Today's Clinical Lab - News, Editorial and Products for the Clinical Laboratory

June 2019 Solutions for the Clinical Lab

From assays to analyzers, these are some of the latest and greatest products for use in clinical research and diagnostic labs

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Today's Clinical Lab

Today’s Clinical Lab is a reader-centric publication that keeps clinical professionals up to date with today’s rapidly changing lab industry with in-depth and timely editorial content and resources, including clinical industry news and insights into the latest trends, technologies, and techniques in the clinical lab.

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Published:May 31, 2019
|3 min read
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ORTHO CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS VITROS® XT MICROSLIDES

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics' VITROS® XT MicroSlides, featuring new, multi-test technology that allows labs to run two tests simultaneously on one MicroSlide, have been cleared for market by the US FDA. By pairing commonly ordered tests so they can be run simultaneously, the MicroSlides, which are available for use on Ortho's VITROS® XT 7600 Integrated System, improve performance and productivity in the clinical lab, enabling a higher test throughput without requiring additional or larger analyzers. This is a significant benefit in a hospital environment, where space is often at a premium. In addition, the miniaturized testing areas on each MicroSlide require less patient blood sample for each of the paired tests. Available test pairs include: triglycerides and cholesterol; urea and creatinine; and glucose and calcium.


AKOYA BIOSCIENCES SOLUTION FOR HIGH-PARAMETER TISSUE ANALYSIS

Akoya Biosciences, Inc. has announced the full commercial release of its new solutions for high-parameter tissue imaging. These include the CODEX® System, an ultra-high multiplexing platform for tissue analysis and biomarker discovery, and Phenoptics ™ 2.0, the company’s next-generation biomarker multiplexing platform. The CODEX System includes a fluidics-based instrument, reagents, and a software analysis suite. It offers a cost-effective means to transform customers’ existing fluorescence microscopes into ultra-high-parameter tissue imaging systems. With the release of Phenoptics 2.0, the company is introducing its proprietary MOTiF™ technology, which acquires multispectral images on whole-slide tissue sections of up to seven colors simultaneously, and 20 times faster than previously possible. The ability to process up to 30 whole-slide images per day makes this platform ideal for translational and clinical research studies.


OLYMPUS IX73SC MICROSCOPE FOR ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY

The new Olympus IX73SC inverted microscope system is an assisted reproductive technology solution that facilitates and even eliminates steps in the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) workflow as part of the in vitro fertilization process. The microscope system improves sperm selection, eases oocyte condition checks through easy metaphase II spindle visualization, increases sample throughput, reduces stress to the oocyte, and standardizes the ICSI process. The semi-motorized version of the IX73SC microscope streamlines the ICSI workflow by combining several steps. Users can switch observation methods and adjust the magnification by pressing a button on the integrated hand switch. Higher-sensitivity manual focusing can be easily achieved in conjunction with the motorized operations.


THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC SMART QPCR INSTRUMENTS

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched the Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 6 and 7 Pro Real-Time PCR Systems, the world’s first Smart qPCR instruments. Capabilities include facial authentication, voice commands, radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled plate scanning, and quick access to service and support with a single touch. QuantStudio Pro instruments use RFID-enabled Applied Biosystems TaqMan Array Plates for seamless upload of plate layout and assay information for setting up the run. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces potential errors, and improves experimental reproducibility. Results from experiments can then be analyzed remotely from any desktop computer or smartphone using the Instrument Connect mobile app. Support on the new system is also now expedited with the new Smart Help feature, which provides instant access to service and support professionals. Through this feature, all relevant diagnostic information is forwarded to an on-call team member and, when possible, corrective action may be completed remotely using augmented reality technology.


QIAGEN COMPANION DIAGNOSTIC FOR BLADDER CANCER

QIAGEN has announced the US launch of its novel therascreen ® FGFR RGQ RT-PCR Kit (therascreen FGFR Kit) as a companion diagnostic to help guide the use of the newly approved FGFR kinase inhibitor, BALVERSA™. The test will aid in identifying patients with urothelial cancer whose tumors have certain alterations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene. The US FDA co-approved the new test with BALVERSA™. A percentage of urothelial carcinoma tumors have certain FGFR alterations thought to be key drivers of tumor growth. Detection of these alterations utilizing the companion diagnostic will help identify patients eligible for treatment with BALVERSA. The therascreen FGFR Kit will run on QIAGEN’s Rotor-Gene Q MDx.


CYGNUS TECHNOLOGIES ENDONUCLEASE IMPURITIES IDENTIFICATION KIT

Cygnus Technologies has introduced the EndonucleaseGTP™ ELISA kit for the detection and quantitation of residual endonuclease impurities in recombinant vaccines and viral vectors used for gene therapy. Endonucleases such as Benzonase and Denarase are often used to cleave host cell DNA and RNA during the production of these biologics and must subsequently be removed. The new Cygnus ELISA kit, with a detection limit of ~0.06 ng/ml, is three times more sensitive than the only other commercially available assay for detection and quantitation of these endonuclease impurities. The EndonucleaseGTP ELISA kit contains all the necessary ready-to-use reagents for 96 analyses in microplate format, including a set of calibrated endonuclease standards. The assay is easy to use and can be easily integrated into desired workflow points, from process development to QC to lot release testing.