Thermo Fisher Launches Fully Automated Test for IBD/IBS Differentiation

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced the launch of the first fully automated test for fecal calprotectin. The EliATM Calprotectin test can differentiate inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other bowel disorders.

Calprotectin is a calcium and zinc binding protein which accounts for 60% of the intracellular fluid in neutrophils. IBD causes inflammation of the bowel wall causing neutrophils to migrate into the bowel as part of the inflammatory process. Increased levels of calprotectin correlate strongly with bowel inflammation, whereas calprotectin levels are normal in patients with IBS. Calprotectin levels can be easily measured in faeces.

The EliATM Calprotectin test can be run on Phadia instruments available from Thermo Fisher, offering high specificity, high sensitivity and excellent predictive values to assist clinicians with early diagnosis.

“Today’s tighter medical budgets require laboratories to become more efficient without compromising accuracy or negatively impacting patient care”, said Michael Haass, from Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By using the EliATM Calprotectin test, labs can enable faster and more accurate diagnosis than standard tests currently used to distinguish IBD from IBS, and this ultimately delivers faster relief to patients in need.”