HPV Laboratory Diagnostics Accelerated

The new CheckExtractor from Greiner Bio-One GmbH is a leap in technology and a crucial step toward a fully automated HPV detection. The device replaces the manual process of extracting DNA from patient samples and preparing the PCR setup for subsequent analysis using PapilloCheck and PapilloCheck high-risk. This simplifies and cuts down on the work done by laboratory staff while simultaneously making it possible to process far more samples in consistently high quality. This is confirmed by Dr Ron Opstelten, the new Director Sales & Marketing for the Diagnostics Business Unit at Greiner Bio-One GmbH: “The introduction of the CheckExtractor for automatic DNA purification marks the successful completion of the first phase of the work Greiner Bio-One is doing to fully automate the oCheck microarray applications.” This was the company’s response to customers’ greatly increased analysis requirements in the field of human medicine laboratory diagnostics. “Together with the CheckProcessor now under development, this will mean that all the work needed to process samples can be completed as quickly as possible, based on the principle ‘sample in – result out’,” explained Opstelten.

A key element of Greiner Bio-One’s programme at Eurogin 2013 was Dr Bart Hesselink’s presentation on the recently concluded clinical study on PapilloCheck. His speech on ‘Clinical validation of the PapilloCheck assay according to international guidelines for HPV test requirements for cervical screening’ examined the successful approval of the PapilloCheck HPV-DNA test by the Dutch Society for Pathology. The DNA test kit can analyse 18 high-risk types of HPV and 6 low-risk types in parallel, thus enabling early identification of a total of 24 carcinogenic virus types. With these innovative products for diagnostic medicine, Greiner Bio-One has made important progress toward enabling an early risk management for cervical cancer development, the second most common form of cancer in women.