The U.S. Food and Drug Adminstation has cleared expanded labeling to Baxter Healthcare Corporation for the first antimicrobial needle-less intravenous (IV) connector, V-Link Luer-activated device (LAD) with VitalShield protective coating. With a new federal policy that restricts the reimbursement for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) medical professionals are looking for useful technologies that can help lower the contamination risk posed by a broad array of pathogens within the hospitals. V-Link with VitalShield kills 99.99 % of the six most common pathogens known for causing infections related to catheter.

SensiGen LLC has made an announcement about a new program to make the company’s AttoSense™ HPV assay available to head and neck cancer researchers worldwide. The declaration has followed the announcement of results of recent studies conducted at the University of Michigan. These conclude that the success of various treatment options is determined by the viral load of HPV in tissue samples from patients. With the AttoSense™ HPV test, selecting the most effective therapy for a particular patient will be easier. The diagnostic assay can accurately identify minute quantities of the biomarkers that indicate the beginning of major diseases or their causing pathogens.

A team of three researchers are developing new sensors that take advantage of the sensory capabilities of biological cells. The tiny sensors, only a few millimeters in size, could speed up and improve the detection of everything from explosive materials to biological pathogens to spoiled food or impure water. The researchers plan to use other specialized cells much like a canary in a coal mine. The cells would show stress or die when exposed to certain pathogens, and the sensing circuits monitoring them would trigger a warning, more quickly and accurately than in present systems.

Photo by Jef Poskanzer