One of the most fascinating, and hopeful, applications for technology in my mind is in the health and wellness space and particularly in biotechnology.

Recently, for example, Roche launched a new advance for laboratories to move the treatment of coagulation forward by being able to do more accurate diagnosis.
The ramifications are significant, with the keynote speaker Prof Johnny Mahlangu explaining that imprecise diagnostics can result in therapies being dosed incorrectly, while clots can go untreated, leading to strokes and other, potentially fatal conditions.
 
The stat that stood out to me was that 75% of the world's haemophilia patients go without a diagnosis, rendering them effectively invisible and untreated.
 
And, even more shocking, is that Sub Saharan South Africa has the lowest number of diagnosed haemophilia patients in the world, at just 11%. Compare that to Western Europe and North America, which have 91% and 87% respectively, and it becomes quite clear that so many more lives could be potentially saved on the continent with better diagnostics technology.
  
On the flip side, being able to do more precise diagnosis means that patients can receive optimally effective medication for their condition, while blood clots can be diagnosed early on, before they becomes a catastrophic heart or brain bleed.

But it isn't just haemophiliac patients who are affected by technological advances and better diagnostics. It is also highly relevant to obstetrics or anyone who has an operation, and needs the right medication to ensure they clot properly. This is one of those advancements that you could be forgiven for never giving a second thought to. After all, a new technology to improve diagnosis that enables better blood clotting is not exactly something you are going to have in your living room. But as Merilynn Steenkamp pointed out, laboratories remain a central and critical part of healthcare.

‘’Every day, clinicians rely on timely and accurate results to support accurate diagnosis of patients, monitor the treatments of their patients, and also make informed decisions about what to do next in a timely manner.

This is really where healthcare is starting to move to, because we have a lot of burdens in terms of new, emerging diseases; viruses. Even on this continent, these diseases and viruses are on the rampage, that we can’t always predict. But what we can do is be smarter with diagnostic tools that are available to us,’’ she explained.

Steenkamp elaborated that as testing volumes continue to surge, there is intense volume in laboratories to scale up in the face of these increased volumes, and to deliver accurate results in a timely manner. She explained that two major challenges include a scarcity of resources, and a lack of trained personnel. Both make automation a natural next step in laboratory management.

‘’With innovation and automation, we at Roche are able to bring these products to the market.

This launch helps laboratories deal with a growing workload and demand, it improves workflow consistency, and particularly important for us, it eliminates the need for manual intervention and the management of reagents,’’ she continued.  

The technology launched was the company’s Cobas T analyzers, namely the T411, T511 and T711, with the first being geared towards low volume work while the latter two are more suited to labs processing high volumes. 

‘’The Cobas-T511 brings a revolution to how daily operations in coagulation labs are performed. Traditional reagents packaged in vials are vulnerable to degradation from environmental exposures and manual handling processes,’’ explained Laura Bonvini, the product manager for Coagulation and Critical Care at Roche Diagnostics

The new analysers enable both high and low volume tests to be performed done by leaving the reagent on the analyzer, which then reduce waste, and also contribute to cost control and greater efficiency in the lab, she continued.

Another particularly interesting part of the announcement is Roche’s approach, with Bonvini explaining that for the company, introducing innovative technology to the market is only half of the equation, with partnership being equally as important.  

‘’Roche thus has dedicated teams that can bring consultancy services to help labs improve their workload efficiency and also customize the solutions they bring to the lab’s needs,’’ she added.  

Ultimately, Roche’s new coagulation technology is a reminder that some of healthcare’s most meaningful breakthroughs happen far from the spotlight. By giving laboratories faster, more accurate and more efficient tools, innovations like these can help turn invisible patients into diagnosed ones, and better diagnostics into better, potentially life-saving care.