The clinical chemistry and radioimmunology department was created in 2006 from the merger of the clinical chemistry department, created by prof. C. Sevens when the hospital opened in 1977, with the radioimmunology department, launched in 1979 by prof. A. Van Steirteghem. In 2002 prof. C. Sevens handed over to prof. F. Gorus who had been involved with the department’s development from the beginning: following the merger with the radioimmunology department, he also assumed prof. A. Van Steirteghem’s duties. In the space of thirty years, the department evolved from a start-up laboratory with 5 staff members and a few tens of thousands analyses each year, into a modern department featuring extensive automation and computerisation, which currently employs more than 100 staff and undertakes over 2 million analyses per year. 

 

Such extensive automation has made it possible to continually expand into new activities during the last ten years (> 25% increase) without additional staff as well as to further develop more specialised, labour intensive sectors. The activities of such specific sectors have increased to an even greater extent and they are often solicited from across the country. Additionally, close partnerships have been established with various clinical departments and further training programmes: cutting-edge activities have been developed in the field of metabolic disorders (dr. Sc. E. Gerlo), toxicology (dr. Apr. V. Maes), mucoviscidosis (prof. C. Sevens), fertility (prof. A. Van Steirteghem and prof. J. Smitz) and, last but not least, diabetes (prof. F. Gorus and prof. I. Weets).

 

In 2007, the department’s 30th anniversary was singularly highlighted thanks to a new milestone in the department’s history, notably the inauguration of a new laboratory in the futuristic ‘Louis Thielemans Pavilion’. Its specifically tailored architecture and the ongoing extensive and up-to-date automation contribute to the continuing consolidation of integration among the various laboratory activities.