The 2019 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in Anaheim, CA, drew almost 20,000 laboratory medicine professionals and featured more than 800 exhibitors.
At the meeting, 835 exhibitors -- the highest number in its history -- at the Anaheim Convention Center featured tests in a variety of laboratory medicine disciplines, such as mobile health, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, point of care, and automation.
The conference also included five plenary talks presented by life science researchers on the following topics:
- Accelerating the clinical adoption of new biomedical discoveries
- The influence of genetics and brain circuitry on behavior
- Tailored breast cancer therapies
- Advances in precision medicine
- Extremely rapid molecular diagnostics
Meeting organizers hosted a special direct-to-consumer genetic testing session that educated attendees on how these tests fit into the current healthcare framework, addressing topics ranging from the differences among consumer testing options to the regulations that can speed or slow their implementation, the AACC said.
Finally, the meeting offered a competition for the AACC Disruptive Technology Award, inviting biotech innovators to present new technologies that could help patients get accurate diagnoses. The winner of this competition was Inflammatix, with its rapid HostDx Sepsis test. HostDx Sepsis measures the expression of multiple immune system genes to determine if a patient has or is likely to develop sepsis, according to the organization.
AACC members consist of more than 50,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world. Its mission is focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. The 2020 AACC meeting will be held in Chicago from July 26 to 30.
"Laboratory medicine has been undergoing a transformation that is not only improving patient care, but also empowering patients to take a more active role in their health," said CEO Janet Kreizman in a statement released by the AACC. "Advancements in genetic analysis have led to a better understanding of numerous conditions, which in turn is leading to more effective treatments. New paradigms such as direct-to-consumer testing are enabling patients to work more closely with clinicians on medical decisions."
