CONTENTS PPi
Volume 27 Issue 6
COVER STORY Redesigning haemostasis workflow with the sthemO 301 Stago’s sthemO 301 fully automated coagulation analyser, supported by the web-based data manager solution sthemE Manager, has transformed haemostasis at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
6
OPINION Keeping digital pathology open: future frameworks
NEWS
ARTICLES Linearity and measuring interval: a practical guide
Stephen MacDonald provides a guide to dealing with the results of statistical tests initially that look reassuring yet still hide a clinically important problem.
Improving laboratory efficiency: the hidden costs of manual slide handling 23 Ryan Davis examines the specific laboratory efficiency workflow costs that manual slide handling imposes and explains why addressing these costs is not just capital expenditure argument.
Beyond the guidance: clinical and performance evidence for IVDs 29 The last few years have seen huge strides in the development of in vitro diagnostics, but what happens when the evidence required by regulatory bodies does not match up with the realities faced in the laboratory?
Editor Andy Myall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
andymyall@stepcomms.com
Science Editor Brian Nation CSci FIBMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
briannation@stepcomms.com Publisher Geoff King. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
geoffking@stepcomms.com Business Manager Peter Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
petermoon@stepcomms.com
Journal Administration Katy Cockle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
katycockle@stepcomms.com Design Laurence Hallam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
laurencehallam@stepcomms.com Publishing Director Trevor Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
trevormoon@stepcomms.com
Advisory Panel
Dr Nigel Brown FIBMS Gavin Knight CSci FIBMS Wendy Leversuch CSci FIBMS Dame Suzy Lishman CBE FRCPath Dr Stephen MacDonald FRCPath
Prof Gerry McKenna DSc CSci FIBMS Malcolm Needs CSci FIBMS Dr Sarah Pit CSci FIBMS Dr John Rees FIBMS
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17
Verifying a legacy macroprolactin assay in an NHS biochemistry laboratory
34
Elena Cohen recounts the process of optimising a challenging legacy macroprolactin assay, incorporating internal quality control and its subsequent verification ahead of implementation.
Automating familial hypercholesterolaemia genetic testing
39
Silvia Borras of NHS Grampian writes for Pathology in Practice, describing her laboratory’s experience of scaling up and automating its genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolaemia.
From research to routine practice: advancing dd-cfDNA monitoring
43
Donor-derived cell-free DNA monitoring is moving into routine use in UK transplant laboratories. Here, Stephanie Anderson reports from a recent event evaluating progress in this area and the wider field of genomics.
Closing the diagnostic gaps in women’s healthcare
Hepatitis C virus testing: a route to disease elimination
The World Health Organization targets global elimination of hepatitis C by 2030, with testing pivotal to achieving this goal. Here, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation looks at recent published work in this area.
46
Delayed diagnosis is having a negative impact on outcomes for women, but there are promising biomarkers with potential to start to close the ‘diagnosis gap’.
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