Stories – Eye on Innovation

Controlled substance testing options vary in the details they provide about patient drug use, painting an incomplete picture of usage patterns that can hinder accurate prescription monitoring and treatment outcomes. However, a new comprehensive Controlled Substance Monitoring Panel, developed by the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, offers in-depth analysis on more than 70 different prescription medications and illicit substances to provide clinicians with details and interpretations on patients’ controlled substance use lacking in other laboratory assays.

Being able to identify SARS-CoV-2 in tissue is key to better understand the virus that causes COVID-19. Now, a first-of-its-kind test that detects SARS-CoV-2 in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue is available from Mayo Clinic Laboratories.

Dendritic cells play a crucial role in the body's immune response. Research has shown that too few of these cells in the blood may signal a defect in innate immunity. Up to this point, however, no clinical test has been available to count dendritic cells.