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Keeping specimens where they're supposed to be

Medical lab tests could soon see a sea change with specially formulated vials.
Genefluidics
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via Flickr
Medical lab tests could soon see a sea change with specially formulated vials.

“It’s being sent to a lab.”

That’s a line we’ve all heard from doctors, when anything ranging from our curiosity to our well-being hangs in the balance.

Generally things go off without a hitch. But there’s always room for human error in the transporting of human samples.

Buffalo-based Ceno Technologies is trying to eliminate the loss, corruption or misidentification of medical specimens. Company officials recently sent off a patent application for a solution they’ve crafted to this problem.

The liquid solution Ceno has created uses dyes in a custom-made vials that are crafted to be “colormetric.” That’s a fancy way of saying that certain colors means certain things. Human tissue will display a dark blue color, for example.

Biopsy samples are sometimes so tiny that lab workers have a tough time seeing them. And sometimes, mistakenly, samples are tossed out for this very reason. If that's the case, then shining a black light in one of these vials fixes this problem. Officially, this new technology is known as a “pathology identification system.” Call the marketing department!

The five-year old company has been the object of attention recently among the powers that be in the Buffalo-Niagara medical economy. If the patent is awarded (which is likely since it’s a final provisional patent )Ceno is likely to spin the technology off into a new company, according to Business First. The company has also stated it would use a Buffalo subcontractor to manufacture the new vials.

Ceno is located at the University at Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, which has been a hub for businesses borne from technology and research originating from the University at Buffalo.

Also, keep an eye out for a blog post/reports about the grand opening of the Innovation Center in Buffalo on Thursday. The building has been open for a few months already but like many a grand opening for publicity purposes, it’s happening a year after its doors first opened. Sometimes businesses just want an excuse to serve hors d'œuvres.

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WBFO/Western New York reporter for the Innovation Trail.