Feb 9, 2011 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists take note: 80% of physicians will be using mobile technology by 2012
Meet “mHealth!” That’s the new term to describe how mobile devices are used in the delivery of healthcare to patients. Many clinical laboratories and pathology groups already have laboratory informatics solutions that support how their client physicians use mHealth solutions in patient care.
Experts predict that Smartphones will dominate mobile healthcare (mHealth) in just a few short years. The enabling tools will be mobile applications (apps) that monitor such conditions as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and asthma. Smart phones will also be used to order medical laboratory tests and access clinical laboratory test data.
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Jan 10, 2011 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Pharmaceutical Companies Partnering with IVD Manufacturers to Develop Companion Diagnostic Tests for their Therapeutic Drugs
Growing acceptance of companion diagnostics is a trend with the potential to greatly increase the value that clinical pathology laboratory testing delivers to physicians, patients, and payers. In 2010, it was increasingly common to see a pharmaceutical company announce an agreement with an in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturer to develop a companion diagnostic test specifically for a therapeutic drug under development by that pharmaceutical company.
As most pathologists and clinical managers know, use of a companion diagnostic test is expected to add precision to the physician’s decision to prescribe therapeutic drugs. Thus, the increased number of public announcements during 2010 about companion diagnostic test development deals involving a pharmaceutical company and an IVD manufacturer indicates this trend is establishing solid roots. (more…)
Jan 3, 2011 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
High-Density Sequencing Chips Will Soon Be Able To Sequence Five Million SNPs
Rapid gene sequencing is catching the interest of progressive anatomic pathologists. These medical laboratory professionals are interested in using rapid gene sequencing technology to allow them to study tens and hundreds of genes on a patient specimen.
The technologies used in rapid gene sequencing are being developed and improved by a handful of biotech companies who are racing each other be first to deliver systems to the marketplace that can sequence whole human genomes at a cost of $1,000 or less. Some innovative medical laboratories are beginning to acquire these sequencing systems and explore how they might be used for clinical pathology laboratory testing. (more…)
Aug 24, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Hefty purchase price sends message to pathologists and clinical laboratory executives
For any pathologist still harboring doubts about the future of digital pathology, yesterday’s surprise news that Roche Holding AG (VTX:ROG.VX) will pay $100 million to acquire BioImagene, Inc., provides compelling evidence that the digital pathology marketplace is ready for prime time.
Roche announced that it will pay $100 million to buy privately-held BioImagene of Sunnyvale, California. The purchase will be handled by Roche’s Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., and the deal is expected to close in just a few weeks. After the acquisition, BioImagene will operate as part of Ventana. BioImagene has emerged as one of the early leaders in selling digital scanners and digital pathology systems.
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Apr 30, 2010 | Laboratory Pathology
More multiplex and multi-analyte testing lies ahead for clinical pathology laboratories.
Several experts predict that clinical pathology laboratories will see the use of multiplex assays and multi-analyte diagnoses increase significantly in the near future. As this happens, both the science and the operations of clinical laboratories and pathology practices will grow in sophistication and complexity.
This week at the Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management in New Orleans, Louisiana, almost 600 pathology and laboratory leaders gathered from 12 nations across the globe. During Wednesday’s general session, Thomas M. Grogan, M.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of Roche Ventana Medical Systems laid out his vision of how surgical pathology will evolve in the future.
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