GEN-MKT-18-7897-A
Jun 27, 2019 | Blogs, Clinical | 0 comments
Aaron Hudson is Vice President and General Manager, Clinical Diagnostics at SCIEX. Aaron has been with SCIEX for over 17 years, beginning as a Sales Representative, and holding various roles including Director Global Marketing Strategy & Brand. Aaron holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Protein Chemistry from University of Sheffield, UK.
SCIEX pioneers innovative solutions in mass spectrometry to enable the accurate quantification of molecules in complex samples. The clinical diagnostic portfolio includes an FDA-cleared assay for in vitro diagnostic use, medical device mass spectrometers and fully integrated LC-MS/MS systems with easy to learn, intuitive software. As part of the Danaher family of global life science and technology innovators, SCIEX has led the field of mass spectrometry for nearly 50 years.
Question: What are the top 3 reasons labs should be considering LC-MS/MS (mass spec) for in-house testing?
Answer: In my mind, the first reason is the “3 S’s”; sensitivity, specificity, and selectivity to deliver more accurate quantification, and ultimately better patient care. LC-MS/MS can overcome problems associated with interference, cross-reactivity, and lot-to-lot variability that can be observed with immunoassays. The second is multiplexing. You can combine dozens of analytes into a single, fast, assay. Definitive drugs of abuse testing is a good example of this and typically you can analyze over 80 drugs in under five mins, but you can also multiplex proteins, lipids, and metabolites. Third would be simpler development of LDT’s to bring more testing in-house to achieve cost reduction and decreased turnaround times – critical elements in today’s clinical environment. This also enables the translation of novel biomarkers into clinical utility.
Answer: In my mind, the first reason is the “3 S’s”; sensitivity, specificity, and selectivity to deliver more accurate quantification, and ultimately better patient care. LC-MS/MS can overcome problems associated with interference, cross-reactivity, and lot-to-lot variability that can be observed with immunoassays.
The second is multiplexing. You can combine dozens of analytes into a single, fast, assay. Definitive drugs of abuse testing is a good example of this and typically you can analyze over 80 drugs in under five mins, but you can also multiplex proteins, lipids, and metabolites.
Third would be simpler development of LDT’s to bring more testing in-house to achieve cost reduction and decreased turnaround times – critical elements in today’s clinical environment. This also enables the translation of novel biomarkers into clinical utility.
Question: How has mass spec evolved in the clinical arena?
Answer: My earliest memories of mass spec in clinical date back 20 years to my sales rep days when ‘tandem mass spec’ was emerging for neonatal screening. Since then more and more assays have been adapted based on the figures of merits I outlined earlier and so now I don’t think there is any doubt that mass spec is seen as the gold standard for many assays. The next era will see mass spec simplified to be a more integrated part of the core clinical chemistry lab.
Question: LC-MS/MS in the clinical lab isn’t just about the technology anymore. What other benefits are vital to the end-user experience?
Answer: At SCIEX we believe that customer experience is just as important as the instrument hardware. From installation, method setup, to results production and information management, a robust standard work process is needed. SCIEX has numerous resources needed to provide an end-to-end solution: The SCIEX clinical applications team is full of experts familiar with clinical applications; SCIEX Now provides responsive support, and online resources like SCIEX University is a great platform for further education for our end-users for all things Mass Spec. SCIEX is your partner.
Learn More About SCIEX Systems for Your Clinical Lab >
The Echo® MS+ system is a novel platform for Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry (AEMS) and combines the speed of acoustic sampling with the selectivity of mass spectrometry. This platform has been designed for high throughput analysis of small and large molecules. The technology combines Acoustic Droplet Ejection (ADE), an Open Port Interface (OPI) and could be coupled with the SCIEX Triple Quad 6500+ system or the ZenoTOF 7600 system.
The Echo® MS+ system comprises of an open-port interface (OPI) and acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) module which could be coupled with a mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer could either be a SCIEX Triple Quad 6500+ system or the ZenoTOF 7600 system. This non-liquid chromatography based; high-throughput screening platform enables rapid analysis of compounds at speeds of up to 1 sample/second.
The ability to consistently achieve reproducible results on many complex samples across multiple days is critical to a routine clinical laboratory. Laboratories relying on analytical instrumentation require stability and robustness to perform a variety of screening and confirmatory assays with confidence. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has become the preferred analytical method in the clinical laboratory to reliably perform clinical testing as it provides best-in-class performance and reliability for the most challenging assays. LC-MS/MS offers the required levels of sensitivity and specificity for the detection and quantitation of molecules from complex biological samples, helping laboratories deliver highly accurate data for a variety of clinically relevant analytes across a wide range of assays.
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