FEATURE ARTICLES

Consolidation is set to remain a key priority in the provision of laboratory medicine, as healthcare providers and patients continue to demand more from pathology. However, Olympus is committed to helping biomedical scientists respond to the expectations of user groups.

Ruling out the possibility of heart failure in the primary care setting using B-type type natriuretic peptide testing is proving cost-effective both for the GP and the laboratory. Hilda Crockett reports on the Northampton experience.

Digital imaging and telemedicine have developed in leaps and bounds over the past decade. To get the best out of the technology, however, focused training in the latest techniques will pay dividends for the novice and experienced user alike.

Russell Cottier, automation section leader in biochemistry at Warrington, describes the evaluation and implementation of a new generation of HbA1c analyser.

Asymptomatic hyperprolactinaemia due to macroprolactin, which is not bioactive in vivo, has prompted research on prolactin and the many commercially available immunoassays used to measure the hormone. Here, Veronique Jarrige provides an overview of implications for the laboratory.

Microbiologists at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, compare the efficacy of four selective MRSA media to produce specific, sensitive and rapid results.

Contracts provided by commercial companies to supply analysers, reagents, consumables and additional staff and support are a cost-effective way to provide an efficient pathology service. Here, Chris Bird takes a brief look at what is involved.

Norovirus infection can be quite devastating, as past outbreaks in hospitals and on cruise ships has demonstrated. Now, a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from Quadratech offers reliable detection and a commitment to adapt the technology to detect different variants of the virus currently in circulation.

Total confidence in first-time results can open up more effective ways of working. Here, two laboratory managers discuss how Intellicheck technology from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics makes change possible.

The wide range of manual identification methods available from Oxoid combines speed and convenience with accuracy and reliability, allowing clinical microbiology and virology laboratories of any size to offer rapid results. Ian Hart explains.

Virologists from across the UK and Ireland gathered in London in October for the annual Bayer molecular diagnostic systems user group meeting. As guests of the company, delegates assembled at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to exchange views, compare experiences and listen to topical presentations by keynote speakers.

Manual urine testing in microbiology is a time-consuming and laborious process. However, automation in the form of the iQ200 from Instrumentation Laboratory is at hand, as Karen Edwards explains.

Blood gas analysis at the point of care is often performed under stressful situations that provide the opportunity for error. However, 1st automatic from Radiometer simplifies and automates the process, as the companyÆs Lorenzo De Feo explains.

Electrophoretic separation of macromolecules is common in molecular biology. However, knowing the dispensed-sample quantity is critical for reliable interpretation of the bands produced. Now, the new Transferpette electronic pipette from Brand offers the means to determine and document the dispensed volume precisely.

President-elect of The Royal College of Pathologists, Professor Adrian Newland, outlines the challenges of his new role to Pathology In Practice, and discusses the future of pathology service delivery in the face of modernisation and regulatory change.

Few working in pathology can have missed the fact that ever-smaller numbers of junior doctors are choosing to specialise in the various disciplines that comprise laboratory medicine. The remedy may be far from simple but Nikon is playing its part.

The enzyme-linked immunospot assay is a useful method for monitoring a patientÆs immune response, but an accurate cell count and viability determination is an essential prerequisite. Here, workers at the BBI Biotech Research Laboratories compare the standard manual counting method with the Guava PCA system and ViaCount assay.

Automated interphase fluorescence in situ hybridisation scanning methods speed up the labour-intensive process of screening for chromosomal disorders. Here, Ian Corless of Image Solutions demonstrates the effectiveness of this technology

From the clinical teaching classroom to a ship off the coast of Africa, COOLSCOPE from Nikon has become the virtual heart of telepathology. Chay Keogh explains the technology behind the system and how it is being used.

Over a five-month period between October 2004 and February 2005, an evaluation of Beckman CoulterÆs new UniCel DxC 800 Synchron clinical chemistry analyser was carried out in a German laboratory. Dr Hugo Stiegler supervised the trial and reports on the findings.