This week the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) is hosting SLAS2012, a conference dedicated to technical innovation and laboratory automation. Different fields in laboratory technology like high-throughput technologies, micro- and nanotechnologies, bioanalytical techniques and informatics are covered. SLAS2012 also hosts an exhibition with companies from around the world showcasing their latest innovative technologies and of course some new product launches.

Here is a short summary of some of the new equipment launched at this event:

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In space, nothing is as easy as it is on Earth, and an ill astronaut could pose a major problem to any space mission. For advanced diagnostis purposes, the International Space Station already carries an ultrasound device, but astronauts are generally not trained ultrasound operators. Also, a connection to ground-based expert help may involve unwieldy communication delays, so it is no surprise space agencies are looking into ways to make future space travellers more self-sufficient.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is working on an augmented reality system that will help astronauts better diagnose medical problems in space. The Computer Assisted Medical Diagnosis and Surgery System, CAMDASS as it is strangely called, is a wearable augmented reality system with a head-mounted display that merges actual and virtual reality by precisely combining computer-generated graphics with the wearer’s view.

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SkyLight, a technology start-up which began life as a Kickstarter project, has announced the release of its namesake microscope-to-smartphone adapter this coming March. The minimalist SkyLight adapter can optically interface any smartphone device to any microscope via a series of simple sliding and locking fixtures, which help to position the smartphone’s camera over the microscope’s eyepiece lens.The adapter is made of lightweight plastics and weighs less than an iPhone.

The project was the brainchild of Andy Miller, a designer and engineer who, as an undergraduate, developed low cost microscopes for the developing world. According to the company, the SkyLight adapter was designed as a simple way to remotely connect doctors to patients in rural locations using existing microscopes and easy to use, increasingly available smartphones.

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Dan Luo, a Cornell University professor of biological and environmental engineering, and Edwin Kan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, have collaborated on a handheld pathogen detector that could someday give health care workers in the developing world speedy results in the field when identifying such pathogens as tuberculosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV. The work is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Grand Challenge program to develop “point-of-care diagnostics” for developing countries.

Luo has devised a novel method of detecting harmful pathogens by essentially “amplifying” pathogen DNA. With just a single strand of pathogen DNA, special double Y shaped DNA strands can be formed that will quickly polymerize and create clumps that are easily detectable. Kan has developed the detector part of the system, which measures the mass and charge of the polymerized Y-DNA. The chip is based on the popular and inexpensive CMOS technology found commonly in electronic devices, which gives the device the ability to be easily integrated into a cellphone or small computer.

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The 104-year old R&D research arm recently released a video of its glass-filled vision for the next 104 years. Some of the concepts presented are already in development, but one intriguing section in the middle of the video visualizes the use of Corning glass in the medical lab. We’ll start you off at the 3:07 mark and you’ll see glass used in futuristic, transparent medical terminals and tablets. You’ll also see glass (which is antimicrobial) used in a holographic examination table integrated with a cool-looking MRI scanner.

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DNA sequencing is slowly making the long anticipated move from the research lab into clinical use. After a few isolated reports last year where it was used to diagnose individual patients, now we see one of the first reports of it being used successfully on a larger scale, in 42 infants suspected of mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondria carry their own DNA but also rely on nuclear DNA for part of their functioning, and mutations in either of the two can cause malfunctioning of the mitochondria. Mitochondrial diseases may lead to a wide variety of symptoms and can be hard to diagnose, despite recent advances in genetic and biochemical tests.

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In the world of coronary artery disease treatment, if you blink, you will miss the latest development, so stent your eyes open for this latest piece of the puzzle.  The latest question that keeps getting a new answer with every study is whether optimum medical therapy (OMT) or percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) provides the best results for patients with coronary artery disease. With the introduction of fractional flow reserve (FFR) technology, the question had to be asked anew.

In case you haven’t heard of it, FFR is an index that compares the pressure proximal to a coronary artery obstruction to the pressure distal to that obstruction.  In other words, it measures how much a given lesion actually impairs flow to the myocardium.  Previously, the decision about whether to stent a given vessel was more subjective, and lesions that looked “suspicious” on angiograms were stented.  FFR gives a more objective component to this judgment, and it was hoped that this would improve outcomes.

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We all know that the ear is a multifunctional, anatomical marvel. We often take for granted its ability to allow us to eavesdrop, to rock out to the latest beats, to hold up our spectacles, and to be pierced over and over again. Last week at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, Raleigh, NC-based Valencell announced their sensor technology that uses the ear’s unique physiology to gather vital health and fitness data.

The technology is called V-LINC, and it’s being built into the ubiquitous set of earbuds that you probably use every day. According to Valencell, “V-LINC technology comprises the only earbud-based continuous heart rate monitoring technology proven accurate during virtually any exercise in virtually any physical environment or condition.” According to the V-LINC website, its earbud sensors are able to measure the following biometric data:

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Based upon the binding specificity of antibodies to target molecules, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been used in labs for decades to research protein expression, or lack thereof, in tissue samples. It’s a great example of a translational technique that is being used every day in hospital pathology labs around the world to, for example, classify tumor biopsies based on diagnostic markers. This in turn informs the prognosis and treatment options for the patient from whom the biopsy was taken. However IHC remains a tedious process that involves multiple conjugation steps to bind antibodies to and color-code the target molecules; mistakes can lead to over- and under-exposure which renders the sample unusable and inconclusive.

The technique may have just gotten more sensitive thanks to IBM researchers. Reporting in today’s online issue of Lab on a Chip, the team has developed an ultra-miniaturized probe for immunohistochemistry. According to the press release:

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Normally you wouldn’t want your test strips to get into contact with bacteria; you’d want to store the strips in a safe and clean place. But what if the bacteria were part of the test strip? Students from Missouri Science and Technology have made a system in which they use segments of DNA embedded in bacteria to detect glucose.

The students have used a non-virulent strain of E.coli and put designed genes into the bacteria’s DNA, enabling them to sense the presence of glucose. The bacteria emit a yellow glow if there is glucose and as the glucose concentration rises, the glow becomes brighter. The DNA senses a change in osmolarity due to the presence of glucose.

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