Randox Laboratories has unveiled Randox Discovery, a revolutionary COVID-19 diagnostic analyser. The benchtop laboratory for molecular and immunoassay diagnostics is the first of its kind to combine sample preparation techniques and Biochip Technology – a patented multiplex testing platform – in one high throughput fully-automated analyser.
Randox’s patented Biochip Technology allows simultaneous detection of hundreds of targets from a single sample. The technology is capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 and differentiating between other respiratory pathogens with similar symptoms. It can detect all known strains of coronavirus comprising SARS-CoV-2, Sarbecovirus (SARS, SARS-like & SARS-CoV-2), coronavirus 229E, coronavirus NL63, coronavirus OC43 and coronavirus HKUI.
The combination of both SARS-CoV-2 and Sarbecovirus on the panel provides added confidence in patient diagnosis and helps to reduce false positives or negatives. This ultimately enables better treatment decisions and allows for more effective isolation and de-isolation of suspected and confirmed cases.
The Discovery has a rapid turnaround time with three hours to first batch of results and results for subsequent batches every hour after.
It is fully automated enabling a single operator to run up to 3 Discovery analysers.
For more information, visit: www.randox.com/randox-discovery/
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Abingdon Health has received the CE mark for its COVID-19 antibody test, called AbC-19TM Rapid Test. The test is now approved for professional use in the UK and EU.
The test uses a small drop of blood from a finger-prick and shows results in 20 minutes, without the need to send a sample to a lab.
The test will now be mass produced with roll out expected from the end of August. The company says it will produce 500,000 COVID-19 antibody tests a month from October and one million a month from January 2021.
AbC-19 Rapid Test detects IgG antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus with 99.4% accuracy according to the company. Testing was performed at the Ulster University and at the laboratories of Abingdon Health.
Chris Yates, Abingdon Health CEO, said: “This UK designed, developed and manufactured high-quality rapid diagnostic test is a breakthrough for UK life sciences and a triumph of British business.
“It has been a company-wide effort at Abingdon Health to achieve this milestone in such a short space of time. Our research and development teams have been working two shifts a day, seven days a week, to develop the test. We have deployed nearly fifteen times the number of people that would be on a typical project to deliver this test as quickly as possible.”
Abingdon Health is a UK-based medical device manufacturer. To develop and mass produce the volumes needed for the UK population, Abingdon Health set up and led the UK-Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC) in April this year. The consortium brings together the UK’s largest rapid test medical manufacturers, working together to provide capacity for delivery of more than a million tests per month.
The tests will also undergo ease of use trials with the general public to allow the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to provide the necessary approvals for it to be used by the public as a home test which is expected in the coming months. These trials will be performed in conjunction with the Ulster University, using around 2000 volunteers.

• For more information, visit: www.abingdonhealth.com

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Greiner Bio-One has launched their VeinViewer® which makes veins visible and helps to improve the success rate of an initial venipuncture. This significantly increases patient satisfaction and safety.
The VeinViewer uses harmless near-infrared (NIR) light which is directed towards the patient’s skin. Haemoglobin in the blood absorbs the NIR light and the surrounding tissue reflects it back to the VeinViewer device, where the data is processed into an image. Colour is added and the image is reflected on to the skin to provide a real time visualization of the blood vessels up to 10 mm below the skin.
High definition imaging technology helps provide clinicians with clear, sharp imaging which is particularly useful when vein visibility is poor.
Two VeinViewer devices are available. VeinViewer Flex is a portable device for use in emergency situations. It can also be made static by using the flexible arm to attach it to a table top or chair arm for example, which is useful when space is limited.
The VeinViewer Vision2 is a mobile imaging unit with an arm reaching up to 1.35 metres. It is attached to a trolley for easy transportation between beds or phlebotomy chairs.
For more information, visit: www.gbo.com
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Clinical research, forensic and anti-doping toxicology laboratories facing the challenges of analysing increasing numbers of analytes in biological matrices, can now easily and rapidly optimize their liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods for targeted screening and quantification with the new Thermo Scientific Tox Explorer Collection.
The Tox Explorer Collection offers a comprehensive LC-MS workstream for toxicology assays. It consists of proven methods enabling toxicology laboratories to achieve accurate, high-resolution data, regardless of analyte type, matrix complexities or user expertise.
The Tox Explorer Collection consists of a comprehensive library of analytes, allowing for faster identification and targeted screening assays with 1,500 compounds confirmed in a single analysis.
The Thermo Scientific Tox Explorer Collection is compromised of the following components:

“Toxicology laboratories must ensure they carry out reliable, reproducible and sensitive analyses with a quick turnaround, using numerous instruments and software to ensure thorough sample screening,” said Brad Hart, senior director, clinical research, chromatography and mass spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“The Thermo Scientific Tox Explorer Collection provides a robust, consistent, all-in-one LC-MS workstream, with an extensive library of analytes to allow for high-performance, targeted analyte screening on a daily basis.”
To accompany the Tox Explorer Collection, Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a strong customer support network, comprising a comprehensive training and application support package. The package is coupled with a complete start-up guide that includes installation and method instructions.
For more information, visit: www.thermofisher.com/ToxExplorer
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