Meeting tomorrow's diagnostic demands in today's lab
President of Diagnostic Solutions at Hologic explains how adopting advanced molecular‑diagnostic technologies is for labs of the future
19 Dec 2025
Dr. Jennifer Schneiders, President of Diagnostic Solutions, Hologic
In this guest editorial, Dr. Jennifer Schneiders, President of Diagnostic Solutions, Hologic, outlines how clinical laboratories can stay ahead of rising diagnostic demands by adopting molecular technologies designed to support high‑throughput and scalable testing workflows, without placing additional strain on labs.
Diagnostic laboratories are increasingly expected to deliver targeted, efficient and measurable results to drive clinical decision-making. In this dynamic environment, laboratories have become central to clinical care, healthcare cost reduction, and public health preparedness. The laboratories best equipped to navigate this changing landscape are those exploring technologies that support both clinical and workflow optimizations at scale.
This requires not only robust testing capacity and stable supply, but also the agility needed to respond and adapt quickly to emerging threats. Meeting these expectations demands innovative solutions, like molecular testing, that are dependable, flexible and sustainable to help laboratories deliver quality results under pressure.
Molecular testing as a foundation for modernization
Fundamental to the modern laboratory, molecular tests detect specific genetic markers or nucleic acids, enabling them to be quickly modified to meet changing clinical demands. Their specificity, sensitivity and scalability make them ideally suited for today’s clinical environment, where both accuracy and speed are essential.
These qualities have positioned molecular testing not only as a trusted solution for current diagnostic needs, but also as a reliable framework for tomorrow’s healthcare threats, including emerging pathogens. They offer laboratories flexibility to reconfigure assays and workflows, and to pivot with minimal downtime, preserving continuity and accelerating time to result.
Rapid expansion in molecular testing applications and across disease states has further strengthened this model, enabling walkaway workflows that reduce manual tasks without compromising clinical performance. The shared-platform architecture makes it possible to run multiple assays on a single system, supporting a broader range of testing with smaller space footprints, sometimes eliminating the need for additional instruments.
Enhancements in sample collection and handling, including the use of penetrable caps that allow automated sampling without removing the lid, help streamline workflows, reduce contamination risk and maintain specimen integrity.
Together, these improvements help laboratories meet throughput needs during periods of high demand and deliver high-quality results that clinicians can act on with confidence. This positions molecular diagnostics as a long-term strategy for system-wide preparedness.
Innovation in focus: Single-sample vaginitis detection
Molecular diagnostics are particularly impactful in women’s health, where longstanding challenges in conditions like vaginitis call for more accurate, efficient and patient-friendly testing solutions.
Vaginitis is a leading reason for OB/GYN visits1,2, yet it remains challenging to diagnose using traditional methods, which are subjective. Approximately 90% of vaginitis cases are caused by bacterial vaginosis (BV), Candida vaginitis (CV), or Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), either individually or in combination3. Symptoms frequently overlap, and mixed infections are common4, making clinical evaluation alone, especially when based on microscopy or visual inspection, prone to misdiagnosis5.
But molecular diagnostics offer a more reliable solution for detecting vaginitis. Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) provide objective, extensive and accurate results6,7. When paired with a multitest collection swab, NAATs can detect multiple infections and disease states from one patient sample8-11. This consolidated approach allows for more comprehensive care. Assays like those developed by Hologic leverage this method to detect multiple pathogens from a single sample, helping laboratories give more confident and timely results to healthcare providers and their patients.
With innovative NAATs and a single collection device, molecular diagnostics allow laboratories to align resources with patient needs while maintaining performance. Such advances underscore diagnostics’ central role in elevating patient care, optimizing operations and ultimately empowering confident clinical decisions.
Innovation in focus: Flexible testing for GI infections
Gastrointestinal infections (GI) are common and can range from mild to life threatening. Much like vaginitis, their clinical symptoms often overlap and the range of potential causes, from viruses to bacteria and parasites, can create complex diagnostic challenges for laboratories around the world. An accurate diagnosis is imperative to guide effective treatment and support broader public health goals, including outbreak mitigation and antimicrobial stewardship12.
Historically, identifying bacterial causes of gastroenteritis required a combination of culture, microscopy and biochemical tests, which are all labor-intensive and time-consuming. Molecular diagnostics offer a more sensitive, scalable and efficient approach.
New gastrointestinal panels can detect a range of bacterial GI pathogens, and importantly, can be run in customizable formats. This versatility allows laboratories to tailor testing strategies to the clinical presentation as requested by healthcare providers, helping avoid unnecessary testing and potential reimbursement challenges.
Research has shown that implementing molecular GI pathogen testing has wide reaching positive effects for healthcare delivery as well as cost effectiveness. One study demonstrated that gastrointestinal multiplex PCR panels not only improve clinical management, but also lower healthcare costs.
In summary, patients tested with a multiplex PCR GI panel had a lower average number of additional diagnostic tests, fewer days on antibiotics and a shorter time between test and discharge when compared with the control group. The study notes that these factors could have decreased the overall healthcare cost by nearly $300 per patient tested13.
By aligning diagnostics more closely with healthcare providers and their patients’ needs, molecular testing helps streamline workflows, supports targeted treatment decisions and reinforces responsible antibiotic use. Collectively, these strategies highlight the expanding role of molecular diagnostics in driving optimization and advancing data-informed decisions across disciplines.
Shared lessons and the path forward
Across cases, a common principle emerges: diagnostic testing is most impactful when it delivers clinically actionable results without decreasing efficiency. When laboratories take a holistic view of their operation and leverage integrated systems, diagnostics become not only smarter but more sustainable.
Solutions that offer flexibility, sample consolidation, streamlined workflows, and full automation empower laboratories; and when automation and integration align with clinical priorities, everyone wins.
Because chronic disease is rapidly reshaping healthcare, the future will be defined by developments that are precise, adaptable and collaborative. Today, more than half of U.S. adults, including 93% of older adults, live with at least one chronic condition, and prevalence continues to rise across all age groups14.
As the population ages, with Americans over 65 years old expected to grow by 40% by 2050, the burden of complex long-term disease will accelerate15. Globally, new cancer cases alone are projected to increase from 20 million in 2022 to 35 million by 205016. This trajectory will drive sustained demand for strong partnerships between laboratories, industry and healthcare providers, all working toward a shared goal of better patient outcomes.
Equally important is supporting the diagnostic workforce. Their expertise and resilience are essential to meeting rising expectations, and advances must empower them with tools that ease complexity and protect capacity. Preparedness is not just about technology, but about ensuring systems are responsive in both routine and crisis conditions.
Building on these shared lessons, laboratories are now entering a new phase, one defined not just by innovation, but by the integration of scalable molecular solutions into everyday operations.
Laboratories of the future
As laboratories look toward the future, their success will depend on their willingness to adopt technologies that are scalable and interconnected. Advancements in molecular diagnostics will continue to redefine what is possible, allowing laboratories to consolidate menus and reduce reliance on outsourcing tests to reference labs because of resource limitations. This evolution will foster data-driven workflows that simplify operations and enhance decision-making.
Developments in gastrointestinal testing illustrate how flexible molecular panels can support these types of transformations, helping laboratories tailor diagnostic strategies to patient presentation and provider need.
Multitest approaches for vaginitis exemplify how molecular assays can broaden the diagnostic value of a single sample, addressing unmet health needs without further strain on the system. Similarly, the rapid deployment of molecular assays for emerging pathogens, such as the recent H5N1 bird flu, underscores the value of adaptable platforms that can pivot quickly to new challenges.
These advancements establish molecular diagnostics as the cornerstone of healthcare, where scalability, collaboration and continuous advancement converge to deliver comprehensive health solutions.
To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must apply the lessons of the past, invest in solutions today and stay focused on what matters most: empowering laboratories and providers, supporting laboratory professionals and improving outcomes for patients everywhere.
References
1. Kent HL. Epidemiology of Vaginitis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1991 Oct;165(4 Pt 2):1168–76.
2. Goje OL. Advancing the diagnosis of vaginitis. CLP Mag, 2020.
3. ACOG Vaginitis Frequently Asked Questions. Updated September 2023. Accessed October 29, 2025. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/vaginitis
4. Workowski, KA, et al. Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.
5. Paladine HL. Vaginitis: Diagnosis and Treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2018 Mar 1;97(5):321–329.
6. Belley-Montfort L, Lebed J, Smith B, et al. Sensitivity of the Amsel’s Criteria compared to the Nugent Score in absence and in presence of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) and/or Candida SPP among women with symptomatic vaginitis/vaginosis. Sex Transm Infect: first published as 10.1136/sextrans-2015-052126.290 on May 18, 2015.
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8. Aptima Combo 2 Assay [package insert]. AW-25929-001, San Diego, CA; Hologic, Inc., 2023.
9. Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay [package insert]. AW-17946, San Diego, CA; Hologic, Inc., 2024.
10. Aptima CV/TV assay [package insert]. AW-23713-001, San Diego, CA; Hologic, Inc., 2024.
11. Aptima BV assay [package insert]. AW-31481-001, San Diego, CA; Hologic, Inc., 2024.
12. Dumkow LE, Worden LJ, Rao SN. Syndromic diagnostic testing: A new way to approach patient care in the treatment of infectious diseases. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2021;76(Suppl 3):iii4–iii11. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkab245
13. Beal SG, Tremblay EE, Toffel S, Velez L, Rand KH. A Gastrointestinal PCR Panel Improves Clinical Management and Lowers Health Care Costs. J Clin Microbiol. 2017 Dec 26;56(1):e01457-17. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01457-17. PMID: 29093106; PMCID: PMC5744222.
14. Trends in Multiple Chronic Conditions Among U.S. Adults, BRFSS, 2013–2023. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2024.
15. Healthcare on the Brink: Navigating the Challenges of an Aging Society in the U.S. Published 2024.
16. American Cancer Society. Global Cancer Facts & Figures 2024. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024.