Medical Laboratory Observer articles from May 2004

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from May 2004

Hummin' to the DNA.(From the Editor)(Deoxyribonucleic Acid )
May 1, 2004... Today's reality and tomorrow's revolution," said the 2004 Executive War College poster. I read materials about the event on the way to New Orleans, then spent three days immersed in all technologies molecular. Wiling away the time on the plane...

A myth worth keeping.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... enjoyed Roy Midyett's article, "HeMYTHology," in the November 2003 issue of MLO on page 24. The presence of increased band forms is of great importance. This is the one great myth that is worth keeping. When a patient is symptomatic and...

Calibration verification and CAP.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... The requirement for calibration verification (see "Tips from the clinical experts," December 2003, page 30) has been a confusing concept since the publication of the final rules for CLIA '67 in 1990 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...

Dade Behring awards scholarship.(Education)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Dade Behring awards scholarship. Dade Bering addressed the lab shortage issue by offering $150,000 in scholarship monies over the next three years. The company, with the assistance of the Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory...

Anthrax treatments.(Genomics)(Human Genome Sciences Inc. and Elusys Therapeutics Inc. )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Anthrax treatments. Two experimental drugs made of artificial antibodies and designed to treat anthrax have shown promise in recent tests. Human Genome Sciences Inc., Rockville, MD, and Elusys Therapeutics Inc. of Pine Brook, NJ, are developing...

Create a lab "disaster box".(Disaster Preparedness)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... At Bert Fish Medical Center, a small East Coast Florida hospital, under the People First performance improvement program, employees are encouraged to identify an area they believe needs improvement and then suggest a remedy. We wanted to reduce...

Contents of disaster box.(Disaster Preparedness)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Contents of disaster box. Our disaster-preparedness box contains the current laboratory disaster plan, coordinator's staff assignment sheet, priority phone list (including tracking log), checklist of supplies for techs, checklist of supplies...

How the disaster box will be used.(Disaster Preparedness)(Bert Fish Medical Center)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... How the disaster box will be used. When a Code 100 is called, the laboratory manager reports to the Command Center, located in the hospital's boardroom, to obtain disaster details. If injuries are involved, she will ascertain how many victims...

Saving laboratory records: what, how, how long?(Continuing Education)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see test on page 18. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this article the reader will be able to: 1. Discuss the importance of accurate record keeping in the clinical laboratory. 2....

WNV: where in the world did that come from?(Clinical Issues)(West Nile virus)
May 1, 2004... West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the flavivirus family, which includes agents that cause such important diseases as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, St. Louis encephalitis, and Central European encephalitis. The...

NCCLS simplifies the order of draw: a brief history.(Clinical Issues)(National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, Phlebotomy)
May 1, 2004... The order in which tubes should be filled seems to mutate daily into increasingly creative incarnations. In fact, it mutated right out of existence last year when one workshop presenter astonished her attendees by stating, "There is no order of...

Building the lab workforce of the future.(Lab Management)
May 1, 2004... Examining the laboratory workforce of 2010 necessarily includes not only looking at personnel issues but automation of processes, as well. Here, we present the expertise of staffing professionals, a case history from a well-known reference...

Tomorrow's lab: the stuff of dreams.(Lab Workforce 2010)(learning-management systems)
May 1, 2004... Tomorrow's clinical labs are sure to lean on whiz-bang technologies and testing procedures only dreamed of today. Will the methods most labs rely on to train workers of the future be cutting-edge, too? For every tool and test that is sold in...

'Back-to-the-future' connectivity.(Lab Management)
May 1, 2004... In the clinical laboratory of the future, connecting healthcare professionals working in an outreach environment to the services provided by the lab will be a key component in the delivery of healthcare. High-performance, network-enabled...

2004: A Lab Odyssey.(Lab Management)(biomedical laboratories)
May 1, 2004... Vital instrument systems are monitored from a single master computer workstation, which alerts users to critical operation needs and functions. It is like something out of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey--only it is not happening in some...

Rob Bush of Orchard focuses on LIS trends.(Executive Forecast.)(Laboratory information system.)(Interview)
May 1, 2004... Dottie Dunham: Since the founding of Orchard Software in 1993, what has been the most significant challenge the company has tackled in meeting the software needs of the clinical laboratory? Rob Bush: The most significant challenge has been...

Hemoglobin method for a rural mission.(Answering Your Questions)
May 1, 2004... Please suggest a hemoglobin method kit for a medical mission in Haiti. The kit does not need to be FDA approved for use in Haiti. There is no electricity available except by solar generator. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are several...

Albumin-adjusted calcium.(Answering Your Questions)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Is there a role for laboratories routinely reporting albumin-adjusted calcium? I am told that this is a recommendation of the National Kidney Foundation, but I cannot verify. Serum calcium exists in three forms: 1) free or ionized...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2004... Clarification: In March 2004 Tip "Cytospin body fluids," methylene is the correct spelling. MLO apologizes for any confusion in its use of methelene.

Short volume for blood culture.(Answering Your Questions)(bloodstream infections)
May 1, 2004... Ideally, one should collect 18 mL to 20 mL of blood from adult patients for inoculating aerobic and anaerobic bottles for the continuous monitoring culture system. Often, it is difficult to obtain enough blood. What should be the policy if you...

Addressing management issues: use systems to manage daily operations.(Management Q & A)
May 1, 2004... My colleagues tell me that Dr. Frings speaks in his time-management seminars and workshops about using systems to manage daily operations. Could the panel expand on this concept? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When we do not have a system in...

Glucose testing innovations.(Product Focus)
May 1, 2004... Recent statistics indicate that 16 million people suffer from some form of diabetes--the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. No wonder manufacturers continue to develop new and innovative technology to facilitate the...

Molded microplate liners.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Designed for use in round or square 96-well standard microplates, the new Molded PTFE and/or Silicone Liners' plugs lock into each of the cylindrical or tapered wells. The liners re-seal after multiple injections, preventing coring and tearing,...

Cold-temperature labels.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Specifically designed for labels exposed to extreme cold temperatures, the Temperature Label Material (TLP) 866 is pressure-sensitive with conformability characteristics when applied to small diameter surfaces, making it well suited for vial...

Safe PCR workstations.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... The AC600 Series LFUV Model PCR Workstation has a built-in 354 nm ultraviolet light that allows the operator to irradiate tubes, flasks, and pipettes between amplifications, effectively destroying potentially contaminating DNA and RNA within...

Sperm-motility QA.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Compliant with QC regulations for motility testing, the AQC Motility Quality Assessment Material is a unique control that is a CD-ROM video for the computer. The video recreates the actual test environment, including the counting grids and...

Chemical-inventory system.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... The CIS Pro chemical inventory system features a new Internal Document Storage Module designed to save time and eliminate paper-trail steps by linking all documents that relate to a particular chemical container in the inventory-tracking...

Disaster preparedness.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... From the specialist in certified Category III-3 laboratory battery back-up power-protection systems comes a new and improved website (www.franektech.com), which provides critical information for the laboratory and instrumentation community to...

Moisturized hand protection.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Clinically proven to restore dry, irritated, and compromised skin, the Neu-Thera treated line of Esteem powder-free gloves protects hands from moisture loss, restores smooth texture and healthy condition of hands, moisturizes skin for deepdown...

Improved information retrieval.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... The Advanced Model 2020 Multi-Sample Osmometer features date/time stamp for improved documentation and electronic storage of more than 200 test results and calibration data. The instrument also offers improved information retrieval,...

Clinical temperature meter.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Designed for technicians and QA professionals who test/verify temperatures in clinical chemistry and diagnostic instruments, the Model 3000 Digital Precision Clinical Thermometer facilitates quality standards control and critical test-report...

Shadow-free illumination.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... An essential inspection-system accessory, the Alpha 1501 Fiber Optic Illuminator produces 150 watts of cold illumination, while special heat-blocking guards keep the unit safe and cool to the touch. Variable intensity controls allow the...

Portable air purifier.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... The Model SS-300 Portable Floor Sentry provides economical dust and vapor control, safeguarding lab personnel exposed to chemical fumes, powders, and other hazardous material. Combining mobility and easy setup, the 40-lb. wheel-mounted unit...

Automated serial dispensing.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Along with easy operation, the deck layout of the epMotion 5070 Liquid Handling Workstation offers a small, compact workplace for fast and reproducible dispensing and pipetting processes. Operation is carried out with a keyboard/mouse-driven...

Pancreatic tumor marker.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Recently FDA cleared, the Access GI Monitor is designed for the quantitative determination of cancer antigen (CA) 19-9 levels in human serum and plasma to aid in the management of pancreatic cancer. The new assay has a dynamic range from 0.8 to...

Difficult surface adhesion.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Intended for use with PCs, laser, thermal transfer, or dot-matrix printers, a new range of computer imprintable Hi-Tack Labels are manufactured using a fast-curing adhesive with high initial tack to provide immediate adhesion on difficult...

Tissue microstructure preservation.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Preserving biopsy specimens up to two days, the PolyTransport Buffer is a specially formulated transport medium providing the optimal environment for tissue microstructure preservation prior to histological processing. It not only ensures that...

Precise pheochromocytomas detection.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Recently FDA approved, the Plasma Metanephrine Analysis Kit detects the presence of pheochromocytomas with far more specificity and sensitivity than traditional assays. The new product extracts free metanephrine and normetanephrine from plasma...

Manual staining system.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Made of acetyl polymer, the new Stain Train System comprises individual articulating racks enclosed in jars with integral covers. The specially designed racks facilitate access both to slides and the drainage of reagents. Available in a variety...

Rapid hCG test.(Industry Spotlight)
May 1, 2004... Recently the FDA approved the UniMark (hCG) Test Device for the early diagnosis of pregnancy. This is rapid, solid-phase immunoassay qualitatively detects elevated levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in urine. Based on a sandwich...

Report results; avoid risk.(Liability and the Pathological Labs.)
May 1, 2004... Q What is the correct way to deal with results for incorrect tests ordered on a patient? In our hospital system, some labs delete the test, removing the result from the computer patient report and the next printed cumulative report. Some labs...