NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Hologic said today that it has obtained CE marking in Europe for a new diagnostic system, the Panther Fusion, which is an upgrade to its existing Panther instrument, and for Panther Fusion flu and respiratory testing assays.
The Fusion module's PCR technology extends the testing capabilities of the existing Panther system, which employs a transcription-mediated amplification approach, and it enables combining Panther Fusion PCR assays with the firm's Aptima TMA assays on one system, Hologic said
The firm noted that the Fusion system provides higher throughput, allowing up to 335 Fusion tests in eight hours, or up to 500 Fusion and Aptima tests.
The availability of multiple chemistries for testing on a single platform enables labs to further consolidate their testing portfolios, Hologic said.
The Fusion system's respiratory assays offer a modular approach to syndromic testing and enable running one, two, or all three assays from a single patient specimen, depending on a patient's needs, Hologic said.
Its Panther Fusion respiratory panel assays include Flu A/B/RSV, Paraflu, and AdV/hMPV/RV tests.
João Malagueira, Hologic's VP of Sales Diagnostics in EMEA, said in a statement that the addition of the flu and respiratory assays "to the broad menu of Aptima tests already available for the Panther instrument further extends the range of diagnostics tests that laboratories can run on one Hologic system."
Its flu and respiratory assays "enable customers to run only the targets requested for a patient, allowing for personalized testing and helping them control costs within their laboratories," he noted.
The Fusion system retains the key benefits of the Panther platform, including sample-to-result automation, multiple tests from a single sample, random access sample processing, continuous loading, and STAT capabilities, the firm said.
Hologic has added "open access functionality" that enables lab-developed testing and test protocols. The firm noted that this enables labs to concentrate on developing assays, while the Panther Fusion system automates their workflows and reduces overall hands-on time.