Customers
These following customers use our products:
PASS Pedigree® and PASS Clinical Genetic®
- Human Genetic Center, St Radbout, Nijmegen
- Biomedical Genetics Department, UMCU, Utrecht
- Biomedial Genetics Department, AZM, Maastricht
- Human Genetics Department, Inselspital, Bern
PASS Clinical Vascular®
- Stichting Opsporing Erfelijke Hypercholesterolemie (STOEH)
- University of Cardiff, Wales
VMOS® and AICE®
PASS Software has 15 VMOS® customers and 35 AICE® customers. References on demand.
Human Genetics Center, Nijmegen, MCH St Radboud
Radbout was looking for an alternative for Cyrrilic pedigree drawing. We are implementing PASS Pedigree®, connecting it to an external laboratory management system and converting > 10.000 pedigrees. See: http://www.humangenetics.nl/klinischegenetica/en/kg_index_en.php
Biomedical Genetics, UMCU Academic Hospital Utrecht
We are implementing and customizing PASS Pedigree® at the biomedical genetics department of the UMCU and we will convert about 11.000 Cyrillic pedigrees. Also, the system is connecting to their central HIS. See: http://www.umcutrecht.nl/research/research/Biomedical-Genetics/
Biomedical Genetics, AZM Academic Hospital Maastricht
Also the AZM chose PASS Pedigree® as a substitute for Cyrillic. We are implementing and customizing it an are converting about 8.000 pedigrees.See: http://www.gen.unimaas.nl/clinicalgenomics/index.html
Inselspital, department for Human Genetics, Bern, Switzerland
At the Inselspital in Bern, we've started implementing PASS Clinical Genetic® for the 'Abteilung für Humangenetik, Universitätsklinik für Kinderheilkunde". See: http://www.kinderkliniken.insel.ch/12760.html
Stichting Opsporing Erfelijke Hypercholesterolemie (STOEH)
PASS Clinical ® was originally developed as a custom made application for the StOEH. See: www.stoeh.nl
StOEH
StOEH is the Dutch national Familial Hypercholestolemia organisation (Dutch abbreveation for "Stichting Opsporing Erfelijke Hypercholesterolemie"). Since 1994 StOEH has been responsible for tracing people who have Familiar Hypercholestolemia (FH) and more than 40000 people have been visited and 18000 people have been diagnosed with FH. In the Netherlands there are approximately 40000 people who have FH, so the StOEH will continue to carry out the screening process for the foreseeable future.
What is FH?
Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disorder that causes extremely high cholesterol levels and greatly increases the chance of having a heart attack early on in life. Heart attacks usually occur in men between 40-55 years old and in women between 50-65 years old. However, they can also occur when people are in their mid-twenties.
What Causes FH?
Cholesterol is removed from the blood by the liver using Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. Each person has two genes that are responsible for making the LDL receptors: one received from the father and one received from the mother. A person diagnosed with FH, receives an abnormal gene passed from one parent who has FH and a normal gene passed on from the other parent. Therefore, half of the LDL receptors are absent or do not function properly and the other half are normal. As half of the receptors do not remove the cholesterol in a normal way, the cholesterol levels are increased in the blood. This results in damage to the blood vessels, the blockage of arteries and heart attacks at an early age.
How is FH inherited?
If a person has FH, this means that each of his or her children will have a 50% chance of inheriting FH. You are either born with FH or not. The majority of people with the disease are neither recognised nor treated.
How is FH treated?
FH is treated using diet, medication and, in some cases, LDL-apheresis. The peferred medication used to treat FH are the statin medications and include the brands Mevacor ®, Zocor®, Lipitor®, Pravachol® and Lescol®.
The StOEH
The StOEH is a governmental organisation that traces people with FH, using the cascade screening method: An ‘index-patient’ who is diagnosed for FH after DNA testing is the starting point for further screening. All family members of the index patient are visited by a Genetic Field Worker (GFW) and blood is taken for a cholesterol – and DNA research.
Approximately 20 Genetic Field Workers are operating with different areas in the Netherlands. All the blood samples are collected centrally in Amsterdam (headquarters) and the DNA analysis is carried out in the clinical laboratory in the AMC (Academic Medical Centre) in Amsterdam. The StOEH has identified two workflows: one for an index patient and one for a family member of an index patient.
In Cardiff a pilot has been executed for FH screening in Wales, using PASS Clinical Vascular®. The pilot is evaluated and funding has been confirmed for a large program in Wales. See: http://medic.cardiff.ac.uk/archive_subsites/_/_/medic/subsites/fhproject/welshpilotproject/index.html