RECENT PRODUCT NEWS
Parathyroid hormone assay control
Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a notoriously unstable and inconsistent assay, with many control products failing to meet the demands of today’s busy laboratory. Quality control is a passion at Randox and as such the company has developed a new solution to the stability problems experienced with PTH.
Next-generation blood separation technology
Recently, BD (Becton, Dickinson) obtained the CE mark in the UK and Europe for a next‐generation blood separation technology that is designed to enhance sample quality, improve laboratory efficiency and reduce laboratory turnaround time.
Faecal immunochemical testing
A major challenge facing clinicians is to identify patients suspected of colorectal cancer in primary care. Recently, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued a revised NG12 Suspected Cancer: Recognition and Referral guideline, which now includes the use of faecal occult blood (FOB) testing in the patient diagnostic pathway.
Simple spiral plating
Launched recently, WASP Touch is a spiral plater designed for the needs of modern microbiology laboratories. With no need for a separate vacuum source, the system is simple to use and provides real cost savings and process improvements. The WASP Touch features touchscreen operation, an automatic sanitising system that maintains correct liquid levels in sanitising solutions, and an illuminated, covered working area.
Molecular test for Mycoplasma genitalium
Hologic has added the CE-marked Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay to the growing menu of molecular tests available on the fully automated Panther system.
Images for autoantibody screening
The Image Navigator, available in the UK from Bio-Diagnostics, is an automated microscope that captures images of autoantibody indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) slides, separates the images into controls, possible positives, possible negatives, and titres, and then presents these images to the laboratory professional on separate review screens for easy and quick confirmation and reporting. The Image Navigator system has been shown to improve accuracy and reproducibility in reading IIF assays. The system includes a high-quality fluorescence microscope, so samples can be observed by the conventional method as well as in the automated format.
Recyclable tip packaging
Anyone working in a laboratory and using pipettes and tips knows how much waste tip racks produce, how expensive they are to dispose of and the amount of space these used racks can occupy. For most laboratories the cost of running a recycling scheme can be prohibitory as they tend to be priced upon the weight of the plastic being recycled. That is why Rainin's TerraRack pipette tip racks, the winner of the Bronze Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice, are an ideal solution to this problem.
Automated faecal immunochemical testing
Quantitative faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) demonstrates greater sensitivity and specificity for faecal haemoglobin (f-Hb) than guaiac-based tests. Increased concentrations of f-Hb are indicative of greater risk of cancer and high-risk adenomas.
Centrifuge for simplified and flexible bioprocessing
Designed to maximise productivity for bioprocessing customers, the new Thermo Scientific Sorvall BIOS 16 centrifuge offers an increased capacity of up to 16 L of cell culture product per run and special design features to make working with large volumes easier and more convenient.
Self-contained measurement camera
The new TrueChrome Metrics camera from Stemmer Imaging provides fully integrated digital image capture and measurement for micro and macro scientific imaging applications, with the need for a PC. By plugging a mouse into the camera and connecting the HDMI camera output to a monitor, a wide range of multiform measurement tools allows measurements to be made on the high-quality images produced. The camera is capable of delivering measurements with a resolution of 10 nanometres, and the images are generated by the 2.3 megapixel Sony Exmor CMOS sensor. This allows the user to manipulate live images without any monitor lag.
Molecular diagnostics aids virology workflow
The DxN VERIS, available from Beck Diagnostics, is a fully automated system for molecular diagnostics that is simple to use. DxN VERIS has all necessary consumables and reagents onboard, so tests can be up and running in less than 10 minutes, as there is no lengthy set-up.
Fourth-generation disc dispensing
Mast has announced the launch of its new, fourth-generation antibiotic disc dispenser, re-engineered to optimise performance of dispensing antibiotic susceptibility test (AST), combination and identification discs in the Mastdiscs range.
Ceftolozane/tazobactam test discs
Mast has launched a new addition to the Mastdiscs stock cartridge range, Ceftolozane/tazobactam 30/10 (C/T40C). Merck has launched the intravenous antibiotic Zerbaxa (ceftolozane/tazobactam) in the UK for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, acute pyelonephritis and complicated urinary tract infections in nosocominal environments.
Fluid technology at the cutting edge
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology has introduced its new 530 peristaltic cased pump for upstream and downstream bioprocessing tasks, building on a platform of precise, high-purity peristaltic technology. New features include colour HMI display and intuitive menu structures that provide visual status indication and minimal key strokes.
Environmental chambers with laminar airflow
The newly CE-marked range of Thermo Scientific environmental chambers provides temperature control above and below ambient. There are two models available, the wide temperature units with humidity (available in 311 L and 821 L) and a heat?only model (available in 821 L) that is tailored for large?scale clinical applications and microbiology. For applications that require close control of a CO2 environment, there is an optional infrared CO2 package available that can be added to the wide temperature model.
Biological safety cabinets
Air Science has introduced its new line of biological safety cabinets. The Purair BIO is designed to protect individuals, the environment and products from various biological particulates. As a Class 2 Type A2 biosafety cabinet, the Purair BIO minimises and contains biosafety level 1–3 agents, maintaining negative pressure inside the cabinet during operation to prevent contaminants from escaping the work area.
Image sharing and discussion
Maximising the information captured from life and materials science samples is now possible with ease and simplicity, with the new Olympus UC90 microscope camera. The UC90 captures and documents real-life details, while a 4K UHD mode supports users in maximising the many benefits of complete on-screen operation.
Peltier-driven high-capacity dry baths
Torrey Pines Scientific has announced its EchoTherm models IC30 and IC30XT, Peltier-driven high-capacity chilling/heating dry baths capable of handling various sized sample blocks. The IC30 (–10°C to 100°C) and IC30XT (–20°C to 100°C) can freeze, chill or heat samples in various sample blocks that can hold 0.2–50 mL centrifuge tubes, test tubes, vials, assay plates and even round-bottom flasks.
Fighting malaria with LAMP technology
Meridian Bioscience has announced that it has received the CE Mark for illumigene Malaria, a test developed by the company with technical assistance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal.
New anaerobic jars introduced
Vitech Scientific has announced additional products to join the existing line up of anaerobic jars used with the Anoxomat system. The Mart Microbiology standard jars have, over the years, provided laboratories with reliable performance in a wide range of anaerobic culturing applications.
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