Medical Laboratory Observer

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Celebrate.(Editorial)
In recent months, MLO has been quietly celebrating its 40th birthday. But I am keen on birthdays and sing "Happy Birthday" out loud on anybody's birthday, sometimes even over the phone long distance . . .

Additional Baer condolences.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
Please forward my condolences to Dr. Baer's family. I wrote to him several times and was always amazed at his quick response with great information. I was shocked to hear of his passing--I had just . . .

Heroes in the lab.(Readers respond)(laboratory technicians)(Mulago Hospital)(Brief article)
Medical laboratory professionals work each day on behalf of sick patients in need of healthcare. Some professionals, however, extend the reach of their influence far beyond the bounds of their labor . . .

A helping hand ...(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
I saw in the MLO magazine (January 2009, The Observatory, p. 9) that Dr. Chelmowski is looking for a chemistry analyzer that can do HbAlc. I am a Rotarian, and my husband and I own the company, Caro . . .

Another helping hand ...(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
It was brought to my attention that there was a letter to the editor in your January 2009 edition that a physician in St. Lucia was interested in a free Hemoglobin AIC analyzer. Our laboratory has s . . .

More suggestions?(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
St. Judes in St Lucia has a Bayer analyzer now, but still is unsure of how they will afford the reagent as each test is fairly expensive. I have gotten some great responses from your readers, but we . . .

Michael Lazzari responds to Eglen.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
Dr. Douglas E. Eglen's remarks in MLO's May 2009 issue (p. 6) about, "A Harmful Banana" (April 2009, p. 50) helps clarify a common misconception that eating food high in potassium alone will cause h . . .

Renewal of subscription?(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
I have subscribed to MLO for many years and really enjoy the publication. The MLO LABline Volume 5,2009, announcement just arrived with a reminder to renew my subscription to the print version. In t . . .

Policy without complaints.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
In MLO May 2009, p. 41, Dr. Min Xu states that at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center of Seattle, they do the manual differential on all patients younger than three months because th . . .

H1N1 flu shots ready by October?(Infectious diseases)(Brief article)
* H1N1 flu shots ready by October? Laboratories around the world are racing to produce a strain suitable for manufacturing vaccine. More than 52,000 people worldwide have been confirmed as infected . . .

Vaccine shows promise against melanoma.(News)(glycoprotein 100 vaccines)(Brief article)
* Vaccine shows promise against melanoma. An eight-year, 185-patient clinical trial led by the Goshen Center for Cancer Care tested the benefit of combining the gp100 vaccine with the high-dose lnte . . .

Clinicians: sepsis monitor needed.(New technology)(Survey)(Brief article)
* Clinicians: sepsis monitor needed. New technologies and/or methods to solve complexities surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial sepsis are needed, according to three surveys of physi . . .

Pathologists fear one in five breast cancer hormone tests wrong.(International news)(Brief article)
* Pathologists fear one in five breast cancer hormone tests wrong. Hundreds of women in Quebec with breast cancer may have been prescribed the wrong treatment because of faulty pathology tests, a CB . . .

Blood to diagnose organ rejection.(Genomics)(Brief article)
* Blood to diagnose organ rejection. Researchers from the PROOF Centre for Excellence and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, funded by Genome B.C., have discovered that blood from heart an . . .

Conferences.(The Observatory)(Brief article)(Calendar)(Conference notes)
August 19-20. The International Swine Flu Summit in Washington, DC, will gather scientists, public health officials, law enforcers, first responders, and other experts to discuss pandemic prevention . . .

Serum free light chain assays: detecting plasma cell disorders.(Cover story)
Detecting monoclonal gammopathies, or plasma cell disorders, usually involves serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) and immunoelectrophoresis (IFE) to test both serum and urine. But the growing clini . . .

ASH's SAS specializes in one-on-one and small group discussions.(Spotlight on hematology)
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) hosts its seventh state-of-the-art symposium (SAS) on "Recent Advances in Hematologic Malignancies and Platelet Disorders" from Sept. 11-12, 2009, at the Hil . . .

Adm. Zumwalt's legacy for son.(Spotlight on hematology)(www.marrow.org)(Be The Match Foundation is the new name of The Marrow Fo
Be The Match Foundation is the new name of The Marrow Foundation. Its visionary founder was Adm. Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr., the U.S. Navy's youngest four-star admiral and later Chief of Naval Operat . . .

Placenta stem cells offer new hope for curing chronic blood disorders.(Spotlight on hematology)
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is Northern California's only freestanding and independent children's hospital. Primary research funding comes from the National Institutes of Health. T . . .

SCC CEO Hakim and staff aim for top spot.(Executive snapshot)(SCC Soft Computer)(Company overview)
Celebrating SCC's 30th anniversary. SCC Soft Computer is an anomaly in a world of corporate conglomerates, mergers, and acquisitions, because it is a privately held company with the same core manage . . .

Address deficiencies in bloodborne pathogens exposure management.(CLINICAL ISSUES)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) inspection history for a particular industry aids in gaining insight into the industry's performance in managing safety and health. In cl . . .

Diagnosis for digital pathology.(SPECIAL TO MLO)
The pathology industry is undergoing dramatic changes as new technologies transition the field into the digital age with technology enabling pathologists not only to improve workflow but also to use . . .

The future of laboratory testing moves toward pharmacogenomics.(SPECIAL FEATURE)(Interview)
We met Drs. Moyer and Yeo at this year's CLMA/MLO panel in Tampa, FL. The two of them agreed to answer some of our questions. Here are their responses. MLO: The advent of pharmacogenomics has open . . .

Babies, blood tests, and Buddha: a life-changing vacation.(EDUCATION)
A few years ago, when I received a small inheritance, I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream. While my many years working in hospital lab environments had taught me much about diagnostic testing, my . . .

CLSI members share best practices around the world.(LAB VOLUNTEERS)
Quality laboratory testing is an integral element of the clinical diagnostic scheme, infectious disease surveillance, and public health. Following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) . . .

Flow cytometry: 12 tools of the trade.(SPECIAL TO MLO)(International Society for the Advancement of Cytology)(Clinical Cytometry
1 New edition to flow cytometry reference Practical Flow Cytometry, 4th Edition, is a reference that explains the science and discusses the biomedical applications of quantitative analytical cytol . . .

AACC Annual Meeting--Chicago--July 19-23, 2009.(Show preview)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Join thousands of your peers in Chicago--July 19-23--for the 2009 AACC/CSCC Annual Meeting a Clinical Lab Expo. See new science and new technology in all areas of clinical diagnostics, automation, i . . .

Addressing management issues.(Management Q & A)(Interview)
Plan, prepare for disasters Q I recently moved to Florida, an area that has had a few close calls (and direct hits) with some scary storms. What do you suggest I do to make sure the lab is prepare . . .

Answering your questions.(Tips from the clinical experts)
Urinalysis vs. urine culture Q Most labs I have worked in have urinalysis (chemistry) entirely separate from urine cultures (micro). A few other labs I have worked at correlate urine-culture growt . . .

DAT brings benefits and concerns.(Liability and the lab)(direct-access testing)(Interview)
Q We are thinking of instituting direct-access testing (DAT). What are the issues we need to deal with? Are there some states that do not permit DAT? A CLIA specifically leaves the regulation of D . . .

"Boomers" change the medical lab landscape.(LAB MANAGEMENT)(Suburban Hospital )
Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD, is a 238-bed hospital with a fully operational laboratory department serving the acute-care and outreach-testing environment. The laboratory, like most across the . . .

Automatic plating and streaking.(Industry spotlight)
The WASP walk-away specimen processor can manage any kind of specimen type or container style, and has a high-throughput capability and multiple operational modes. WASP opens the specimen container, . . .

Creates, maintains anaerobic environment.(Industry spotlight)
OxyPlate is a self-generating anaerobic plate made in the optical OxyDish that eliminates the need for bags, jars, and chambers. OxyPlate regenerates anaerobic conditions after being opened and clos . . .

Compact, low cost centrifuge.(Industry spotlight)
The StatSpin CytoFuge 12 is a cytocentrifuge that concentrates up to 12 samples and gently deposits cells in a monolayer onto microscope slides for a variety of cell preparations. For safety, the un . . .

Lyophilized reference stock cultures for QC.(Industry spotlight)
LYFO DISK is a lyophilized pellet containing a single strain of a microorganism and is an easy-to-use economical reference stock culture option. Simply re-hydrate the pellet and inoculate. LYFO DISK . . .

Eliminates the need to dispense.(Industry spotlight)
Saline 0.45% (3.0 mL) in a plastic tube with screw cap is for use with automated identification/antimicrobial susceptibility test systems, specifically the Vitek 2. With the ready-made Saline 0.45% . . .

Eyepiece camera for instant imaging.(Industry spotlight)
The MiniVid Camera is an all-in-one eyepiece camera that easily attaches to any brand of microscope for instant video micrography and provides crisp, clear images in an instant. The recently improve . . .

C diff results in as little as three hours.(Industry spotlight)
ProGastro Cd Assay for detection of Clostridium difficile uses real-time PCR (polymerse chain reaction) technology, is simple to use, and easily intergrates into existing lab workflow. The product h . . .

Record high-resolution images.(Industry spotlight)
Designed for recording high-resolution images of fluorescent structures, the LSM 7 MP Laser Scanning Microscope is tailored to the needs of multiphoton microscopy. The microscope generates images wi . . .

New 5-mL dropper configuration.(Industry spotlight)
A 5-mL dropper bottle option is available for AmpliTrol III. This product is designed for use by nucleic-acid testing (NAT) labs with qualitative in vitro diagnostic procedures for the detection of . . .

Oxycodone assay added to DOA menu.(Industry spotlight)
A new DRI Oxycodone Enzyme Immunoassay (OXYX) assay for the qualitative and semi-quantitative determination of oxycodone and its metabolite oxymorphone in human urine is available. Reagents and cali . . .

Data management solution.(Middleware)
Instrument Manager (IM) is an instrument and LIS independent-connectivity and data-management system that can be used as a solution that stands between the instruments or medical devices and the inf . . .

Handles all technical aspects of workflow.(Middleware)
TD-Harmony is a concentrate of new technology dedicated to enhancing existing laboratory information systems, regardless of LIS supplier. Designed to handle all technical aspects of laboratory workf . . .

Automated import to middleware.(Middleware)
The Excel Rules Converter is a tool for offline rules development--and directly exports rules to the JResultsNet middleware by this company for use with real-time data processing. Used with the JRes . . .

Connect instruments to host system.(Middleware)
FFlex eLink is integration software designed to provide connectivity between clinical instruments, electronic medical records, practice management system, electronic health records, or other host sy . . .

Healthcare reform: expanding the role of pathology.(Washington report)
My wife was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in 2006, and then a rare neuroendocrine tumor of the liver in 2008. One night, I came across a bill for $5,000 from a pathology lab in California. . . .

QM: 40 years of rules & regs, training & education.(From the guest editor)(medical laboratories training and quality services)(G
My career has been closely aligned with the lifetime of MLO. I count it as an achievement that we both have survived so long! Much has changed during these years, but the principles and values that . . .

AIDS experts urge routine HIV testing.(HIV/AIDS)(University of Alabama-Birmingham recommends testing of human immunodeficiency v
AIDS experts urge routine HIV testing. Two medical organizations, along with researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, have announced they strongly recommend universal and routine testing . . .

Quest Diagnostics to pay $302M for misbranded test kits.(News)(Nichols Institute Laboratories and Quest Diagnostics Inc. into ca
Quest Diagnostics to pay $302M for misbranded test kits. Quest Diagnostics has agreed to pay $302 million to settle criminal and civil claims that its subsidiary Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID) . . .

College launches program for clinical laboratory scientists.(Education)(Brief article)
College launches program for clinical laboratory scientists. As reported by Inside Tucson Business, in response to the nationwide shortage of qualified clinical laboratory scientists (CLS), the Depa . . .