News
Virtual science lab startup Labster bags $10M to accelerate its ed tech play
Ed tech startup Labster has created a software platform enabling virtual simulations of laboratories for teaching life science to students. It was launched in 2013 and has created approximately 65 simulations thus far, covering life science study topics — from a basic introduction to acids and bases where students perform a simulation of handling corrosive chemicals and get to see the consequences of not following good lab safety protocol, to a simulation of using a confocal microscope.
All the 3D simulations include games and challenges designed to keep students engaged and learning — such as murder mystery puzzles and multiple choice quiz questions, with text theory also available for students’ reference. The 3D environments are designed much like point and click adventure games, meaning lab equipment can be interacted with and environments navigated by clicking around. Currently, Labster has around 150 institutions globally using its platform, with the UK and the US as its primary markets. The startup’s grand vision is to replace the role of textbooks for science education up to graduate level with a more interactive learning experience enabled by virtual simulations of lab equipment and experiments.
Will experimental blood test be a game-changer for Alzheimer's disease?
An experimental blood test can accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the study, the researchers enlisted the help of 347 participants with neurodegenerative diseases, plus 202 healthy people serving as a comparison group. Participants ranged in age from 23 to 90. The researchers took blood samples from all the volunteers and analyzed the samples with infrared spectroscopy. The researchers say that using the test, they were able to identify Alzheimer's patients with up to 86% sensitivity and specificity. The test also differentiated Alzheimer's from dementia with Lewy bodies, a related condition, with 90% sensitivity and specificity. Though still in development, the test may someday be used to diagnose other degenerative brain disorders and even mild cognitive impairment resulting from head injuries.
Quality
Quality Improvement Essentials Toolkit
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Quality Improvement (QI) Essentials Toolkit includes the tools and templates you need to launch a successful quality improvement project and manage performance improvement. Each of the ten tools can be used with the Model for Improvement, Lean, or Six Sigma, and includes a short description, instructions, an example, and a blank template. The QI tools include:
- Cause and Effect Diagram: Also known as the Ishikawa or fishbone diagram, this tool helps you analyze the root causes contributing to an outcome.
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis: Also used in Lean management and Six Sigma, FMEA is a systematic, proactive method for identifying potential risks and their impact.
- Run Charts and Control Charts: These charts help you monitor performance and visualize variation.
- PDSA Worksheet: Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid-cycle testing helps teams assess whether a change leads to improvement using a methodical learning process.
Download the complete toolkit with all ten tools, or download individual tools as you need them to guide your continuous improvement work. Create a free account for IHI if you don’t already have one.
Clinical Chemistry
HbA1c levels consistently higher in blacks than whites; More than predicted by mean glucose levels
Debate exists as to whether the higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels observed in black persons than in white persons are due to worse glycemic control or racial differences in the glycation of hemoglobin. A prospective observational study of individuals with type 1 diabetes has found that HbA1c levels were approximately 0.8% higher in black persons; however, based on the mean glucose level mean HbA1c should have been only about 0.4% higher. The study involved 208 patients followed for 12 weeks at 10 U.S.-based diabetes centers. The mean HbA1c level and continuous glucose monitoring glucose concentration in blacks were 9.1% and 191 mg/dL, respectively, compared with 8.3% and 180 mg/dL in whites. The findings demonstrate that HbA1c levels consistently overestimate the mean glucose level in black persons compared with white individuals, according to the authors. However, because race only partially explains the observed HbA1c differences between black persons and white persons, future research should focus on identifying and modifying barriers impeding improved glycemic control in black persons with diabetes.
Transfusion Medicine
Johns Hopkins Health System reduces unnecessary transfusions with new blood management program
Blood transfusions are one of the top five most overused procedures, in addition to being the most common procedure performed in U.S. hospitals. A five-year effort across the Johns Hopkins Health System to reduce unnecessary blood transfusions has also resulted in more than $2 million savings annually. A summary of the blood management program, published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, details the development and implementation of the program, which can be adopted by other health systems.
The new patient blood management (PBM) program was launched in January 2012 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, with a clinical education program. The educational outreach consisted of live, in-person Grand Rounds presentations to various clinical departments to inform physicians, nurses and others about hospital transfusion policy guidelines and the results of eight published landmark studies that support reduced use of transfusions. The single most effective intervention, says Frank, was the "Why give 2 when 1 will do?" campaign to encourage single-unit transfusions, which resulted in a 49% decrease in multiunit orders. The number of red blood cell units transfused per 1,000 patients decreased by 19.8%, while plasma transfusions decreased by 38.9% and platelets by 15.6%.
Microbiology
UK physician develops unique collection system for clinical laboratories and pathology groups designed to improve quality of urine specimens
National Health Service (NHS) estimates 73% of 65-million urine specimens collected annually in the UK are contaminated. Wanting to know why so many female patients that present with urinary tract infections (UTIs) require repeat appointments, Dr. Vincent Forte, a family GP and forensic physician, determined that the standard “start-aim-start” mid-stream urine specimen collection cup is primarily the cause of poor-quality medical laboratory test results. That realization led to the development of a unique “midstream” urine collection device. The patented Peezy Midstream urine collection system rejects the first (often contaminated) 8-10 ml of urine, isolating and capturing the important midstream and rejecting the rest of the urine into the toilet. The product claims 98.5% accurate urine specimen collection and would improve the accuracy and reliability of the medical laboratory tests performed on urine samples collected with this device. The Peezy Midstream is a Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved product in the UK, and is FDA listed in the United States.
Cytology
HPV vaccine may even protect women who never got it
Fewer adult women are becoming infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), a trend that includes females who have never received the HPV vaccine, a new study reports. It appears that enough women have gotten the HPV vaccine to create "herd immunity" that will provide some protection to females who go unvaccinated, said lead researcher Dr. Abbey Berenson. Analysis of results from a federal health survey revealed a 32% decrease in HPV infections among women 18 to 59 years old between 2009 and 2014, researchers said. Young women 18 to 26, in particular, benefited most, experiencing a 65% decrease in HPV infection during that period, the researchers discovered. In 2009-2010, more than 15% had an HPV infection; by 2013-2014, that had declined to about 6%. Even unvaccinated women experienced a decline in HPV infection, as the vaccine worked to prevent sexual transmission of the virus from person to person, the researchers said. Unvaccinated women 18 to 26 experienced more than a 50% decline in HPV infection, from 19.5% of the population in 2009-2010 down to 9.7% in 2013-2014. The reduction in HPV infection was not the result of a change in sexual practices, such as an increase in abstinence or better use of condoms, Berenson added.
Molecular Genetics
SickKids docs develop game-changing test to determine perfect therapy for 3 cancers in kids
Dr. Cynthia Hawkins, a neuropathologist and team out of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children say they have developed a new testing regime, the first of its kind in the world that zeroes in on the specific genetics of each child’s tumour. Generally, children are diagnosed with brain cancer using an MRI while specialists check for other physical symptoms. In the new testing regime, the doctors have figured out a way to biopsy the brain, run blood tests, and zero in on an accurate diagnosis and a personalized, targeted therapy route for their young patients. The diagnostic tests are clinically validated for a handful of childhood cancers, including low-grade glioma, medulloblastoma, sarcoma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With the tests in tow, doctors piece together pivotal information from how a patient will respond to specific drugs, to how their tumour will behave over time. Ultimately, they try to predict the outcome for each patient’s specific cancer. "This just adds a whole other level of information and it will help us to better tailor the therapy to what we really think is going to be the behaviour of those tumours," said Hawkins.
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