FEATURE ARTICLES

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.

The use of latex agglutination methodology is ubiquitous in pathology, having first been described over 50 years ago. Now, advances in technology employed by Pro-Lab Diagnostics mean that visual results are now faster, clearer and more specific.

Concerns in blood transfusion departments about the need to meet the demands of the EU Blood Directive, and other requirements, has led one UK company to develop an innovative standalone information technology solution to address the problem.

The haematology service across two large Sheffield hospitals is supported by a laboratory informatics system from Beckman Coulter. This Yorkshire facility now represents the largest Remisol set-up in Europe and contributes to cutting-edge biomedical science at its best.

Monitoring short-term cell growth in culture and biofermentation assays is notoriously inaccurate and slow using conventional laboratory techniques. However, introduction of the VoluPAC tube has resulted in increased reliability and precision, as Martin Jordan, Matthieu Stettler and Florian Wurm explain.

Currently, antibiotic resistance is a major issue, particularly in the hospital setting, and susceptibility testing plays a vital role in monitoring this problem. OxoidÆs recently introduced simple, precise and easy-to-implement MIC strip system should help.

According to current popular fiction, forensic science can provide the answer to virtually any question. However, what is not apparent in television programmes such as CSI is the lengths to which commercial companies, such as Thermo Scientific, go to help minimise the problem of cross-contamination.

Recently, Siemens Medical Solutions acquired Bayer HealthcareÆs Diagnostics Division and Diagnostic Products Corporation to create Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics. The new companyÆs combined expertise in laboratory diagnostics and clinical information technology has proved beneficial for laboratories at St GeorgeÆs Hospital, London, and the Christie Hospital in Manchester.

Following the withdrawal of several phenol-based disinfectants, TeknonÆs product Biocleanse stepped into the breach and demonstrated broad-spectrum efficacy.

Ever-increasing workload stretches resources in pathology, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the pre-analytical phase of laboratory work. However, Plumtree can offer biomedical scientists a range of innovative solutions.

The second anniversary of the devastating Asian tsunami saw the return of a popular television programme to a peak-time viewing slot and also a donation to a worthy cause from CellPath, a Welsh medical supplies company.

All new and current members of NHS staff are required to receive training in infection prevention, and a new online learning initiative, designed to combat the spread of hospitalacquired infection, has proved to be remarkably successful.

Increasingly, new parents across Europe are turning to storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood as a safeguard against their childrensÆ potential future health problems. Now, the logistics of cell collection and storage are aided by internet services.

Fully automated electrophoretic analysis of proteins in serum, urine and cerebrospinal fluid, and the characterisation of haemoglobinopathies is now available using the Interlab Microgel system available from Launch Diagnostics. Brian Murphy explains.

Advanced laboratory information management and order communications are part of the new pathology computer environment being implemented at hospitals in the West Midlands. Here, pathology IT manager Richard Humphrey comments on the utility of an EU-compliant platform.

The increasingly diverse ethnicity of the United Kingdom population is having a major effect on haemoglobin screening workloads in laboratories around the country. Here, Ben Starling looks at the impact that TosohÆs G7 high performance liquid chromatography analysers have had in Sheffield and Leicester.

Confocal imaging may not be found in every cellular pathology laboratory but a new system from Image Solutions is easy to use, allows the use of virtually any fluorescence probe and fits all existing microscopes.

A trial last year of three chromogenic MRSA media and oxacillin resistance screening agar in Nottingham has led to significant improvements in the detection of this nosocomial pathogen. Here, infection control biomedical scientist Ros Montgomery describes the testing process and the advantages gain in patient care.

Continuing professional development has been a fact of professional life for the best part of two decades, but only recently has it become a mandatory requirement for re-registration. Historically, commercial support for CPD has been indirect, but Cosmos Biomedical felt it could do more, as Chris Sanders explains.

Introduction of a rapid test for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has had a dramatic impact on several specialties in a district general hospital. The result has been a close working relationship between laboratory and infection control staff, and important benefits to patient and hospital alike.