FEATURE ARTICLES
Looking out for lone laboratory workers
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.
Microscience 2008: EuropeÆs premier imaging and microscopy event
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.
Fifty years and still counting: the history of the Mast Group
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.
Merging microbiology: thatÆs the way to do it!
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.
Improving turnaround time at warfarin clinics
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.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a rapid method for effective screening
Work in The Netherlands and at hospitals in the UK demonstrates that screening is a very effective element of MRSA infection control and prevention. In the laboratory, however, Oxoid chromogenic media play a vital role, as James Beaves explains.
Rapid immunoassay diagnosis of norovirus gastroenteritis
The symptoms of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis are relatively mild compared to other gastric infections. However, a norovirus outbreak on a hospital ward, or on a cruise liner, can have serious consequences for patients, travellers and healthcare staff alike, and rapid diagnosis of outbreak cases permits early implementation of control measures and helps to contain the outbreak, as Barbara Fallowfield from Oxoid explains.
Medway Maritime Hospital streamlines chemistry and immunoassay processes
The biochemistry department at KentÆs Medway Maritime Hospital is reaping the rewards of a managed service contract with Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics. Here, staff talk about their experiences of a very successful implementation.
Automated capillary electrophoresis aids clinical diagnosis
The advent of capillary electrophoresis in the routine pathology laboratory brings with it the benefits of quantitative, fully automated analysis of proteins for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease, as Beth Storey explains.
Random access analysis arrives in virology
When installing new instrumentation, Manchester Royal InfirmaryÆs virology department took radical steps to adopt a completely new way of working. Here, Louise Hall explains the impact this has had on the service.
Healthcare-associated infection: global perspectives on prevention
Nosocomial infection and antibiotic resistance are of considerable concern to healthcare authorities around the world. This was reflected by the 1st World Forum on Healthcare-Associated Infections, held earlier in the year in France, which was sponsored by bioMΘrieux.
Reflections on the Biomedical Science Congress exhibition
An event such as the Biomedical Science Congress would be impossible to stage without the fulsome support of the commercial sector. At this yearÆs Congress the associated exhibition provided an intriguing insight into the future direction of laboratory medicine, as IBMS Council member Nick Kirk discovered.
Automation improves the quality of service delivery in Southampton
Automation is providing high-throughput laboratories with the ability to handle ever-increasing demands on their services. The Department of Laboratory Medicine in Southampton is one more laboratory that has benefited from Beckman CoulterÆs expertise in this area.
Quality is the key in laboratory medicine
Managing quality issues in pathology laboratories rapidly has become a major concern for the profession. However, as Barry Hill reports, help is now at hand thanks to a new service available from the CDL Group.
Ethos, Histos and Pathos: the three laboratory musketeers
Every manager in cellular pathology experiences the demand for savings and the implementation of Lean management and Six Sigma; however, lack of money eats into morale. Solutions are proffered that may appear unwieldy, ill-organised, even unrealistic, and have no regard for the fact that a service has to be provided. Here, Sue Wollington provides an alternative solutions for the 21st century.
Ground-breaking software keeps track of laboratory records
What do crocodiles and plovers have in common with the countless sample request forms that a microbiology department handles each year? Well, they provided the inspiration for a pioneering software company to transform document management by eliminating expensive databases.
Ofpersonnel and premises: aquestion of new beginnings
With the recent announcement of Alan TrinderÆs forthcoming retirement as general manager for Olympus Diagnostic Systems, Pathology in Practice has taken the opportunity to talk with Alan and his successor, Steve Swanscott, about their experiences and views of the diagnostics market and of Olympus, past, present and future.
A closer look at managed equipment services
In the current NHS climate, trusts are continually looking for ways to reduce their financial exposure. Thus, the management services of a vendor-independent company such as Asteral have great appeal, particularly in the field of laboratory medicine.
Breast cancer diagnosis: essential andcomprehensive
Growing demand for more information about medical conditions and treatments has now become a reality in modern healthcare. Medical Solutions is at the forefront of breast cancer diagnosis and offers comprehensive test portfolios designed to answer key questions about disease prognosis and treatment options for the patient.
A revolution in sample collection
More than 40 years after being associated with the introduction of single-use laboratory plastics, the Sterilin name continues to set standards for quality and reliability. In conjunction with that of MicroRheologics (Copan Group) in Italy, the name now reflects a major advance in swab technology that provides vastly improved sample collection and release. Rachel Adams explains.
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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
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31 March - 3 April, 2025
BSMT Annual Microbiology Conference
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Ghent Pathology 2025
ICC Ghent, Belgium
24-26 June, 2025