Sekisui Diagnostics recently exhibited at the 22nd IFCC-EFLM European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine – perhaps best (and more easily) known as “EuroMedLab 2017.” It’s a large show - attended by about 5,000 biochemists, biologists, doctors, clinical chemists and pharmacists from all over the world.
Ancient History…and Cutting Edge Clinical Innovation
The congress was held at Athens’ Megaron Convention Centre. Within walking distance of the IFCC EuroMedLab 2017 congress venue were an incredible array of places of interest, all within a relatively small area surrounding the city center (Syntagma Square).
The multi-level exhibition area - which at first seemed confusing - actually led to people exploring the halls and discovering new companies. This resulted in a steady stream of visitors to the booth throughout the show.
What Was Hot at IFCC EuroMedLab?
There was a great deal of interest focused on our SEKURE® TPLA/RPR assays, used as an aid in the diagnosis of syphilis, which has been on the increase again since 2000.
Much of the interest in our TPLA/RPR assays can be attributed to the changing nature of lab & clinical testing in general. TPLA and RPR have begun shifting from the microbiology laboratory to the clinical chemistry laboratory.
Our Hb1Ac assay was also the focus of attendee interest (more on that below).
More generally, show attendees were introduced to the latest innovations from the fields of clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, cell counting and immunochemistry.
Innovations in Lab Medicine
The EuroMedLab 2017 scientific program offered a wide range of presentations, symposia, discussions, open sessions and workshops – all geared towards sharing recent state of the art innovations in 21st century Laboratory Medicine.
The Future of Point-of-Care Testing
Among the highlights of the congress, were some engaging sessions on Point of Care Testing (POCT). A number of point-of-care topics - assessing reliability, functionality, connectivity, clinical significance, and early clinical decision-making – were analyzed & discussed.
Other sessions reviewed existing and emerging technologies in the POCT field, and assessed the shifting of laboratory tests from central laboratory facilities to the clinic, family practitioners, and - in some cases – the patient’s home.
EuroMedLab Satellite Meeting: A Focus on Diabetes
We were also a sponsor and exhibitor at a related, two-day satellite meeting held June 15-16, immediately after EuroMedLab.
The meeting – held in Sounio, southeast of Athens – addressed diabetes innovations in both the laboratory and the clinic.
About 120 international delegates and key opinion leaders with a specific interest in diabetes participated in the meeting. Sessions provided a review of the state of the art in glucose monitoring, HbA1c, and future developments in diabetes and test methods.
The meeting presented an excellent opportunity to not only meet experts in the field of diabetes and HbA1c, but also to keep updated with the latest clinical & scientific thinking, and gain insight about other current market developments.
Sekisui participated in the HbA1c component of the meeting, which complemented the imminent launch in Europe of Sekisui Diagnostics’ new SEKURE® HbA1c enzymatic clinical chemistry assay. We were able to discuss this new assay with delegates at our table-top display.
There has been much deliberation on the topic of HbA1c. The session on the subject at the satellite meeting proved no exception: lively debate and discussion occurred with a number of topics, including:
- HbA1c’s role in diagnosis.
- controversies in interpretation.
- HbA1c in the POCT setting.
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