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Diagnostics World | Biomedical engineers have a significant role to play in the development and optimization of liquid biopsies to further precision oncology. Although molecular profiling of tumors has entered mainstream clinical practice, the wait time for identifying the best treatment for individual patients could be shortened by blood-testing devices designed to efficiently capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cancer-specific protein markers on their surface.
Mar 7, 2024
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Diagnostics World | A team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard are developing priming agents to temporarily boost levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for cancer diagnostics. It’s an entirely new concept that could do for liquid biopsies what contrast agents have done for ultrasound and MRI.
Mar 6, 2024
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Diagnostics World | A machine learning method dubbed A-PLUS (Alu Profile Learning Using Sequencing) recently demonstrated its ability to pick up cancers earlier and with smaller blood draws than is required for whole genome sequencing. This makes possible a future where people might get annual blood draws to check for cancer based on the “fragmentation pattern” of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in their blood.
Mar 5, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Owkin-Amazon Web Services partner on AI-assisted diagnostics, Diagnexia announced a significant collaborative agreement with Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Nairobi; X-trodes announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted 510(k) clearance for X-trodes' Smart Skin solution (marketed as X-trodes System M); PathAI has announced an expanded and exclusive relationship with Roche Tissue Diagnostics (RTD) that will bring AI-enabled interpretation to companion diagnostics; and more.
Feb 29, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Freenome will advance the pipeline of single-cancer and tailored multi-cancer early detection tests built on its multiomics platform; Capitainer will continue its journey toward becoming the foremost provider of self-sampling solutions with new funding; Circular Genomics plans to build and scale commercial operations in preparation for the launch of the world's first circular RNA-based clinical assay; and more.
Feb 28, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Among the sequencing news at AGBT earlier this month, Ultima Genomics announced the commercial launch of its UG 100 ultra-high throughput sequencing platform.
Feb 27, 2024
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Diagnostics World | It is time for clinical laboratories to push for cytomegalovirus (CMV) testing as part of the standard newborn screening process. We have seen some progress on this front recently, with Minnesota becoming the first state in the US to approve universal CMV screening at birth. However, Minnesota should not stand alone; newborns everywhere would benefit from CMV screening.
Feb 23, 2024
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Diagnostics World | A revolution is underway in the diagnostics world that is reminiscent of what transpired in the computing field before the advent of PCs and smartphones. The unimagined possibilities of today will come from democratizing technology so that instead of sending patients to the lab, the lab will get sent to patients—and, ultimately, be available to them in the form of at-home testing kits.
Feb 21, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Researchers in Spain are advocating the use of sweat in metabolomics studies to measure the severity of sleep apnea. It’s an ideal alternative to blood and urine because the sampling is noninvasive and accessible, and the biofluid doesn’t require much manipulation by the test operator that can introduce variability.
Feb 20, 2024
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Diagnostics World | In the future, it may be possible for people to get a read on viruses circulating in their neighborhood in the same way they now do to assess current weather conditions before hitting the road. The means would be some sort of digitized community health report, an early version of which is already being produced for 10 cities across Texas.
Feb 15, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Researchers in California have shown that breast cancer patients with RNA expression levels of ENPP1 (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1) in the bottom 50th percentile can confidently be treated with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as well as surgery. Their cancer would have a zero percent chance of metastasizing in seven years.
Feb 13, 2024
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Diagnostics World | If artificial intelligence (AI) is to be as insightful as possible in advancing human health, it is not enough to have a patchwork of out-of-context data from which to draw conclusions. That is unfortunately the current situation and at the cost of lost opportunities to better treat patients, identify early biomarkers of disease, and recognize the right endpoints in clinical trials—not to mention eradicating existing biases against marginalized groups of people.
Feb 8, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have created a next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology that employs oligonucleotides (oligos)—short single strands of synthetic DNA—as bait for relevant targets of detection.
Feb 7, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Stanford Medicine investigators are leading the development of a test measuring organ-specific proteins in the blood as a simple and sensible way to estimate biological age. Among the potential applications are screening people for conditions such as heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease, personalizing the intervention they’re prescribed, and signaling sooner the efficacy of investigational drugs based on how well they rejuvenate certain organs.
Feb 6, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have collaborated and successfully completed a pilot program meant to deliver a respiratory metagenomics service with an integrated respiratory infection and biosecurity application; Imagine Pharma announced the formation of The Imagine Pharma Foundation, a private, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to advancing metabolic research to significantly impact the lives of those affected by diabetes, with a particular emphasis on serving veterans; DNAnexus and TMA Precision Health announced a collaboration to advance basic and translational research for patients who have a rare disease; more.
Jan 31, 2024
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Diagnostics World | Cleveland Diagnostics intends to accelerate the company’s commercial and corporate development goals; Motif Neurotech has secured funding for the development of lead product, DOT microstimulator, to treat depression; Newcastle University, University of Edinburgh, and Boehringer Ingelheim will begin the most extensive clinical study into liver cirrhosis ever to better understand NASH cirrhosis and identifying translational biomarkers; more.
Jan 30, 2024
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Diagnostics World | In a big advance for precision medicine, researchers in Australia have developed a genetic biomarker of people’s response to sodium reduction. It is often but not always the case that modifying sodium levels lowers blood pressure by reducing the fluid volume of blood in the cardiovascular system, and knowing in advance how patients will respond could help eliminate the “treatment odyssey” that many of them are experiencing.
Jan 25, 2024
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Diagnostics World | A clinical-grade smartwatch does a good job of detecting possible atrial fibrillation (AFib), which could fill the need for a noninvasive option for monitoring patients for more than 30 days. Current available electrocardiography (ECG) technologies, such as Holter monitors and wearable event recorders, are both more time-limited and resource-intensive.
Jan 24, 2024
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Diagnostics World | When the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) launched its Library of Digital Endpoints, a listing of industry-sponsored studies of new medical products or applications that use sensor-derived endpoints, there were a total of 35. Four years later, that same library now includes over 400 unique digital endpoints collected by over 60 sponsors to answer questions about the efficacy of new medical products.
Jan 23, 2024
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Diagnostics World | At this year’s JP Morgan Healthcare conference, biotech and diagnostic companies and experts provided overviews of 2023 accomplishments and their goals for 2024. We’ve covered presentations by NVIDIA, Regeneron, Illumina, Pacific Biosciences, and Oxford Nanopore in depth. Here we list highlights from Pfizer, Moderna, Eli Lilly, Thermo Fisher, and more.
Jan 17, 2024