Six years of progress - highlights from the IFCC Emerging Technologies Division.

Greaves, Ronda F Gruson, Damien [UCL]

Emerging and disruptive technologies continue to (re)shape all areas of laboratory medicine. For laboratory medicine, an emerging technology (ET) has been defined as “an analytical method (including biomarkers, software applications, and algorithms) or device that by virtue of its stage of development, translation into broad routine clinical practice, or geographical adoption and implementation has the potential to add value to clinical diagnostics”. The key attributes usually include its novelty, relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, and uncertainty/ambiguity. Implementation of ETs are important continuous improvement activities that aim to enhance the value of laboratory testing practices to optimize clinical decisions that support patient care. However, the process that takes an ET from its inception through to implementation is complex. Therefore, supporting the processes of selection and successful implementation of ETs across all aspects of the total testing process (pre-pre-analytical, pre-analytical, analytical, post-analytical, and post-post-analytical phases) is essential for the success of the smart laboratory. [...]