Moved by the seeming undersupply of diagnostics services in Nigeria, Echolab Radiology and Laboratory Services has partnered with the largest operator of diagnostic chain in the Middle East and North Africa, Integrated Diagnostic Holdings (IDH). The collaboration is expected to bring to bear global best standards on the investigation of wide range of illnesses and conditions affecting Nigerians.
Echolab is an offshoot of EcoScan, which has been in diagnostics service of Nigeria for over 20 years.
Benson Ayodele, chairman of Echolab, said the re-launching of the company was to announce the introduction of foreign participation and expansion of its service offerings in both radiology and pathology laboratory services. Ayodele said $25 million in investments was pumped into the expansion.
“We changed the trade name just to reflect the fact that we are doing a lot more in laboratory medicine compared to where we were before,” Ayodele told BusinessDay at the launch. “It is to bridge the gap in diagnostic service that we have noticed long ago in the health care industry in Nigeria.”
To realise this dream, Echolab has invested in an arsenal of cutting edge technology. It will be beaming light on health complications with tools including Atellica CH930 Analyser, a flexible, scalable and automation-ready immunoassay used in clinical chemistry analysis to deliver simple and customisable detections. The device capable of 1800 tests per hour gives room for conducting routine tests and advanced categories such as Therapeutic drug monitoring, drugs of abuse and specific proteins.
Sysmex XN-350 Analyzer, another device, conducts standard routine blood checks and differential blood cell counting. It supports the detection of infections and provides for diagnosis and therapy monitoring of infections by reliably counting immature cells.
Other devices are LOGIG F8, a high-end GE Ultrasound system; VIVID IQ, a cardiovascular ultrasound system, and Prodigy Pro, a body composition analyser for bone mineral density (BMD) and lean and fat tissue mass.
With these technologies, Echolab hopes to leverage IDH specialty in pathology, molecular diagnostics, genetics testing and radiology to help patients.
It sees its quality proposition to the diagnostic market further enhanced by its other partnership with the international Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank which ensures compliance with global best practice standards and ethics.
Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State commissioner for health said the state has particularly exerted efforts on partnership with diagnostics centres, to enhance its capacity to manage the demands of its surging population.
“The Lagos state government is in support of this initiative. I urge them to sustain the standard of what is expected in radiology and laboratory services. They should uphold quality control,” Okunowo Olanrewaju, acting head of department, chemical pathology, Lagos State University (LASU) said while holding brief for the commissioner.
Echolab currently services Embassies, government parastatals and non-governmental organisations including United Nations, Central Bank of Nigeria, NNPC. It also offers esoteric tests which are not routinely performed in clinical laboratories through a subsidiary of IDH, Al Mokhtabar laboratory.
Nigeria’s diagnostics service commanded a N50 billion market as of 2015 and is projected to grow six folds to N300 billion by 2025, available reports say.
Temitayo Ayetoto
