Brilliance chromogenic media has been extended to complement the very latest infection control procedures.

Protecting the health of the nation

With test menus and consolidated solutions to suit any size of laboratory, Roche is now being relied upon by more and more hospital trusts for their diagnostic needs and managed laboratory services support. Here, departments on Guernsey and in Wales demonstrate how their laboratories are benefiting from this support, and we learn about a new bone marker assay.

Medal-winning moments at Frimley Park Hospital

The 50,000th Siemens Clinitek Status urine analyser has just been installed in the Children’s Ward and Teenage Unit at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. Ward sisters Gail Ashworth and Gillian Rooney and members of the hospital’s point-of-care team were accompanied by some of their patients to receive the analyser from Kate Cox, operational manager at Frimley Park. Members of the Siemens team had travelled to the presentation from Sudbury, Suffolk, where the analyser is made, so that they could see at first hand how it is used in a hospital setting.

BloodTrack electronic system enhances patient safety in Bournemouth

Prior to adoption of the EU Blood Safety Directive 2005 (1) into UK law, The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust undertook an audit of its paper-based transfusion process to find that only 70% of transfusion records were available in patients’ case notes. Consequently, the trust sought to amend the process to ensure that the directive’s 100% traceability requirements were met.

Path Links: why a managed service contract?

Recently, Horiba extended its longstanding relationship with Path Links by entering into a managed service contract for haematology services. Here, Mick Chomyn is questioned about the reasons behind the decision and his thoughts on this increasingly popular approach to financing services in the NHS.

Virtual reality: online reporting from Backlogs

For some time now, the UK has experienced a noticeable manpower shortage of histopathologists. Recruitment into the profession is proving problematic and various factors are responsible for this situation. A freeze in new consultant posts during the 1990s began the steady decline in total numbers. Increasing workloads combined with higher quality standards required by The Royal College of Pathologists and laboratory accreditation bodies such as Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) UK have significantly added to the pressure, which has resulted in some pathology departments struggling to manage their routine workloads. However, one company now provides a unique solution to these problems, courtesy of their revolutionary online diagnostic reporting service.

Comparative study of antibiotic-impregnated discs and tablets

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is performed daily on bacterial isolates in clinical laboratories across the country. It is of great importance in the hospital environment and invaluable to the clinician in the treatment of infectious diseases. Knowledge of a microorganism’s susceptibility to different antibiotics facilitates the choice of the most effective antibacterial agents.

Integrated work cell streamlines blood sciences

Since February, Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester has been an NHS Foundation Trust dedicated to serving the communities of Tameside and Glossop. Collectively, the hospital medical and patient care teams are proud of their improving service and standards. In fact, this progress in standards of care was noted formally by the Department of Health earlier this year in its official review.

Immunotyping: embracing change in Hull and East Yorkshire

In responding to ever-increasing workload, the immunology department at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust looked to Sebia for the latest gel and capillary electrophoresis solutions.

Beating the drum in support of diagnostics and patient safety

Earlier in the summer, Olympus UK hosted its annual user group meeting in Leicestershire. It proved to be an invaluable forum for sharing customer experiences and building on its reputation as an all-round pathology and healthcare solutions provider.

Randox Laboratories: the future of healthcare

Randox Laboratories has impacted on the world of clinical diagnostics in a ground-breaking manner. Worldwide, it is ranked 23rd out of over 1600 companies in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market, it is the only British manufacturer of clinical diagnostic products and is the sixth largest manufacturer of clinical chemistry reagents.

Pathos processing: the Liverpool experience

Conventional tissue processing in histopathology can be a time-consuming exercise. However, use of the very latest technology is having a major impact on working patterns in histopathology, as Emma Colgan explains.

Purpose-built archiving facility helps laboratories release valuable space

CellNass, the Human Tissue Authority-licensed archive management service located in Newtown, Wales, recently completed the development of a new dedicated facility that increases the available capacity to archive microscope slides, tissue blocks and other human tissue samples.

Latest Issues

Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) 2024 Annual Meeting & Expo

Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, Canada
19-23 November, 2024

11th Digital Pathology & AI Congress: Europe

Hilton London Metropole, 255 Edgware Road, London, W2 1JU
11-12 December, 2024

Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2025

Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre
31 March - 3 April, 2025

BSMT Annual Microbiology Conference

RAF Museum, Hendon, London NW9 5LL
15 May, 2025

Ghent Pathology 2025

ICC Ghent, Belgium
24-26 June, 2025