This chapter describes the growing influence of point-of-care diagnostics (POCD) on the daily lives of citizens, their immediate families, and healthcare providers. With a view to the future, the most important contemporary developments in this field are discussed, such as noninvasive sensor technology in the diagnostic process, practical examples of point-of-care diagnostics (POCD), including the quantify-self movement and infrared technology. Cost-effectiveness, adoption of POCD, and the contribution of POCD innovations to self-management and health literacy are also discussed. Developments in which deep learning and artificial intelligence are used to make the diagnostic results more reliable are also conferred, such as the development of point-of-care Internet diagnostics. The discussion of professional advice dilemma’s in POCD, the patient’s appreciation of POCD, and ethical and philosophical considerations conclude this chapter.
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This report presents the highlights of the 7th European Meeting on Molecular Diagnostics held in Scheveningen, The Hague, The Netherlands, 12-14 October 2011. The areas covered included molecular diagnostics applications in medical microbiology, virology, pathology, hemato-oncology,clinical genetics and forensics. Novel real-time amplification approaches, novel diagnostic applications and new technologies, such as next-generation sequencing, PCR lectrospray-ionization TOF mass spectrometry and techniques based on the detection of proteins or other molecules, were discussed. Furthermore, diagnostic companies presented their future visions for molecular diagnostics in human healthcare.
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This paper presents four Destination Stewardship scenarios based on different levels of engagement from the public and private sector. The scenarios serve to support destination stakeholders in assessing their current context and the pathway towards greater stewardship. A Destination Stewardship Governance Diagnostic framework is built on the scenarios to support its stakeholders in considering how to move along that pathway, identifying the key aspects of governance that are either facilitating or frustrating a destination stewardship approach, and the required actions and resources to achieve an improved scenario. Moreover, the scenarios and diagnostic framework support stakeholders to come together to debate and scrutinise how tourism is managed in a way that meets the needs of the destination, casting new light on the barriers and opportunities for greater destination stewardship.
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The missing link in diagnostic testing for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an agglutination assay, easy to perform and dedicated to decentralized testing. Approximately 75% of RA patients produce autoantibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA), which can be detected using an agglutination-based diagnostic test. Such a diagnostic test will be cheaper, less laborious and faster than current tests and does not require sophisticated equipment. Novio Catalpa is developing this alternative test for ACPA in collaboration with Radboud University. To develop this test, specifically tagged and citrullinated nanobodies are needed, but the production is still challenging. Current methods for the production of ACPA diagnostics involve chemical synthesis, in which a variety of toxic chemicals are used in each step. The alternative assay involves nanobodies fused with RA-biomarker target entities, which can be completely produced by ‘green synthesis’ in the yeast Pichia pastoris using the expertise of HAN BioCentre. The yeast P. pastoris has proven to be able to produce nanobodies and is a fast and cost-effective platform that often results in high protein yields. Goal of the project is therefore to determine the feasibility and best green route to produce purified nanobodies tagged with citrullinated ACPA targets that can be used for developing an agglutination assay for RA. P. pastoris does not produce endogenous PAD enzymes which are needed for citrullination of the nanobodies in order to be able to use it in a RA agglutination test. Therefore, PAD enzymes from other sources need to be tested and applied. The project results will be directly used by Novio Catalpa to further develop the innovative test for RA. This project will contribute to and finally result in a single-step agglutination assay suitable for both point-of-care testing and automation in clinical laboratories.
