FEATURE ARTICLES

The 15-minute RAPID Hp StAR stool antigen test is a costeffective, non-invasive and reliable test for Helicobacter pylori. Here, Barbara Fallowfield looks at a methodology that shows improved sensitivity and specificity.

University Hospitals Morecambe Bay Trust is in the process of creating an integrated laboratory information system to bring together its three separate pathology sites. When the new system is integrated into the electronic patient record early next year, the trust will have a community-wide, web-based system for viewing patient records, ordering tests and interrogating test results.

Manual methods for vitamin D analysis are both laborious and prone to error. Now, the combination of a new kit designed to measure 25-OH-vitamin D2/3 and an automated liquid handler can reduce the pressure on laboratory staff, as Jacqueline Rippington explains.

In the diagnosis of heart disease, a combination of specific biomarkers and sophisticated imaging techniques now helps to ensure that comprehensive, timely and cost-effective care is available to patients. Sherry Faye explains.

Increasingly, clinical chemistry, haematology and immunology are coming together to form blood sciences units. One such highly successful amalgamation of pathology services on the south coast is supported by Beckman Coulter.

Using refrigerators not designed specifically for medical and scientific purposes can have severe consequences. Here, Robin Gregson from Labcold provides guidance on choosing the correct product for a particular environment.

Earlier this year, Olympus UK opened the doors of its new Watford headquarters to laboratory scientist keen to explore the company’s new facilities and learn about its latest state-of-the-art systems. Leanne Annereau reports.

Bacteriology is one of the original pathology disciplines yet one of the last to embrace automation. However, a new methodology from Dutch company Kiestra is making a significant impact in Salisbury, as Stuart Matthews and Maggie Skyrme explain.

Later in June, The Royal Microscopical Society’s biennial MICROSCIENCE meeting will return to ExCeL in London’s Docklands. Three days of the very best that microscopy, imaging and analysis has to offer is on the programme.

Preventing the misidentification of patients receiving blood transfusions has been targeted as an important factor in reducing adverse events. But ensuring that this happens need not cost the earth, as Barry Hill discovered when he examined one company’s low-cost solution to the problem.

New approaches to instrumentation and automation are helping to ensure high-quality service delivery in pathology. However, the implementation stage that follows delivery is critical in bringing the solution to life. Here, Carla Deakin takes a closer look at factors that are central to a successful implementation.

Investigations into recent outbreaks of Clostridium difficile infection have raised concerns in NHS trusts already facing many other pressures. Julie Elston discusses the importance and impact of C. difficile infection and the tests that are available to hospital laboratories for the rapid detection and monitoring of this potentially life-threatening hospital-acquired infection.

The embedded perception of histopathology processing as an overnight service is now under threat from a new breed of rapid sample processor, as exemplified by the latest Tissue-Tek Xpress system. Laboratory staff in Sheffield are now reaping the benefit of this advanced technology.

Laboratory staff need to be aware of the differences between individual thyroid function assays and the impact these can have on the monitoring of treatment for thyroid cancer and the detection of recurrent disease. Mark Stearman provides an overview of the current situation.

Monitoring of anticoagulant effect is an important facet of warfarin treatment. Now, patients who undergo regular international normalised ratio testing can reap the benefit of microcentrifugation, as Afruj Ali Ruf and his colleagues in West Yorkshire explain.

Important logistical and legislative issues are posed by lone working in pathology laboratories. Here, Barry Hill examines the issues and looks at one technology companyÆs innovative solution to the problem.

Restructuring and relocation of services are common threads in the tapestry that depicts 21st-century laboratory medicine. A recent exercise in the north-west of England demonstrates how these two great imposters can be achieved with the minimum of disruption to pathology services.

From converted school, through a room above a butcherÆs shop, to the former Bootle General Hospital, the premises occupied by Mast have been an eclectic mix of real estate. Likewise, this successful company has developed a diverse range of products over the past 50 years, as chairman John Oliver explains.

Once again, LondonÆs Docklands will play host this year to The Royal Microscopical SocietyÆs biennial microscopy and imaging event, where visitors will be able to see and test the very latest developments in microscopy and image analysis equipment.

On the east coast of England, staff at James Paget Hospital are reaping the benefit of order-communications and automated systems that will ensure an efficient and smooth-running pathology service, now and into the future.