FEATURE ARTICLES

Recent media coverage has highlighted the relatively new technology involving mRNA that has found application in COVID vaccination, but also in the treatment of cancer. The mRNA technology works by sending instructions to cells to produce an antigen or protein, thus enabling the immune system to target cells for destruction. Here, Science Editor Brian Nation compiles a small selection of activity in this important research.

The first post-pandemic Point of Care Testing: Innovations conference took place during September in Bristol, with Tony Cambridge’s Thornhill Events bringing together a diverse programme of speakers to discuss the future of decentralised diagnostics.

Richard Craven of CliniSys considers some of the big developments in pathology and how technology will help laboratories to confront current challenges while preparing for the future of personalised medicine.

Offering improved cancer diagnosis processes in the face of increased pressures and workloads is a huge challenge for NHS laboratories. Here Daniel Plews of Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, explains how pioneering digital pathology in partnership with the NHS is helping to meet that challenge.

Endoscopy is considered the ‘gold standard’ method for investigating dyspeptic symptoms caused by Helicobacter pylori. Professor Peter Malfertheiner discusses the advantages offered by non-invasive ‘serological biopsy’ in the gastric cancer care pathway and management of atrophic gastritis.

The early stages of chronic kidney disease are usually asymptomatic, with diagnosis only achieved following blood or urine tests undertaken for another reason. Now, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance is highlighting the value of these simple tests, which have been the focus of a recently published study.

Nicola Swarbrick, Laboratory Incident Specialist at the Serious Hazards of Transfusion scheme, presents the key findings and recommendations from its 2021 report, which also marks 25 years since it was created to oversee and review haemovigilance reporting.

Earlier this year the UK NEQAS Blood Coagulation annual meeting made its return to the Sheffield Hallam University city-centre campus. Chris Reilly-Stitt reports on the presentations made at the event.

Infectious disease testing for three West Midlands hospital trusts has been centralised at the Coventry and Warwickshire Pathology Services laboratories. However, when the pandemic hit, there was a need for rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing at each trust. Here, Lisa Berry and Mandip Hira discuss the decision to decentralise testing, and how this helped to streamline patient management for all infectious disease testing.

Every September, Blood Cancer Awareness Month raises awareness and understanding of blood cancers, supported by the charity Blood Cancer UK. The focus in 2022 was on highlighting the symptoms and signs of the various diseases that fall under the umbrella term of blood cancer. To complement this, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation compiles a small selection of current research activity.

The National Pathology Imaging Co-operative has been driving towards a fully digital approach as well as paving the way for other laboratories to follow in their footsteps. Pathology in Practice looks at the role played by Leica Biosystems and the technological improvements offered by its equipment.

Supply chain interruption or restriction is becoming a fact of life, both in the clinical laboratory and in the wider healthcare environment. Here, Tony Cambridge considers the various issues affecting the supply of consumables to the near-patient testing arena.

While genomic methods are gaining importance across pathology, especially in infection sciences and tissue sciences, the application of routine staining methods continues to complement 21st-century technology. The following papers include the use of Christian Gram’s eponymous method or that named after two German doctors, the bacteriologist Franz Ziehl and pathologist Friedrich Neelsen.

Currently, there is a move in healthcare that would see a range of diagnostic services relocated from hospitals into the urban environment of town and city centres, to facilitate easier patient access. Here, Tony Cambridge focuses on a selection of models proposed for the delivery of in vitro diagnostic testing outside the traditional laboratory and in the community.

Automating tissue dissection would appear to hold the key to personalised medicine becoming a reality. Here, Pathology in Practice has been given an early look at a new Xyall solution for the molecular pathology laboratory.

Pathology in Practice asked ARKRAY general manager David Eyre to provide insights into overall trends while assessing the current UK situation post-COVID. He offers a solution for speeding up all HbA1c testing, increasing throughput for routine tests while reducing unnecessary testing for variants.

Introducing a new, high-sensitivity test to detect blood-based biomarkers of mild traumatic brain injury within 12 hours of head trauma, which gives clinicians the power to predict the absence of intracranial lesions in adult patients with suspected mild traumatic brain injury.

Sepsis improvement programmes have received criticism in recent years, with some claiming that they have resulted in increased hospital antimicrobial consumption. But should we be targeting sepsis management or should we be looking elsewhere for solutions, including better integration of diagnostics? Louise Frampton reports.

Group B Streptococcus is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborns, and in the UK on average two babies a day develop the infection. Now, the charity Group B Strep Support has called for greater awareness of the disease and for hospitals to enroll in the ongoing GBS3 trial.

North West London Pathology has developed a hub-and-spoke network with clinical need at its forefront across seven hospital sites, supported by Stago UK’s resources and its reputation for adaptability.