This award recognizes outstanding achievements in the POCT field by a person primarily responsible for an institution’s POCT program and consists of a glass trophy, $500 cash and funding of up to $1,350 for travel and attendance expenses at the AACC annual meeting.

The 2012 honoree will be recognized during the AACC CPOCT Division meeting, July 24, 2012 during the AACC Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo.

• For a listing of previous honorees, click here.
• For a 2012 award application, click here.

A Look at Emerging

Cardiac Biomarkers
What Type of Analyte will be the Most Informative?
By Genna Rollins, January 2012 Clinical Laboratory News

Serum-based biomarkers have been integral to the advancement of the field of cardiology during the past half-century, and with better knowledge about their role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD), their utility has expanded from merely aiding in the diagnosis of disease to being important in predicting risk and prognosis. Some, such as the natriuretic peptides, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its amino-terminal pro peptide equivalent, N-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP), also are being actively explored as a means of guiding therapy. Novel biomarkers continue to be evaluated, along with new lines of investigation, including genomics and metabolomics, which hold the potential for even greater insights into CVD and its treatments. More >

Advanced Applications

of Cardiac Biomarkers
A review of scientific studies explores the value of biomarkers in assessing risk and prognosis.
Online Extra by David Plaut and Audrey Quinlivan, Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory, Jan 2012

Coronary disease is the most prevalent lethal hazard of hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and cigarette smoking. A number of biomarkers will detect cardiac damage, which makes them useful not only for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but also to detect persons at risk of an AMI as well as for prognostic information following an MI or invasive procedures. The value of serum biomarkers in assessing risk and prognosis is discussed in this review.

Studies by Daniels et al. Some 957 older adults, 39 of whom had detectable troponin (Tn), were studied by Daniels et al.1 for seven years.

The risk ratio was determined at the end of the study period: Apparently healthy adults with detectable Tn or elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are at increased risk of death (risk = 2.0 and 1.8 respectively). Those with both Tn and NT-proBNP elevations are at even higher risk (3.0);1 this increased risk persists for years.  More >

Alere Completes Acquisitions of MAS/RALS and LDS/AegisPOC
Acquisitions Compliment Alere's Vision of Single Platform Connectivity for POCT

Alere Inc. announces that it has completed the acquisition of Medical Automation Systems, Inc. (MAS) and Laboratory Data Systems, Inc. (LDS). These acquisitions strengthen Alere’s vision for open connectivity architecture at the point-of-care (POC) and in the critical care setting. Currently, MAS’s RALS® and LDS’s AegisPOC™ data management systems are installed in nearly 2,000 hospitals throughout the US and are interfaced to more than 100 POC devices. For more information or if you have any specific questions, click here.

A New Approach to QC

How Can Risk Management Help Labs?
Clinical Laboratory News, November 2011: Volume 37, Number 11, By Bill Malone

When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments regulations in 2003, many in the lab community expressed dissatisfaction with what was perceived as ambiguous and unscientific guidance on how to conduct quality control (QC). While the regulations set basic requirements for testing external QC materials, most laboratories found they needed to go above and beyond these standards to avoid quality problems.

Now the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has published a long-awaited guideline that aims to fill this gap, enabling labs to customize QC to match both changing technology and the uniqueness of each lab. However, in what form CMS and other accrediting organizations will adopt or endorse it remains to be seen.

Published in October, the new guideline, EP-23, Laboratory Quality Control Based on Risk Management, translates the time-honored concept of risk management used in manufacturing, defense, aerospace, and other industries into the language of the clinical lab.  More

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Last updated: 01/25/2012 Questions or corrections: editor@pointofcare.net.© 2011 Medical Automation Systems, Inc.

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