33rd BSMT Annual Scientific Conference 2018

Friday, 18 May 2018

33^rd BSMT Annual Scientific Meeting: Friday 18 May 2018Venue: Colindale, Public Health England

Rapid Diagnostics - Time is Relative

The BSMT 33rd Annual Scientific Conference, held in May 2018 at PHE, Colindale, was a decisive success. The conference focused on Rapid Diagnostics – Time is Relative. It teased out some of the benefits and advantages of new technology whilst also reviewing and describing improvements with some older technologies. This use of conventional methods was shown to be particularly relevant in blood stream infections where streamlining the process from blood collection to identification of the organism responsible improved patient outcomes. This excellent presentation from Dr Michael Weinbren is available to download (see below), along with some of the other talks from the meeting. We also have a comprehensive write-up from the meeting in Pathology in Practice. 

The BSMT Annual Conference is aimed at bench microbiologists to provide up-to-date information about organisms and techniques especially new molecular technology

• Read the report on this meeting in Pathology in Practice

• Optimising recovery of bacteria from blood cultures
  Dr Mike Weinbren, Consultant Microbiologist, Kingsmill Hospital, Sherwood Forest NHS Foundation Trust
• Device related orthopaedic infections and the potential place of new technologies
  Dr Bridget Atkins, Consultant, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Clinical Lead, Bone Infection Unit, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford
• Tracking Staph. aureus around the Intensive Care Unit
  Dr Stephanie Dancer, Consultant Microbiologist, NHS Lanarkshire and Professor of Microbiology, Edinburgh Napier University
• Increased efficiency to meet winter demands for rapid detection of respiratory viruses
  Dr Gemma Clark, Clinical Scientist, Nottingham University Hospitals
• Molecular diagnostics for enteric infections – Relevance for clinical diagnosis and public health
  Prof Eric Bolton, Honorary Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Liverpool
• Rapid metagenomic diagnosis of hospital acquired pneumonia
  Dr Justin O’Grady, Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia
• Rapid diagnostics, bad bugs and antibiotics: not that easy
  Dr Vanya Gant, Clinical Director for Infection, University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Brian Duerden CBE and Professor Eric Bolton chaired the symposium.