Biotech company Genomic Vision just announced the release to market of a new method of testing for FSHD. The test uses molecular combing technology that stretches DNA and affixes it to a treated glass surface. The DNA can then be analyzed using FSHD-specific software.
"Current diagnostic methods are laborious and provide results that are difficult to interpret," says Dr. Pierre Walrafen, project manager at Genomic Vision.
The methods Dr. Walrafen refers to are less accurate owing to the complications inherent in the causes of FSHD, and the new test will hopefully improve accuracy and effectiveness in testing for FSHD.
The Timone hospital in Marseille, France, has adopted the technology for regular use--an estimated 300 to 500 patients per year. Prof. Clemens Muller-Reible at the human genetics institute in the Biology Center of the University of Wurzburg is also deploying the method as a beta test.
