Nov 7, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
The device automates the process used by pathology labs to process biopsy specimens and could be applied to automate other scientific processes
Hoping to speed up the processing of human biopsies to reduce the time required to diagnose cancers, two undergraduate engineering students at the University of Washington (UW) have developed a cheap, miniaturized device that could one day be used in anatomic pathology laboratories.
The protype is a low-cost, credit-card-sized device that automates the processing of human tissue biopsies using fluid transport. The device could help pathologists diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and faster, to hopefully treat patients before it progresses to a deadly stage, according to a UW press release.
Unlike cancers that can be diagnosed early with fine needle biopsy, such as breast cancer, pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancers. It kills 94% of victims within five years because diagnosis usually is too late to effectively treat the disease. (more…)
Nov 3, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University attract attention with their unique assay that detects cancers of the tongue and the larynx
Researchers in Israel developed a non-invasive oral test for cancers of the tongue and larynx that uses gold nanoparticles and antibodies to “paint” cancer cells. An imaging tool then allows physicians to identify any tumor cells that may be present.
This demonstration of how the combination of gold nanoparticles and antibodies can detect cancer may form the basis for a new approach that enables in vitro diagnostics manufacturers and pathologists to develop medical laboratory tests that can non-invasively identify different types of cancers.
This nanotechnology-based cancer diagnostic method was created by scientists at Bar-Ilan University (BIU) Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District of Israel. Researchers conducted successful tests of this technology on animals and “recently proved itself during its first tests on humans,” according to a news story in the Israeli daily Haaretz. (more…)
Oct 27, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
This new tool offers clinicians the dos and don’ts of genetic testing, what physicians need to know to do it properly
Clinical use of gene sequencing information has advanced to the point where a team of genetic experts has compiled and issued the Genetic Testing Handbook. The goal of the clinical genome and exome sequencing (CGES) handbook is to provide clinicians—including pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists—with a useful reference tool.
The authors of the Genetic Testing Handbook are Leslie G. Biesecker, M.D., of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Bethesda, Maryland, and Robert C. Green, M.D., M.P.H., a geneticist who is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Primer Distills Human Genome Project Technologies for Practical Use
“The technologies that were used for the Human Genome Project are now distilled down to practical tools that clinicians can use to diagnose and, hopefully, treat diseases in patients that they couldn’t treat before,” stated Biesecker, who serves as Chief and Senior Investigator at the NHGRI’s Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch, in a press release issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). (more…)
Oct 22, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Developed to detect pathogens missed in wounds of soldiers, this technology was licensed to a company for development into a test for use by clinical laboratories
Diagnostic technology developed for rapid detection of pathogens in the wounds of soldiers has been licensed to a private company that intends to use it to create new medical laboratory tests. This new technology is capable of identifying thousands of bacteria and viruses in a single test.
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed what is called the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA). Within 24 hours, this single test can detect multiple viruses and bacteria. The LLMDA technology has been licensed to St. Louis, Missouri-based MOgene LC, a supplier of DNA microarrays, according to a report published by UC Health. (more…)
Oct 3, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Researchers at two different universities find circulating tumor cells in blood specimens and suggest that CTCs might be incorporated into medical laboratory tests for detecting cancer
One goal of many research initiatives is to develop a clinical laboratory test which can detect circulating tumor cells (CTC) in blood. This would be a less invasive method for testing and it is hoped such a test could detect cancer at a much earlier stage, when treatment can be much more successful.
Much effort is being put into developing what pathologists call a “liquid biopsy.” Recently, researchers at The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (UK) and at Stanford University in the United States each published articles in Nature Medicine offering compelling data about the role blood tests could play in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. (more…)
Oct 1, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
With other companies also advancing ingestible and wearable technology, these new sources of useful diagnostic information may soon become available to pathologists and medical lab professionals
Ingestible sensors are now in the marketplace! These devices are designed to be swallowed by the patient. The device will then send the patient’s vital health data to a smartphone. No imagination is needed by pathologists to understand how such devices could generate diagnostic data in real time that could supplement traditional medical laboratory tests.
These ingestible sensors are designed with the goal of helping track both the adherence of patients to their prescription drug regimens and the effectiveness of these prescription drugs.
Proteus Digital Heath of Redwood City, California, is one company that has introduced an ingestible sensor that sends a person’s vital health data to a smartphone, reported Smart Planet in a story it recently published. (more…)
