We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

hp

Advertise with Us

Latest Issue

Expo Clinical Chem.Molecular DiagnosticsHematologyImmunologyMicrobiologyPathologyTechnologyIndustry Events Webinars

Expo Clinical Chem.Molecular DiagnosticsHematologyImmunologyMicrobiologyPathologyTechnologyIndustry Events Webinars Advertise with Us

Werfen

EUROIMMUN AG

Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)

Featured Whitepaper

INTEGRA BIOSCIENCES AG:
Everything you need to know about NGS

Download Mobile App

Trending Articles

Cell-Sorting Device Uses Electromagnetic Levitation to Precisely Direct Cell Movement

New Diagnostic Marker for Ovarian Cancer to Enable Early Disease Detection

New Molecular Analysis Tool to Improve Disease Diagnosis

Qiagen Acquires Single-Cell Omics Firm Parse Biosciences

Blood-Based Liquid Biopsy Model Analyzes Immunotherapy Effectiveness

Puritan Medical Products Showcasing Innovation at AMP2025 in Boston

Urine Test Detects Early Stage Pancreatic Cancer

Video Library

more videos

New Diagnostic Marker for Ovarian Cancer to Enable Early Disease Detection

Cell-Sorting Device Uses Electromagnetic Levitation to Precisely Direct Cell Movement

Microneedle Skin Patch Detects Melanoma Without Biopsy or Blood Draw

DIASYS DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS

Partner Sites

HospiMedica

Algorithm Predicts and Lengthens Pacemaker Battery Life

Biodegradable Brain Implant Prevents Glioblastoma Recurrence

Tiny 3D Printer Reconstructs Tissues During Vocal Cord Surgery

Minimally Invasive Procedure for Aortic Valve Disease Has Similar Outcomes as Surgery

Safer Hip Implant Design Prevents Early Femoral Fractures

Robotic Next Generation Sequencing Platform Accurately Screens Thousands of COVID-19 Samples at Once

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 04 Mar 2021

A robotics platform to screen thousands of COVID-19 samples at once has the potential to revolutionize how labs track the spread of viruses and other pathogens, according to new findings.

The study by researchers from the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI) at Sinai Health (Toronto, ON, Canada) found that their next-generation, ultra-high-throughput sequencing platform, called C19-SPAR-Se, has a sensitivity rate greater than 95% in positive cases during peak onset. More...

The platform is also cost-effective. The study notes it only costs about USD 8 per test when running thousands of samples at once, as the cost per sample decreases due to economies of scale.

"Identifying positive samples quickly and accurately is critical in beating this pandemic," said Dr. Jeff Wrana, senior investigator at the LTRI and professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. "With new and potentially dangerous variants now circulating, this is a platform that is scalable, automated and capable of analyzing thousands of COVID-19 patient samples in a single instrument run."

Related Links:
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

Visit expo >

Gold Member

Multiplex Genetic Analyzer

MassARRAY Dx Analyzer (Europe only)

Portable Electronic Pipette
Mini 96

New

Gold Member

Automated MALDI-TOF MS System

EXS 3000

Clinical Chemistry System

P780

Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE!

It's Free!

Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.

Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
Free breaking news sent via email
Free access to Events Calendar
Free access to LinkXpress new product services
REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!

Sign in: Registered website members

Sign in: Registered magazine subscribers

Latest COVID-19 News

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel

Image: Schematic diagram of esophageal cancer cell identification research process (Photo courtesy of GE Dianlong)

VOCs Show Promise for Early Multi-Cancer Detection

Early cancer detection is critical to improving survival rates, but most current screening methods focus on individual cancer types and often involve invasive procedures. This makes it difficult to identify... Read more

Image: Portable Raman spectroscopy could help detect kidney disease at POC (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Portable Raman Spectroscopy Offers Cost-Effective Kidney Disease Diagnosis at POC

Kidney disease is typically diagnosed through blood or urine tests, often when patients present with symptoms such as blood in urine, shortness of breath, or weight loss. While these tests are common,... Read more

Image: Mesoporous gold nanoparticles have unique biosensing capabilities (Photo courtesy of The University of Queensland)

Gold Nanoparticles to Improve Accuracy of Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

Ovarian cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers, in part because it rarely shows clear symptoms in its early stages, and diagnosis is often complex. Current approaches make it difficult to accurately... Read more

Simultaneous Cell Isolation Technology Improves Cancer Diagnostic Accuracy

Accurate cancer diagnosis remains a challenge, as liquid biopsy techniques often fail to capture the complexity of tumor biology. Traditional systems for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) vary in... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel

Image: The small molecules could make it easier to detect heart failure in women (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Biomarker Panel to Improve Heart Failure Diagnosis in Women

Heart failure affects millions worldwide, yet many women are still misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late. Although heart failure broadly means the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body’s cells, its two... Read more

Image: The dual blood biomarker strategy will improve early ALS diagnosis (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Dual Blood Biomarkers Improve ALS Diagnostic Accuracy

Diagnosing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains difficult even with advanced imaging and genetic tools, especially when clinicians must distinguish it from other neurodegenerative conditions that... Read more

Image: The Elecsys Dengue Ag assay is intended for the in vitro qualitative detection of dengue virus NS1 antigen in human serum and plasma (Photo courtesy of Roche)

Automated Test Distinguishes Dengue from Acute Fever-Causing Illnesses In 18 Minutes

Dengue fever remains the most common mosquito-borne viral infection worldwide, posing a major public health challenge as global cases continue to surge. In 2024 alone, more than 14.6 million infections... Read more

Image: The VITROS hs Troponin I Assay is designed for use on VITROS Systems (Photo courtesy of QuidelOrtho)

High-Sensitivity Troponin I Assay Aids in Diagnosis of Myocardial Infarction

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for adults over 45 in the United States, accounting for nearly one in three deaths. In 2023 alone, 919,032 Americans died from cardiovascular disease —... Read more

Hematology

view channel

ADLM’s New Coagulation Testing Guidance to Improve Care for Patients on Blood Thinners

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are one of the most common types of blood thinners. Patients take them to prevent a host of complications that could arise from blood clotting, including stroke, deep... Read more

Viscoelastic Testing Could Improve Treatment of Maternal Hemorrhage

Postpartum hemorrhage, severe bleeding after childbirth, remains one of the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide, yet many of these deaths are preventable. Standard care can be hindered by delays... Read more

Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Image: Platelets sequester cfDNA during circulation (Murphy L. et al., Science, 2025; DOI: 10.1126/science.adp3971)

Platelets Could Improve Early and Minimally Invasive Detection of Cancer

Platelets are widely recognized for their role in blood clotting and scab formation, but they also play a crucial role in immune defense by detecting pathogens and recruiting immune cells.... Read more

Immunology

view channel

Image: The labyrinth chip could one day help doctors look for aggressive, stem-like cancer cells in patient blood (Photo courtesy of Joseph Xu/Michigan Engineering)

Chip Captures Cancer Cells from Blood to Help Select Right Breast Cancer Treatment

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) accounts for about a quarter of all breast cancer cases and generally carries a good prognosis. This non-invasive form of the disease may or may not become life-threatening.... Read more

Image: The new liquid biopsy model can predict patient response to immune checkpoint therapies (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Blood-Based Liquid Biopsy Model Analyzes Immunotherapy Effectiveness

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer care by harnessing the immune system to fight tumors, yet predicting who will benefit remains a major challenge. Many patients undergo costly and taxing treatment... Read more

Image: The research provides the first detailed view of how immune cells expand during cancer treatment and how this process can be restored (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Signature Genes Predict T-Cell Expansion in Cancer Immunotherapy

Modern cancer immunotherapies rely on the ability of CD8⁺ T cells to rapidly multiply within tumors, generating the immune force needed to eliminate cancer cells. However, the biological triggers behind... Read more

Molecular Microscope Diagnostic System Assesses Lung Transplant Rejection

Lung transplant recipients face a significant risk of rejection and often require routine biopsies to monitor graft health, yet assessing the same biopsy sample can be highly inconsistent among pathologists.... Read more

Microbiology

view channel

Image: The rapid diagnostic test is being piloted across three UK hospitals (Photo courtesy of Imperial College Healthcare)

15-Minute Blood Test Diagnoses Life-Threatening Infections in Children

Distinguishing minor childhood illnesses from potentially life-threatening infections such as sepsis or meningitis remains a major challenge in emergency care. Traditional tests can take hours, leaving... Read more

High-Throughput Enteric Panels Detect Multiple GI Bacterial Infections from Single Stool Swab Sample

Gastrointestinal (GI) infections are among the most common causes of illness worldwide, leading to over 1.7 million deaths annually and placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems. Conventional diagnostic... Read more

Image: Sugar fingerprints open new possibilities for faster and more reliable diagnosis of fungal infections (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Fast Noninvasive Bedside Test Uses Sugar Fingerprint to Detect Fungal Infections

Candida bloodstream infections are a growing global health threat, causing an estimated 6 million cases and 3.8 million deaths annually. Hospitals are particularly vulnerable, as weakened patients after... Read more

Image: A clinical test and handheld device could quickly classify sepsis patients into two groups (Photo courtesy of Sara Moser/WashU Medicine)

Rapid Sepsis Diagnostic Device to Enable Personalized Critical Care for ICU Patients

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s response to infection spirals out of control, damaging organs and leading to critical illness. Patients often arrive at intensive care... Read more

Pathology

view channel

Image: The AI tool could make skin cancer diagnosis more accurate and equitable across all skin tones (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI Tool Improves Accuracy of Skin Cancer Detection

Diagnosing melanoma accurately in people with darker skin remains a longstanding challenge. Many existing artificial intelligence (AI) tools detect skin cancer more reliably in lighter skin tones, often... Read more

Image: The three-panel image shows how BRM (birefringence microscopy) maps myelin and reveals injury (yellow arrow) (Photo courtesy of AJ Gray et al., Neurophotonics (2025). DOI: 10.1117/1.NPh.12.4.045006)

Highly Sensitive Imaging Technique Detects Myelin Damage

Damage to myelin—the insulating layer that helps brain cells function efficiently—is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, age-related decline, and traumatic injuries. However, studying this damage... Read more

Image: Structural variants detected by GPM (He Fang et al., The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (2025); DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2025.07.005)

3D Genome Mapping Tool to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment of Genetic Diseases

Standard laboratory tests often fail to detect complex DNA rearrangements that underlie many genetic diseases. To bridge this diagnostic gap, researchers have developed a 3D chromosome mapping method that... Read more

Image: The artistic rendering depicts proteins (colored shapes) being analyzed by solid-state nanopores under varying voltage conditions (Photo courtesy of Sotaro Uemura/The University of Tokyo)

New Molecular Analysis Tool to Improve Disease Diagnosis

Accurately distinguishing between similar biomolecules such as proteins is vital for biomedical research and diagnostics, yet existing analytical tools often fail to detect subtle structural or compositional... Read more

Technology

view channel

AI Model Achieves Breakthrough Accuracy in Ovarian Cancer Detection

Early diagnosis of ovarian cancer remains one of the toughest challenges in women’s health. Traditional tools such as the Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) can struggle to distinguish between... Read more

Image: The device costs USD 2.19 per unit (Photo courtesy of Amanda H. Imamura/Sci Illustrations)

Portable Biosensor Diagnoses Psychiatric Disorders Using Saliva Samples

Early diagnosis of psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder remains one of medicine’s most pressing challenges. Current diagnostic methods rely heavily on clinical... Read more

Cell-Sorting Device Uses Electromagnetic Levitation to Precisely Direct Cell Movement

Sorting different cell types—such as cancerous versus healthy or live versus dead cells—is a critical task in biology and medicine. However, conventional methods often require labeling, chemical exposure,... Read more

Image: Flowing red blood cells are imaged under the high-throughput QPM (Photo courtesy of W. Wang et al./Duke University)

Embedded GPU Platform Enables Rapid Blood Profiling for POC Diagnostics

Blood tests remain a cornerstone of medical diagnostics, but traditional imaging and analysis methods can be slow, costly, and reliant on dyes or contrast agents. Now, scientists have developed a real-time,... Read more

Industry

view channel

Co-Diagnostics Forms New Business Unit to Develop AI-Powered Diagnostics

Co-Diagnostics, Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) has formed a new artificial intelligence (AI) business unit to integrate the company's existing and planned AI applications into its Co-Dx Primer Ai platform.... Read more

Qiagen Acquires Single-Cell Omics Firm Parse Biosciences

QIAGEN (Venlo, Netherlands) has entered into a definitive agreement to fully acquire Parse Biosciences (Seattle, WA, USA), a provider of scalable, instrument-free solutions for single-cell research.... Read more

Image: Puritan’s booth at the recent ADLM 2025 in Chicago, IL (Photo courtesy of Puritan)

Puritan Medical Products Showcasing Innovation at AMP2025 in Boston

Puritan Medical Products (Guilford, ME, USA), the world’s most trusted manufacturer of swabs and specimen collection devices, is set to exhibit at AMP2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, from November 11–15.... Read more

Image: This strategic merger brings together two industry leaders with complementary strengths (Photo courtesy of Advanced Instruments)

Advanced Instruments Merged Under Nova Biomedical Name

Advanced Instruments (Norwood, MA, USA) and Nova Biomedical (Waltham, MA, USA) are now officially doing business under a single, unified brand. This transformation is expected to deliver greater value... Read more

LabMedica

About Us
Advertising Info
Subscription
Client Login
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Cookie Policy
Journal Info
Contact Us

Channels

Clinical Chem.
Molecular Diagnostics
Hematology
Immunology
Microbiology
Pathology
Technology
BioResearch
Industry
Events
Focus
Webinars

Features

Events Product Showcase LinkXpress Whitepapers archive Video Library

Partner Sites

LabMedica Expo HospiMedica.com Globetech.net

Archive:

BioResearch
COVID-19

2025
ADLM MEDLAB 2024
Medica ADLM Medlab 2023
Medica

AACC EUROMEDLAB Medlab 2022
MEDICA AACC ECCMID EUROMEDLAB Medlab 2021
Medica

Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.

MOBILE | FULL SITE