rishard.khan@guardian.co.tt
A breakthrough in medical technology has arrived in T&T.
ABC Paediatrics in St Augustine is now offering clients the services of a Sight Diagnostics Olo CBC Analyser.
The machine is a revolutionary CBC (Complete Blood Count) device that offers lab quality 19-parameter, five-part differential CBC results in minutes, with just two drops of blood. It features digital microscopy, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to deliver lab-quality CBCs in just 10 minutes. It’s also no bigger than a computer printer.
ABC Paediatrics director and co-founder Dr Tricia Jailal told Guardian Media that investing in the technology was a “no-brainer” given their clientele.
“We needed to get it because when we see patients, especially with children, it’s very hard to draw blood. (Traditionally) You have to get a larger volume sample. They cry, (the) parents cry you know, it’s a bit of a struggle sometimes. So, with two little drops of blood, we can have a CBC result in ten minutes,” she said.
“That will help manage our ill patients, and determine whether it’s a viral or bacterial cause of infections. We can also screen for iron-deficiency anaemia, cancers - multiple different things. It really improves our level of care.”
According to Sight Diagnostics vice president of sales in the United States, Kevin Lee, the new technology also offers numerous logistical benefits to the paediatric facility.
“There’s no maintenance, there’s no calibration, there’s no QC (quality control) needed, unlike traditional CBC analysers and it’s also a fraction of the cost of them having to buy a super-large analyser to do the same thing,” he said.
“It’s been FDA cleared, CE cleared, it’s lab equivalent, so you can trust the result, even abnormal samples. We have no clinical conditions it cannot be used on.”
The machine’s purchase was facilitated by the distributor, Sapphire Export Group. SEG regional manager Johann Ali said they were happy to be a part of the process to bring the new technology to T&T, but clarified that it was not “state of the art” but “cutting edge.”
“I’m a little bit of a stickler for specifics. State-of-the-art, you hear that a lot. State-of-the-art means it’s the best that we have that everybody else is doing. It’s basically the gold standard. Then you have cutting edge.
“Cutting edge is taking it beyond the gold standard. It’s the next step. It’s the next evolution of technology and in this case, we have cutting-edge technology that has been verified to be lab equivalent,” he said.
Dr Jailal said the cost of investing in the machine will not be passed down to patients and CBC tests will be priced at the market level.
