IVD Media Monitoring: 11-18 February

New national cervical screening campaign launches – as nearly 1 in 3 don’t take up screening offer

The new Help Us Help You – Cervical Screening Saves Lives campaign urges women and those who may be eligible not to ignore their cervical screening invite, and if they missed their last one, to book an appointment with their GP practice or sexual health clinic now
Latest figures from March 2021 show that nearly a third (30%) of eligible individuals – women and people with a cervix aged between 25 and 64 – were not screened

New test can spot which prostate tumours may be fatal

Currently, 20,000 men a year have unnecessary prostate cancer interventions
The new method lets doctors identify dangerous, fast-growing prostate tumours
But in a trial, Cambridge University researchers attached a non-radioactive form of carbon, called carbon-13, to a sugar-like molecule and injected it into a vein near the tumour. They discovered that if the carbon-13 was retained by the tumour, it indicated there was a high amount of lactate being produced – a sign that the cancer is aggressive

New study suggests changing breast screening programme timelines would increase detected cases and uptake

The research found that a greater total number of cancers would be screen detected with a 4 year round length and increased uptake, and therefore potentially detected at an earlier stage
Existing data shows that the five year survival rate for women with breast cancer is substantially higher when detected at the earliest stage (98%) compared to the latest (26%)

COVID-19 rapid testing made easier for partially sighted people

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched a new service making it easier for partially sighted people to use lateral flow tests in their home
The Be My Eyes app connects people with low to moderate vision with agents from 119 through a live video call. Users can now benefit from live video assistance from NHS Test and Trace staff to help guide them through how to order, use the tests and register their test results

University of Washington develops new blood-clotting test

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new blood-clotting test, which uses a single blood drop as well as a smartphone’s vibration motor and camera
In order to calculate the prothrombin time and international normalised ratio, the phone gathers two timestamps

Covid: PPE waste could be recycled – health minister

Medical face masks could be turned into curtains or bedsheets, the government has said as it tries to tackle pandemic-related PPE plastic waste
Health minister Edward Argar said the Department of Health and Social Care was also considering how to recycle materials in Covid test kits
A study published last year found 8 million tonnes of pandemic plastic waste had been generated worldwide

Better research, faster: NIHR launch new funding call to address NICE research recommendations

To reduce the time to commission new research recommended by NICE guidance and increase throughput, we have worked closely with NIHR to review and agree changes to this process
NIHR has launched a new researcher-led rolling funding call, which will complement existing commissioning workstreams. The new call will seek applications to address research recommendations identified in NICE guidance published or updated from 2015 onwards
For the purposes of this call, NICE guidance includes the following: clinical, social care, public health, technology appraisals, interventional procedures and diagnostics

Ethnic Inequalities in Healthcare: A Rapid Evidence Review

The review found some evidence of ethnic inequalities in attitudes towards accessing, and access to, genetic services, but some of the qualitative and quantitative studies were of low quality, and did not adequately report differences for each ethnic group represented in the studies
Most of the information on genetic services was around antenatal screening and testing. There was relatively little information on experiences of genetic counselling

NICE recommends new diagnostic devices for men with suspected prostate cancer in draft guidance

Four new diagnostic devices for men with suspected prostate cancer, which reduce the chances of biopsy related sepsis, have been recommended for use by NICE
The economic modelling showed that LATP is likely to be a cost-effective use of NHS resources

Anti-Superbug Research Boosted

A global drive – led by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) – to tackle a drug-resistant superbug has received additional funding to the tune of £59,000
The project, a collaboration between UWS and Cairo University, aims to identify antimicrobial agents that could be used in the fight against a bacteria called Acinetobacter baumannii. The bacteria was highlighted by the World Health Organisation as a critical global concern, due to its multidrug resistance and the threat it poses in hospital and care settings

Simple DNA test could detect common neurological disorders, study says

A simple test could end years of uncertainty for people with relatively common neurological conditions, new research has found
A new study suggests that whole genome sequencing (WGS) can quickly and accurately detect the most common inherited neurological disorders, and could be implemented in routine clinical practice with immediate effect
“It is very exciting because it opens up the vista of a test that could end the diagnostic odyssey for many patients,” said Prof Sir Mark Caulfield