Sebia launches Hemoglobins Atlas as interactive educational aid

Developed for the first time, the Hemoglobins Atlas is dedicated to helping Sebia’s capillary electrophoresis users orientate their diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies. Hemoglobin electrophoresis is an established technique routinely used in clinical laboratories for screening samples for hemoglobinopathies (hemoglobin variants and thalassemia). The assay is based on the principle of capillary electrophoresis in free solution. Sebia’s capillary electrophoresis technology allows fast and efficient separation of hemoglobin fractions and detection of the major hemoglobin variants and thalassemia patterns. The high sensitivity and specificity offered by capillary electrophoresis makes it a reliable first line screening method. To mark the tenth year of this technology, the company has developed the CDRom Hemoglobin Atlas as a reference compendium that will help laboratories increase their diagnostic knowledge of hemoglobinopathies. The Atlas is dedicated to the Sebia customers who use the Capillarys and Minicap instruments. The instruments perform sequences automatically, from sampling to final clear-cut profile, with precise quantification, exceptionally sharp separation and presumptive identification of the most common hemoglobins. Professor Piero Giordano, Emeritus associated professor and clinical biochemical molecular geneticist at Leiden University medical centre in the Netherlands, has collaborated as scientific counsellor on all of the research data. He also helped to develop the content. “As an interactive educational aid, the Atlas will cover as many variants as possible, from common to rare and in variable genotype combinations,” said Professor Giordano. “Presumed risk information is also included. If a lab result ends up in the files without any preventive follow up, the diagnostic efforts of the lab will have been wasted. For this reason we are now sharing all of the relevant confirmed and frequent patterns that are associated with severe diseases.” “Our customers will find the new Atlas a valuable companion in deciding how and when to confirm their provisional findings, either with a simple sickle test or with molecular diagnosis,” said Benoit Adelus, Sebia president and CEO. “We aim to keep this Atlas interactive by offering constant updates. Soon we will also provide extranet access for Sebia customers.” The Sebia Hemoglobins Atlas will be updated with new cases on a regular basis. All Sebia users are invited to contribute to the enrichment of the Atlas database by sharing their collection of capillary electrophoresis profiles displaying rare hemoglobin variants with their Sebia representative. The company enjoys an ongoing collaboration with Professor Giordano. Plans for the next version of the Atlas are already underway. The second edition will provide more case studies and additional user-friendly features.

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