Events in 2023

Learn how infectious disease POCT services have evolved across Wales. Discover how Louise's role as a Biomedical Scientist has evolved to National infectious disease POCT lead. Discover how POCT projects are contributing towards the World Health Organisations Hepatitis C elimination targets and how we foresee future POCT services expanding.

This presentation will give:

Training requirements for Biomedical Scientists and Clinical Scientists
Insight into how the skills of a Biomedical Scientist enabled development toward Consultant Clinical Scientist.

Shared training – the Scottish Training Academy to Registration Portfolio training

HR and OH departments – how to work with them to achieve the best results

Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) techniques provide the gold standard diagnostic tests for a number of autoimmune immunobullous diseases, including pemphigus and pemphigoid and have clinical utility in other autoantibody-mediated disorders. They are typically performed on unfixed, frozen skin, mucosal and renal biopsies. For optimal diagnostic value, material for DIF requires careful preparation and a number of factors contribute to the quality of the assessed tissue sections. In particular, weak specific fluorescence intensity and high non-specific background fluorescence can hinder accurate interpretation.

This presentation will provide a brief overview of best practice for optimising DIF performance, with a focus on skin and mucosal biopsies. Troubleshooting and helpful tips will be provided covering areas including specimen preparation and the importance of using an appropriate transport medium, rinsing considerations prior to block preparation, factors influencing embedding and cryotomy, protocols for optimising fluorescence and appropriate use of conjugates, imaging considerations for digital pathology solutions, storage of material prior to reporting and best practice strategies for maintaining internal and external quality control, with reference to the NEQAS CPT DIF EQA scheme.

Myeloma screening is a high volume investigation pathway, performed by both Biochemsitry and Immunology laboratories. National audit data has shown there to be high variation between laboratories on the implementation of this workflow, leading to potentially inconsistent patient care geographically.

This talk will aim to cover the following areas:

Give brief foundation knowledge on serum electrophoresis/immunodisplacement/immunofixation
Introduce the Myeloma UK Best practice guidelines for Myeloma screening
Discuss Mass spec methods for analysing monoclonal protein
Discuss monitoring of myeloma patients and monitoring of Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) patients.

Food-induced immunotherapy has been practiced with varying success for over 100 years. Over the past 10 - 15 years it has gained a greater recognition in the potential management of children with food allergies. Food-induced immunotherapy can take the form of oral, epicutaneous or sublingual routes and usually results in a short-lived desensitisation rather than the acquisition of tolerance. For this reason, food immunotherapy is not a cure but relies on regular, usually daily, ingestion. Peanut immunotherapy lies mainly within the domain of clinic research however Palforzia (roasted peanut flour), was approved by NICE in February 2022 for the management of peanut allergy in children 4 to 17 years of age. The methodologies and factors associated with successful desensitisation to peanut will be discussed.

A case study into iron deficiency polycythaemia diagnosis, looking at the pathology and how this relates to the results we see and investigations to confirm diagnosis.

Generation X,Y,Z: Ageism in the workplace and its impact on service delivery

Help, nothing compatible