Striking the balance between diagnostic efficacy and patient safety remains critical when utilising iodinated contrast media to deliver the best imaging outcomes. Currently, 300 million CT exams are conducted across the world every year, with 40% contrast-enhanced exam. While playing a crucial role in diagnosis and treatment of disease, CT expert Efthimios Agadakos believes the medical profession…
An innovative solution based on nanotechnology and ultrasound could prevent over-treatment of patients with rectal cancer. The magnetomotive ultrasound system uses nanotechnology for reliable diagnosis of any spread of rectal cancer to nearby lymph nodes.
Ordering preoperative breast MRI exams of diagnosed breast cancer patients used to be controversial: Did they aid surgical planning better than the combination of mammography and breast ultrasound? Or did their findings cause overtreatment, specifically mastectomy, when breast-conservation surgery would have sufficed? New research has now settled the issue.
Stagnation, under-use, unfulfilled potential: At the EUSEM congress in Barcelona, leading emergency physician Dr Joseph Osterwalder describes how e-FAST (Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) – a key point-of-care ultrasound technique for trauma – has changed over the last two decades, and not necessarily for the better.
Breast cancer has no “one size fits all” therapy approach: subtypes differ significantly in malignancy, progression, and treatment response. Therefore, the more is known about the type of carcinoma in a patient, the better the outcome. At the annual scientific EUSOBI meeting in Valencia, Dr Ramona Woitek pointed out the potential of novel imaging techniques and computational image analysis…
GE HealthCare and the European Society of Radiology (ESR) renew their collaboration for the upcoming European Congress of Radiology (ECR) from February 28 to March 3 in Vienna.
Breast MRI is increasingly being used as a primary breast cancer screening exam for young women. It brings benefits in women with dense breasts, who are at an elevated risk of developing breast cancer. The technique is also being ordered as a supplemental screening exam following mammography or breast ultrasound for women of all ages at high risk. But use of breast MRI as a screening tool is…
A research team from Denmark has developed an innovative screening test. With a blood sample from the expectant mother, they can scrutinize all the genes in the fetus.
Ultrasound technology now plays a vital role in clinical diagnosis and management. Significant advances in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) have made it a versatile tool for assessment, diagnosis, and follow-up across various fields. New developments continue to expand its applications, improving patient care and outcomes.
MEDICA trade fair (Nov 13-16, Düsseldorf) is a major event for start-ups entering the health sector. Hundreds of young developers seek business contacts for cooperation concerning funding, production, approval, marketing or sales of their products.
Experts presented state-of-the-art and emerging techniques to treat chest tumours and discussed common issues in the management of pneumothorax at RSNA 2022. Current ablation methods in the thorax include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation (CRYO), irreversible electroporation (IRE) and pulsed electric field.
Canon Medical announces the commercial availability of its two latest ultrasound systems, Aplio flex and Aplio go, in Europe, to meet the evolving needs of medical practitioners.
One day, the ultrasound equipment that health care professionals use for diagnostic imaging may no longer be confined to the clinic, instead operated by patients in the comfort of their homes.
A new method for cheaply producing heart valves in the span of minutes shows great promise. The scientists describe the method as "a cotton-candy machine with a hair dryer behind it."
At the EACVI congress in Spain, medical imaging specialist Esaote unveiled, among other solutions, its new portable ultrasound system MyLabOmega eXP, which features advanced cardio tools and AI-powered automation.
AI can analyze breast mass images from low-cost portable ultrasound machines and accurately identify cancer, according to a new study. This could prove useful for triage in low-resource settings.
Researchers at the University of Barcelona have developed a new tool to assess the presence and severity of sarcopenia, using an ultrasound-based muscle quality scoring system.
French radiologists received prizes for the best interventional radiology toolkit for use in space travel at the JFR 2022, the annual meeting of the French Society of Radiology (SFR).
Italian biomedical and imaging company Esaote will be present at the ECR radiology congress in Vienna on March 1st - 5th, Expo X5 - Booth 517, to show its latest ultrasound, MRI and medical IT.
At the ECR 2023 congress in Vienna, Austria, Fujifilm Europe will unveil new products, host an MRI symposium, and provide opportunities to meet the company's experts.
The newly founded UK Focused Ultrasound Foundation is dedicated to advancing the development and adoption of the technology, which can be used to non-invasively treat tissue deep in the body.
Italian imaging company Esaote premiered its latest premium ultrasound system, MyLab X90, which uses AI for workflow optimization and enhanced connectivity.
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation is a noninvasively treatment for benign thyroid nodules that are causing distress to patients. Brian H. H. Lang, MD, Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Hong Kong, and chief of the Division of Endocrine Surgery at Queen Mary Hospital, is a preeminent investigator, proponent, and pioneer of this technique. He…
Focused ultrasound (FUS) ablation is an emerging treatment for breast tumours. Its use was highlighted in an October webinar focused on emerging immunotherapy research and breast cancer.
Medical imaging and healthcare IT company Esaote reports that it has completed the transition of its medical devices to comply with the new Medical Device Regulation (MDR).
99mTc-Sestamibi SPECT/CT can aid in the diagnosis of solid renal lesions, especially in cases where contrast enhanced CT findings are inconclusive, according to researchers from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
Treatment of central nervous system diseases and tumors is often hindered by the blood-brain barrier. A new method aims to overcome this obstacle using focused ultrasound intranasal delivery (FUSIN).
In the future, many types of open surgeries will be replaced with minimally invasive interventions, predicts Kevin Cleary, PhD, engineering lead at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Hospital, and Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology at George Washington University, both in Washington, D.C. Surgeons and interventional radiologists will be able…
Antibiotic prescribing in primary care could be monitored using health insurance data. And reduced with a simple test.
Rapid technical advances in ultrasound and increasingly tight healthcare budgets call for a change in ultrasound practice, experts explained in a session at the ECR in Vienna. Two experts presented possible models for the next two decades.
Spinal fusion—fusing two vertebrae together—can treat a wide variety of spinal disorders. A patient-specific 3D-printed smart metamaterial implant doubles as sensor to monitor spinal healing.
Researchers have developed an ultrasound-guided cancer immunotherapy platform that generates systemic antitumor immunity and improves the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade.
A research team in Spain and the US has created 3D-printed acoustic holograms to improve the treatment of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, among others.
Noninvasive sound technology breaks down liver tumors in rats, kills cancer cells and spurs the immune system to prevent further spread.
Hygienic, single-use components are widely used in endoscopy to ensure patient safety but are considered wasteful. Reprocessing is a more sustainable alternative but requires special equipment and training to avoid equipment contamination. This creates an area of conflict for physicians, hospital staff, but also for manufacturers. We spoke with two experts at Pentax Medical about challenges in…
Fujifilm aims to become an entity that can contribute to the advancement of human health by supporting the ongoing transformation in the healthcare industry – as a “One-Stop” solution partner.
A biocompatible ultrasound transducer chip could be a more effective way to harness the technology for biomedical applications.
Children's National Hospital successfully performed the first-ever high-intensity focused ultrasound surgery on a pediatric patient with neurofibromatosis. This is the youngest patient to undergo HIFU treatment in the world.
When the coronavirus first struck in the US, hospitals in New York City were the first to feel the impact. Radiologists Professor Judy Yee, M.D., and Mark C. Liszewski, M.D., describe the lessons learned and talk about their firsthand experiences.
Focused ultrasound waves create microbubbles in a fluid – a phenomenon called cavitation. In a current study, this process is used to destroy liver tumors and metastases. In this Medica-tradefair.com interview, Prof. Maciej Pech talks about testing cavitation events generated during histotripsy, explains the process, and reveals its advantages.
Organised screening enabling early detection and treatment of prostate cancer can reduce death by an impressive 20%, based on 16 years of findings of over 160,000 men participating in the landmark European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC).
Video streaming of surgeries, augmented reality displays and at-home assessment of sleep apnea: Medtech companies from Taiwan will showcase their newest products at Medica in Düsseldorf. Ahead of the trade fair, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) presented award-winning examples of the nation’s ingenuity.
Medica trade fair (November 15-18) is once again a welcome field for many healthcare start-ups to present their products. The joint stand at the 'Medica Start-up Park' in Hall 12 has become the central cross-national meeting point for the healthcare start-up scene, the fair's organizers are pleased to report. "We bring innovators and investors together. This time, more than 40 start-ups are…
French interventional radiologists are pushing the frontier by looking at opportunities to perform minimally invasive procedures in manned space flights. A new strategy explored by the French Society of Radiology (SFR) is to equip astronauts with an interventional kit when flying outside of the earth’s orbit, a leading interventional radiologist explained ahead of the JFR, the SFR’s annual…
Machine learning methods are being used to predict the health of the placenta from a 30-second MRI scan. Researchers hope the approach will offer an insight into the health of expectant mothers and unborn babies by detecting the early signs of dangerous conditions such as pre-eclampsia. Researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King’s College London (KCL)…
Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a non-invasive imaging test which can be used to evaluate coronary artery stenosis and measure plaques. Current plaque analysis is time-consuming and needs expert readers in order to help assess a patient’s heart attack risk. That’s about to change.
Neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy have had some treatment success with deep brain stimulation, but those require surgical device implantation. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on and off and precisely…
MRI scanning can more precisely define and detect head, neck, thoracic, abdominal and spinal malformations in unborn babies, finds a large multidisciplinary study led by King’s College London with Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London (UCL). In the study, published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, the team of researchers and…
The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating; countless lives lost, millions of infections worldwide, health systems overwhelmed and economies rapidly shrinking. Screening, such as for breast or cervical cancer, is an area particularly affected, with numerous appointments delayed.
Improving workflow is one of the major challenges that radiology departments face. The need to be more efficient, deliver timely and effective patient care, and keep an eye on costs are all factors that seem to be ever-present in the modern imaging department. With the added demands of the coronavirus pandemic as radiology departments continue to play a critical role in the fight against…
A scalpel-free alternative to brain surgery has the potential to benefit people with Parkinson’s disease symptoms that are much more severe on one side of the body, new research suggests. More testing is needed, but the approach, which uses a technology called focused ultrasound, could offer a new option for patients whose symptoms are poorly controlled by medications and those who cannot or do…
AI can help tackle inequities and bias in healthcare but it also brings partiality issues of its own, experts explained in a Hot Topic session entitled "Artificial Intelligence and Implications for Health Equity: Will AI Improve Equity or Increase Disparities?" at RSNA.
Royal Philips and InSightec, a global healthcare company focused on the therapeutic power of acoustic energy, announced a collaboration to expand access to MR-guided focused ultrasound for incisionless neurosurgery. By developing compatibility between Philips’ advanced MR systems and the Exablate Neuro platform from InSightec, the two companies will support expanded access to MR-guided focused…
Imagers need special scenarios, skills and tools to examine larger patients, who present more challenges when it comes to radiological procedures. New ultrasound devices could help reduce dose exposure in these patients, who are more likely to undergo x-ray based examinations and receive a higher dose during those, experts explained in a dedicated session during ECR 2020.
A recent preclinical study from scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute, Canadian Blood Services and the University of Toronto has demonstrated that focused ultrasound improves the delivery of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), a blood product composed of antibodies from healthy donors, previously shown to have potential in treating a subgroup of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
A panel of experts from the USA and China highlighted AI use in radiological workflow during the Covid pandemic and identified current pitfalls during the Hot Topic session at RSNA 2020. Radiologists from the USA prioritised Covid articles, delivered quick reviews, made all results open access, and helped organise a white paper from the Fleischner Society recognising recommendations for the role…
RSNA 2020: International experts showcased new studies on chest CT’s role in Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment. A staggering volume of work and has been produced on the pandemic this year, with an average 367 Covid-19 journal articles published per week, according to Michael Chung, Assistant professor of radiology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC.
Italian neurosurgeon Professor Francesco Di Meco, explored the current and potential role of intra-operative ultrasound in neurosurgical oncology during the annual meeting of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) this October. The extent of resection is considered a prognostic factor in operative neuro oncology surgery and image-guided surgery is being regarded as one of the…
For the first time in the history of MEDICA, the world-leading medical trade fair, and the industry’s number one platform for the suppliers of the medical technology industry, COMPAMED, held from 16 to 19 November 2020, took place entirely online due to the pandemic - but still won over their audiences due to their high degree of international resonance in this format too, as virtual.MEDICA and…
Contec Medical Systems (Qinhuangdao) Co., Ltd., Stock Code: 300869 was officially listed on August 24, 2020. The company currently has a market capitalisation of more than 50 billion yuan.
Costantino Balestra, Professor of Physiology at Haute Ecole Bruxelles-Brabant in Belgium, uses point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in environments that could not be more different from a typical hospital setting. His expertise lies in studying the effects of extreme conditions on the human body, including temperatures, altitudes, and ambient pressures, for example, in deep oceans. One of his areas…
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation (FUS) has published its 2020 State of the Field Report, a 63-page annual update detailing new potential indications, laboratory research, clinical trials, treatments and growth in worldwide procedures performed in 2019.
Focused ultrasound waves help researchers at ETH Zurich to deliver drugs to the brain only to where their effect is desired. This method is set to enable treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders and tumours with fewer side effects in the future.
There are many reasons why for some patients a visit to the doctor’s office is difficult or well-nigh impossible – limited mobility after surgery, old age, or a handicap. For others, particularly in rural areas, the doctor is often far away and/or difficult to reach due to poor public transport. In times of corona, another important issue emerged: infection protection.
Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed the world’s smallest ultrasound detector. It is based on miniaturized photonic circuits on top of a silicon chip. With a size 100 times smaller than an average human hair, the new detector can visualize features that are much smaller than previously possible, leading to what is known as…
Fujifilm Sonosite, Inc. has announced the launch of the new Sonosite PX ultrasound system. It is the next generation in the manufacturer's point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) devices, with the most advanced image quality ever seen in a Sonosite system, a suite of workflow efficiency features, and an adaptable form factor.
The AI-Rad Companion family supports radiologists, radiation oncologists, radiotherapists and medical physicists through automated post processing of MRI, CT and X-ray datasets. It saves the clinicians' time and helps them to increase their diagnostic precision.
The complex form of machine learning DLIR (Deep Learning Image Reconstruction) is based on a deep neuronal network which is similar to the human brain. The artificial neurons of this network learn according to their biological model through intensive training. For the DLIR image reconstruction, the network is fed with sample data from phantom images on the one hand and high-resolution images of…
Royal Philips and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust announced a seven-year managed service agreement to deliver on the Trusts’ vision to set new standards of excellence for cardiac care in the UK and globally. The partnership will combine the latest innovations in technology for integrated cardiovascular solutions to deliver on the quadruple aim: better health outcomes, lower cost of care, and…
Recently developed MRI techniques used to more precisely target a small area in the brain linked to Parkinson's disease and essential tremor may lead to better outcomes without surgery and with less risk of negative effects, a new study led by UT Southwestern researchers suggests.
Students from EPFL in Switzerland teamed up with startup IcosaMed to develop the SmartBra – the first piece of smart clothing that can be used for cancer prevention. “Our smart-clothing technology is designed to detect cancer at the earliest stages. It uses a non-invasive, painless method based on frequent ultrasound monitoring,” says Hugo Vuillet, one of the students on the development…
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting extra pressure on radiology services. Radiographers are particularly at risk of catching and spreading the disease. This is why they must follow strict cleaning and disinfection protocols, according to Pablo Valdés Solís, President of the Spanish Society of Radiology (SERAM), who has just published new guidelines on how to protect staff and patients, as the…
Engineers at Rutgers University have created a tabletop device that combines a robot, artificial intelligence and near-infrared and ultrasound imaging to draw blood or insert catheters to deliver fluids and drugs. Their most recent research results, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, suggest that autonomous systems like the image-guided robotic device could outperform people on…
Computed tomography (CT) plays an increasingly important role in assessing pelvic disease, particularly when patients present with acute abdominal pain. In addition, radiomic approaches on CT are being developed to increase the characterisation of ovarian cancer for optimising treatment planning.
Doctors have used focused ultrasound to destroy tumors in the body without invasive surgery for some time. However, the therapeutic ultrasound used in clinics today indiscriminately damages cancer and healthy cells alike. Most forms of ultrasound-based therapies either use high-intensity beams to heat and destroy cells or special contrast agents that are injected prior to ultrasound, which can…
Modern healthcare without hand hygiene? Inconceivable – particularly in the operating room (OR). But what happens when it is not the surgeon who handles the scalpel, but a robot? Robotic surgery, just like surgery performed by humans, always carries a risk of microbial transmission to the patient, says Professor Johannes K-M Knobloch of University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). A specialist…
The rapid scanning and dynamic imaging capabilities offered by point-of-care ultrasound make it an invaluable tool for emergency medicine. Dr Enrique Ortiz Villacian (from Emergency Services at Donostia University Hospital in San Sebastián) and Dr Juanjo Zafra Sanchez (from the Emergency Unit at San Eloy Hospital in Barakaldo) discussed the role ultrasound plays in their respective emergency…
Although breast cancer (BC) mammography screening enables early detection of breast cancer, mammography presents issues such as variability between the radiology readings and shortage of radiologists. This area of medical imaging is where artificial intelligence (AI) could help make the biggest difference and improve patient outcome.
Obesity not only means someone is overweight but, over time, they will probably suffer sequelae that increasingly impair quality of life and are potentially fatal – these include hypertension, coronary heart disease, type two diabetes, pulmonary function disorders, tumours, plus an increased risk during surgery and anaesthesia. In patients with morbid obesity, class three obesity, according to…
With the right tools, physicians could transform the lives of patients and scientists. For Kimberly Powell, Vice President of Healthcare at NVIDIA, artificial intelligence is such a tool, and could meet the increasing demand for personalised medicine and next-generation clinics. ‘AI is the biggest technological breakthrough of our lifetime.’
From Augmented Reality to Robotics, and all exciting technologies in between, the Taiwanese companies present at Medica always manage to impress visitors with health tech innovations. In co-operation with the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Taiwanese Ministry of Economics and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), 20 elite healthcare companies put on display their…
Whilst researchers acknowledge ultrasound, when used as a tool to assess intracranial pressure in an emergency, is not a replacement for current gold standard invasive approaches, they believe it has enormous potential as a non-invasive and fast, cost-effective, and patient-friendly way to assess possible brain injury at a patient’s bedside. Consultant anaesthetist Dr Chiara Robba, a specialist…
Royal Philips and B. Braun Melsungen AG announced the launch of Onvision, a breakthrough ultrasound guidance solution for real-time needle tip tracking in regional anesthesia. Available on the latest version of the B. Braun and Philips Xperius ultrasound system, Onvision gives anesthesiologists the confidence to accurately position the needle tip inside the body. The introduction is part of a…
ESC Congress, Paris: Two key strands in the ‘Controversies in imaging coronary artery disease’ session at the congress will examine the pros and cons of imaging use for coronary artery disease risk stratification in asymptomatic patients; the second strand will focus on whether CT angiography should be the first choice for imaging coronary artery disease in patients with stable chest pain.…
Interventional cardiologists have been aware of the value of intracoronary (IC) imaging in clinical practice for more than twenty years. However, recent developments and improvements in modalities and software have enabled huge strides in its range and scope for both diagnostic assessment and in percutaneous coronary interventions. Imaging options now include intravascular ultrasound (IVUS),…
Using MRI scans to target biopsies is more effective at detecting prostate cancers that are likely to need treatment than standard ultrasound guided biopsies alone, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The research, led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Universities of Bristol, Ottawa, Exeter and Oxford, combined the results from seven studies covering…
Sunburn and happy memories are not the only things we can bring home from a holiday. Sometimes parasites, fungi, viruses or bacteria from distant countries accompany our return, later to become noticeable in unpleasant ways, often to pose a real health threat. At the German Radiology Congress in Leipzig, Dr André Lollert and colleagues ventured into the world of tropical and travel medicine.
The pros and cons of CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CEUS (contrast enhanced ultrasound) for emergency abdominal use were highlighted by speakers in an ECR 2019 session under the broader heading: ‘Abdominal Emergencies: advanced imaging in daily routine’.
During a European Society of Hybrid, Molecular and Translational Imaging (ESHI) session at ECR 2019, three speakers discussed the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in hybrid imaging. While AI and machine learning is supporting clinicians using hybrid techniques such as PET/CT, MR/PET, or ultrasound and CT, challenges remain in ‘training the machines’ to add value to radiologists’ and…
At ECR 2019, Jean-Luc Budillon, President & COO of Hitachi Medical Systems Europe, introduces the newest members of the Arietta Family. The Arietta 50, Arietta 50LE and Arietta 65 ultrasound systems are perfectly equipped for shared service in diagnostic imaging. From OB/Gyn to radiology, the 3 new Arietta systems complete Hitachi's portfolio of ultrasound solutions.
Tumours change over time – and not only in size. They also evolve genetically, mutate and spread through equally diverse metastases. Each is unique and present with a more or less complex structure, but rarely as a unified entity. Characterising them from A to Z and from detection to neutralisation remains a challenge for modern medicine.
Molecular imaging is an exciting field for scientists who are willing to explore and innovate, prominent Spanish physicist José María Benlloch pointed out when he reviewed some of the most impacting and recent innovations in his portfolio during a meeting in Valencia. ‘Our mission is to develop innovative sensitive and harmless medical imaging instruments for early detection of diseases and…
Radiologist Alexis Kelekis, Associate Professor of Interventional and Musculoskeletal Radiology at Attikon University Hospital, Athens, speaks about his work and developments in merging scans and techniques to gain greater accuracy in diagnosis and planning. The benefits of fusion imaging are widely acknowledged. Favoured in clinical practice by radiologist Alexis Kelekis, he explained: ‘The…
During our interview with Professor Felice Eugenio Agrò, Professor, Director and Chairman of the Postgraduate School in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, he spoke of the use of Mindray’s TE7 ultrasound system, which provides a touchscreen and focused exam pre-sets. ‘Anaesthesiologists are seeking safe and accurate methods during procedures. Many…
Pete Valenti, Hologic’s division president of breast and skeletal health solutions, talks about how AI is driving innovation in breast health technology. Underpinning that evolution more recently has been the acquisition of two organisations – digital specimen radiography specialists Faxitron Bioptics and BioZorb marker manufacturer Focal Therapeutics.
Mosul, Iraq’s second city, is slowly rebuilding its healthcare infrastructure after years of war and destruction. Dr Henryk Pich, a consultant anaesthetist and intensive care physician at the University of Dresden, Germany, visited the region soon after the fighting had ended, supported by the independent aid organisation CADUS. Moved by the makeshift treatment centres he witnessed in the…
The Czech Republic has a long tradition of ground-breaking medical innovations. At Medica 2018, the presence of Czech companies and traders underlined that medical devices and technologies from this country have continuing strength and value. Having recorded steady growth over the past few years, the Czech medical technology sector now produces a volume of around €870 million. 13,400 people…
Siemens Healthineers and Insightec announce the CE clearance of Exablate Neuro compatible with Magnetom Skyra, Prisma and Prisma Fit scanners from Siemens Healthineers. Exablate Neuro uses focused ultrasound for treatments deep within the brain with no surgical incisions. MR imaging provides a complete anatomical survey of the treatment area, patient-specific planning and real-time outcome…
Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has proved in trials to be more accurate than computed tomography and MRI and can help eliminate the need for unnecessary biopsies and surgery. Dr Richard Barr, Professor of Radiology at Northeast Ohio Medical University, explains the benefits of the modality.
Cardiologists in the UK are trialling an artificial intelligence (AI) system that will help better diagnose heart disease. Devised by researchers from the University of Oxford, it can predict heart disease and cardiac events from ultrasound stress test images with initial results showing that the AI system is far more accurate than conventional techniques. Paul Leeson, Professor of Cardiovascular…
A 4G symbol next to the signal strength bar on a smartphone assures fast data transmission. 5G, the next generation of technology, is already waiting in the wings and could herald a new era for tele-surgery, PD Dr. Michael Kranzfelder is convinced. However, there are a few obstacles to overcome first.
The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and some special medical firms are eager to meet delegates and visitors for an early evening get together on Tuesday, 13 November at Medica.
Doctors working in the eight-bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid extensively use point-of-care ultrasound to evaluate the condition of critically ill children, and they find it essential in their work, as Dr José Luis Vázquez Martínez, Head of PICU at Hospital Ramón y Cajal, with over 25 years’ experience in paediatric intensive care…
MRI has a central role in picking up myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary disease, a condition that particularly affects women but is often left untreated, with potentially fatal outcome. Heart attack in women presents differently than in men and requires a different approach when it comes to detection and prevention, according to cardiologist Allison Hays.
Using high energy ultrasound beams to destroy prostate cancer tumours may be as effective as surgery or radiotherapy, but with fewer side effects. A new study, carried out at six hospitals across the UK, tracked 625 men with prostate cancer who received a type of treatment called high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).
Confidently scanning patients varying in size is one of the main difficulties in ultrasound imaging. With their new system Acuson Sequoia, Siemens Healthineers respond to this challenge. We spoke with Thomas Hartley, Senior Director of Global Marketing and Communication for Ultrasound at Siemens Healthineers, about the new device which aims to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in…
Hitachi’s Fusion imaging combining MRI and Real-time Virtual Sonography (RVS) showing a cervix lesion with color Doppler Fusion imaging techniques are being trialled to help advance the diagnosis of cervical cancer and endometrial cancer.
New products and technologies in medical practice expect the specialists of the leading international exhibition Bulmedica/Buldental from 16 to 18 May at Inter Expo Center. This year, the medical profile of the exhibition will focus on the progress in imaging, physiotherapy, aesthetic medicine. Once again Bulmedica/Buldental will be a platform to keep an eye on the tendencies, a meeting point of…
The first patient in a multicenter pivotal trial using focused ultrasound to address the major motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease has been treated at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. This randomized, double-blind clinical trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of using Insightec’s Exablate Neuro device in more than 100 patients…
Taking a biopsy of a brain tumor is a complicated and invasive surgical process, but a team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a way that allows them to detect tumor biomarkers through a simple blood test. Hong Chen, a biomedical engineer, and Eric C. Leuthardt, MD, a neurosurgeon, led a team of engineers, physicians and researchers who have developed a…
China International Medicinal Equipment Fair (CMEF), launched in 1979, is held twice annually – spring and autumn. After over 39 years of continuous innovation and self-improvement, CMEF has become the largest fair of medical devices, related products and services in the Asia-Pacific region. The fair widely covers 15,000 products such as medical imaging, IVD equipment and reagent, medical…
Although robotics is now an established arm of medical technology – with the Da Vinci surgical system a trailblazer – many basic issues need to be resolved before nurse Robot can report for the morning shift in a ward. Since centre-forward Robot and nurse Robot are closely related, we spoke with the developer of soccer robots about current progress.
The International Forum Bulmedica /Buldental will be held from 16 to 18 May at Inter Expo Center - Sofia, Bulgaria
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For centuries, hands, eyes and ears were the physicians’ most important instruments when it came to detecting and diagnosing disease. Today, one of the traditional techniques, percussion, is being revived, supported by state-of-the-art technology and dressed in a new name: optoacoustics. In one of the most exciting visionary ideas in modern healthcare short laser pulses (optics) are transmitted…
In April 2016 CEUS received the USA’s FDA approval. This year‘s RSNA Samsung Symposium ‘Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS): Innovations and a Problem-Solving Tool in Clinical Practice’ provided an opportunity to take stock. For European Hospital, Professor André Clevert, Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ultrasound at University Hospital Munich, Germany, describes the current…
Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leader in diagnostic imaging, announced that it has initiated new experimental activities in its R&D Center in Geneva, Switzerland, to explore a new application for gas-filled microbubbles in the development of personalized gene therapy for treatment of chronic dysfunctional diseases related to lipid metabolism. Microbubbles have already revolutionized medical…
Time is of the essence in an emergency situation, and may be the difference between life and death. Ambulance crews on the front line must decide rapidly whether or not a patient is suffering from a life-threatening condition requiring specialist treatment, and point-of-care ultrasound can provide vital guidance. Geert-Jan Deddens, a nurse practitioner in emergency care with the Rotterdam…
Hologic, Inc. announced that it has signed a development and distribution agreement with Clarius Mobile Health for its wireless, handheld ultrasound scanner. The partnership supports Hologic's commitment to early detection and will help ensure that women around the globe have access to the most accurate breast health solutions that are rooted in clinical superiority. "We're very excited to…
Imaging is increasingly useful in detecting colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastases and evaluating how these lesions respond to treatment. Dr Daniele Regge reviewed all the latest advances during last September’s Madrid meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)
Professor Dr Thomas Kröncke, Medical Director of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Klinikum Augsburg, has been dealing with liver diseases for 17 years. Talking to European Hospital he explains which diseases the liver tends to mask and why fatty liver has become a public health issue.
From its earliest beginnings in 2006 to its most recent update this year, the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) is helping radiologists deliver clearer and more consistent imaging reports to hepatologists and surgeons worldwide. "LI-RADS is the leading system for interpretation and reporting of liver imaging exams in adults with cirrhosis. It is also the first radiology…
Training was at the heart of the biggest annual fair in the world, thanks to the newly introduced Medica Academy sessions, i.e. full-day seminars that dealt with practical questions, current techniques and advances in medicine. One of the hot topics tackled by the new format was emergency ultrasound, as renowned experts such as Dr Wolfgang Heinz from Stuttgart gave hands-on training on this…
‘Ultrasound plays a key role in diagnosis and monitoring of treatment in the A&E department,’ emphasises Professor Joseph Osterwalder, Medical Director of the Cantonal Hospital in Appenzell, Switzerland. ‘I cannot imagine emergency medicine without ultrasound.’
Automation continues to conquer healthcare, including diagnostic imaging. Christian Kollmann, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Technology, Medical University Vienna, Austria, highlights innovative software, fast hardware and artificial intelligence in ultrasound – today and in the future. Automated analyses are already supporting the diagnostic work-up. In…
A practicing radiologist specialising in ultrasound, Pavlos Zoumpoulis MD PhD is also President and CEO of Diagnostic Echotomography, a day clinic based in Kifissia, Greece. The past President of the Hellenic Society of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology spoke with our European Hospital team about his experiences with the next-generation in shear wave elastography on Mindray’s Resona 7 platform.
‘In prenatal diagnostics, particularly in the first trimester, ultrasound continues to be the modality of choice when looking for malformations,’ says Professor Markus Hoopmann, deputy director of prenatal medicine and gynaecological ultrasound at the Women’s Health Clinic in Tübingen University Hospital. This case for ultrasound is significant because today fetal DNA that circulates in…
‘Ultrasound imaging is an attractive non-ionising medical imaging tool. It’s safe, free of side effects and offers an unmatched real-time imaging capability,’ interventional radiologist Professor Giancarlo Bizzarri underlines during our EH interview.
Pocket ultrasound accelerates diagnosis at the point-of-care reducing the role of the radiologist. You can buy a pocket ultrasound probe online, download an app to your smart phone and start making your own diagnoses of joints and organs. ‘It’s popping up everywhere. But is this a good thing?’ asked Michael Bachmann Nielsen, a radiologist at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, during a…
A controversy regarding the benefit of early screening programmes for breast cancer continues. Germany, Austria and Switzerland have developed individual strategies. European Hospital asked three experts from these countries to outline each chosen system. Markus Hahn MD, senior consultant at the University Breast Centre in Tübingen, Martin Daniaux, MD, Head of Breast Diagnostics at the Breast…
Breast diagnostics are undergoing considerable change, with new technology facilitating alternative procedures. Genetics and nuclear medicine also enhance diagnostic possibilities. During our EH interview, Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland described current changes in breast diagnostics. ‘To date, complementary breast diagnostics has comprised clinical, sonographic and mammographic…
Fujifilm SonoSite maintains its focus on supporting medical training and education, and recently supplied instruments for a series of ultrasound workshops at the Doctors Academy International Medical Summer School. On the 31st of July 2017, over 160 medical students from across Europe and the Middle East congregated in Manchester for the summer school, a five-day programme of workshops, lectures…
Philips TrueVue, GlassVue, aReveal A.I. and TouchVue improve workflow and diagnostic confidence, enhancing the connection between clinicians and their patients.
Study shows a simplified examination can be performed routinely on low-risk populations during the first trimester of pregnancy.
A physician has basically two possibilities to look inside a body: putting a scalpel to the patient’s skin or using an imaging device. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.
Holding Hitachi’s newest ultrasound probe in your hand, it looks and feels like any other ultrasound transducer. ‘Yet, you are actually holding a marvel of ultrasound engineering, a true break-through in transducer architecture that performs so well across so many types of exams that you may never want to let it go,’ the manufacturer reports.
With MEDICA 2017 drawing ever nearer, Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, sets the stage with the following statement:
Ultrasound is often the first line of imaging used in the diagnostic pathway of a patient’s journey into hospital. Additionally, the increased prevalence of chronic conditions and changes in the demographics of the general population has led to an increased demand for ultrasound. Fast-growing advances in technology also shift ultrasound into a more prominent role in patient diagnosis and…
For almost three quarters of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in Europe it is too late for curative treatment because the disease is often only diagnosed at a very advanced stage. Interviewed Professor Guido Gerken MD, Director of the Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University Hospital Essen, about improved and timelier diagnostic capabilities that have already been…
Point-of-care (POC) ultrasound is now commonly used in emergency departments throughout the UK. These instruments provide valuable insight for the assessment of both trauma and non-trauma patients, as well as helping to guide procedures. But for many departments, the use of POC ultrasound is limited by a lack of training and poor instrument availability. Professor Bob Jarman, Consultant in…
Focused ultrasound can effectively destroy tumor cells. Until now, this method has only been used for organs such as the prostate and uterus. At the European Congress of Radiology, Fraunhofer researchers will present a method, developed as part of the TRANS-FUSIMO EU project, that enables focused ultrasound treatment of the liver, an organ that moves while breathing. In the future, this could…
Breast cancer screening is traditionally a mammography – ultrasound business but abbreviated protocols could enable more women to be imaged with MR and receive treatment earlier, a leading researcher will show during the annual Garmisch MR meeting.
NEW: Evolution 3.0 EPIQ ultrasound upgrade offers high-res PureWave crystal transducer technology, shear wave elastography, contrast enhanced ultrasound, and image fusion. Could you ask for more?
It is a collaboration that could push vascular imaging to a new level.
The new Sofia 3-D breast ultrasound system solves all the economic and logistic challenges associated with whole-breast ultrasound by using a full-field radial scanning method, the firm reports. The resulting throughput, efficiency, and patient comfort make Sofia an ideal solution for women with dense breasts.
Dr Ralf Doyscher, from the Department of Sports Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, has a close association with soccer at both professional and amateur levels. He recently participated in a scientific project focusing on preventative check-ups for the general health of elite young soccer players, and took the opportunity to simultaneously investigate the potential of…
Point-of-care testing can play an influential role in reducing overcrowding in hospital emergency departments.
Installing a complete diagnostic radiology solution to network six sites of a hospital group, to process, manage and archive image data acquired across all modalities, is a ‘challenge’, acknowledged by Professor Dr Peter Landwehr, Medical Director of the Clinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology of Diakovere Henriettenstift, Hanover, Germany. In 2010, he and his team overcame that…
Dr. IlyasTugtekin, a consultant anaesthetist from Ulm University Clinic in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, recently travelled to Kumasi in Ghana to help establish an ultrasound training centre for doctors all over West Africa. Funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation (Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung, EKFS) – a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting medical research and related…
Ultrasound examinations are considered cost-efficient, fast and effective. The E-FAST (Extended-Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) is a standardised examination used in accident & emergency medicine worldwide. The procedure helps to diagnose internal bleeding and organ damage in severely injured patients in the resuscitation room and, in some regions, even during emergency…
Decision makers from all sectors of the international health industry meet again in Düsseldorf from Monday to Thursday. The world’s biggest medical trade fair, MEDICA 2016, and COMPAMED 2016, as the international leading trade fair for suppliers of the medical technology industry, take place from 14 to 17 November.
Illuminating blood vessels, opening the blood-brain barrier and delivering drugs. What will be the next big thing that tiny microbubbles can do?
FujiFilm SonoSite makes ultrasound machines tough for one reason — the people who use them need it that way.
Resuscitation is always a desperate attempt by an entire team to save a human life. If a reversible cause can be discovered, a patient’s chances of survival increase considerably. All medics therefore know the ‘4 Hs’ and ‘HITS’. Report: Brigitte Dinkloh
SonoSite's portable ultrasound machines are intuitive, durable, and ready to perform when you are. Our machines undergo rigorous durability testing, hours of quality assurance, and we're committed to spreading point-of-care ultrasound education through online webinars, in-person education and our mobile app. Learn how our focus on Durability, Reliability, Ease of Use and Education helps you…
Do a middle-aged man’s lightning-bolt headaches spell a garden-variety migraine, or do they call for a brain MRI to rule out more pernicious causes? Does a young woman’s recurring flank pain warrant a CT scan, or is she better off undergoing an ultrasound? To help practicing clinicians choose the most appropriate imaging test for each patient, Harvard Medical School is launching Library of…
When Ferdinando Draghi, M.D. speaks, the world of ultrasound listens carefully. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ultrasound, the author of 90 publications that have been cited in other peer-reviewed publications hundreds of times, Dr. Draghi is widely known for his authoritative knowledge in diseases affecting the musculoskeletal (MSK) system.
A study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine offers the most in-depth assessment yet of the safety and effectiveness of a high-tech alternative to brain surgery to treat the uncontrollable shaking caused by the most common movement disorder. And the news is very good.
To sharply focus on the specialised requirements in echocardiography, Toshiba engineers built from scratch the Aplio i900CV with a total redesign of hardware and software. The new Aplio i-series is a premium addition to the award-winning Aplio 500 platform, which today is used in more than 31,000 clinical settings worldwide.
INSIGHTEC announced the signing of a strategic agreement with the global leader in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Siemens Healthineers. The strategic collaboration will involve the development of compatibility between Exablate Neuro and Siemens leading 1.5T and 3T clinical MRI systems, MAGNETOM Aera and Skyra. With this agreement, Siemens Healthineers follows its strategy of broadening and…
Neusoft Medical Systems, a limited company, is the leading supplier of medical imaging equipment in China, a country with more than 46,000 hospitals. The firm also provides equipment to hospitals in 109 other countries, amounting to 9,000 customers. Now Neusoft reports preparations to tap into European market.
While active surveillance is often recommended for patients with nonaggressive prostate cancer to reduce unnecessary treatment, the challenge for clinicians is to monitor and distinguish early-stage tumors from advanced cancers. A team of scientists led by researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute have demonstrated that photoacoustic imaging (PAI) may be an effective tool for more accurately…
In brief, the new method involves exposing cells to ultrasound when they flow through a so-called micro-channel inside a chip. The individual cells are separated in the acoustic field and by studying the cells’ lateral movement at the end of the channel it is possible to identify the acoustic properties of the cells. Conversely, if you know the cells’ acoustic characteristics, you can detect…
Point-of-care ultrasound systems play an important role in the treatment of complicated medical cases at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, as consultant intensivist and anaesthetist Dr Justin Kirk-Bayley explained.
Carestream Health has filed a 510(k) application with the FDA for clearance of its CARESTREAM OnSight 3D Extremity System that uses cone beam CT (CBCT) technology to capture weight-bearing and other types of patient extremity images. This affordable system is designed to offer high-quality, low-dose 3D imaging for use by orthopaedic and sports medicine practices, hospitals, imaging centers,…
The European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2016 took place March 2 to 6 at the Austria Center Vienna. Over the five days, a new record attendance was achieved: 25,998 onsite and online delegates from 133 countries took part in Europe’s largest medical imaging congress, constituting an increase of 4 percent on last year.
Frost & Sullivan has awarded Carestream Health its 2016 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation Leadership for innovation focused on value-based imaging that solves real-life problems and addresses unmet customer needs.
Emergency medicine requires smooth, patient-oriented and perfectly timed cooperation of several clinical disciplines.
Ultrasound biopsy is rather unreliable to detect or exclude prostate cancer: many tumours are difficult – or impossible – to visualise sonographically and tissue sampling is haphazard rather than targeted.
If you are taking note of any breakthrough in ultrasound, here are two names you will want to put at the top of your ECR 2016 notebook: Resona7 and ZONE Sonography Technology.
Seattle-based medical ultrasound systems manufacturer SonoSite has aimed to take ultrasound to the point of care (POC) since it was owned by ATL. The parent company had gained a contract from the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a lightweight ultrasound device for military use.
‘Already used in adults for several years, elastography is a promising tool in paediatric imaging,’ according to radiologist Dr Mehrak Anooshiravani-Dumont, from Geneva University Hospital. ‘It allows detection of changes in the mechanical properties of tissues, such as fibrosis, based on viscoelastic characteristics.‘
When the Ebola virus outbreak erupted in West Africa in 2014, children infected with the virus — particularly those under age 5 — faced overwhelming challenges. Not only was there a high death rate among young children infected with the disease, they often were isolated from their families, leaving them feeling distressed and without the intensive care they needed.
Breast cancer screening has helped to detect cancer in its early stages, but it is unclear how important this contribution is to mortality reduction because treatment has greatly improved. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment remain associated risks that need to be fully assessed for screening to be of real benefit. Leading experts in this field passionately discussed these controversies in a…
Building on an innovative ultrasound technology that continues to yield break-through capabilities, SuperSonic Imagine is introducing AngioPLUS, a third diagnostic functionality for its Aixplorer platform that promises to be instrumental in the diagnosis of cancerous tissues as well as musculoskeletal pathologies.
Expanding on core technologies, Carestream re-engineers cone-beam CT for targeted orthopaedic exams. For a focused look at bone joints or sports injuries, there are a few 3D mini-scanners, yet adoption has been slow, according to Andrew Hartmann, Vice President and General Manager at Carestream for Ultrasound & CT Solutions. For difficult cases, he said, a physician might turn to full-body…
At Medica 2015 Mindray officially unveiled to the world its first premium ultrasound system. And with the new Resona 7 platform, the company steps forward as a major player in this fast-expanding field of medical imaging.
Using the Arietta V70 from Hitachi, a French diagnostic imaging team is rewriting the book on obstetrics and gynaecology. Entitled the ‘Atlas d’échographie de fusion en gynécologie obstétrique’, the new edition by Jean-Marc Levaillant MD, and colleagues from the diagnostic imaging centres at the Bicêtre and Créteil hospitals in Paris, will be published before the end of 2015.
Esaote specialises in designing and manufacturing diagnostic ultrasound systems and probes, shaping solutions to answer demanding clinical needs in any application, as the firm outlines, from abdomen to vascular, passing through musculoskeletal, internal medicine, cardiology, emergency and physiotherapy.
This year, the worldwide International Day of Radiology (IDoR) on 8 November is dedicated to paediatric radiology. Professor Erich Sorantin, Head of Paediatric Radiology at the University Hospital Graz (Austria) and IDoR coordinator for Austria is particularly pleased: “Only very few countries recognize paediatric radiology as a radiological sub-speciality. Now we have the opportunity to…
Researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia have performed the first focused ultrasound treatments in the United States for dyskinesia associated with Parkinson’s disease.
‘In IT we often casually say that Big Data is exactly what we can’t do yet,’ said Professor Christoph Meinel, President of Germany’s Hasso-Plattner-Institute, ruefully. We asked the computer science expert about the potential of big data in medicine and medical research.
Imaging modality complements a stress test in diagnosing the aetiology of chest pain, according to an expert speaking at the International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT (ICNC) held this May in Madrid.
What you see is what you get - unfortunately, this doesn’t always apply in cancer imaging. Why is it that something which looks conspicuous on an image later turns out not to be a tumour? Why, on the other hand, are things overlooked that later turn out to be cancer? Pathological findings are extremely important to help improve diagnostic precision in radiology. Both disciplines therefore…
‘Health insurers should keep a tighter rein on the quality of endoscopic interventions because, mostly, they represent a gentler alternative to surgery,’ asserts international expert Horst Neuhaus, during an EH interview. Report: Daniela Zimmermann/Juliane Dannert
Non-calcified arterial plaque is associated with diabetes, high systolic blood pressure and elevated 'bad' cholesterol levels in asymptomatic individuals, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Some athletes who take part in endurance exercise such as marathon running, endurance triathlons or alpine cycling can develop irregularities in their heartbeats that can, occasionally, lead to their sudden death. Evidence published in the European Heart Journal by Professor La Gerche and colleagues has shown that doctors who try to detect these arrhythmias by focusing on the left ventricle of…
Dr Sven Ballnus is Director of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at the Hospital Centre Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, and an active member of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Formerly a chief consultant in intensive care medicine at Westküstenkliniken in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, he oversaw the development of an ultrasound course focusing on the specific needs of…
The importance of cardiac imaging is increasing, but nuclear medicine procedures are by no means obsolete, observes Okan Ekinci, during our EH interview with the Siemens Vice President for Healthcare Consulting & Clinical Affairs about the latest innovations for cardiology.
Agfa HealthCare announced that it has entered into a sales and marketing agreement with Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. (Hitachi) whereby Hitachi will promote Agfa HealthCare's complete portfolio of Direct Radiography (DR) and Computed Radiography (CR) solutions to its large and growing community of MRI and CT customers in the United States, including hospitals, imaging centers and…
In breast cancer care each patient receives personalised, highly effective diagnosis and treatment procedures. In breast diagnostics this mainly revolves around new MRI scanning procedures that allow the quantification of biological and physiological processes on a cellular and molecular level.
For medical ultrasound it’s quick, easy and portable – and so popular with Professor Christoph Dietrich, chief of Medical Department 2 at Caritas Hospital, Bad Mergentheim, one of the first physicians worldwide to test the M9 in clinical routine. ‘The compact Mindray colour Doppler system is about the same size as a notebook computer. The imaging suite comes to the patient,’ the…
Spring can be felt, though many visitors of ECR 2015 probably only have time to enjoy the floral decorations in the conference center. The program of the conference is packed full of topics that promise exciting days and many discussions.
We are seeing great priority shifts in China’s funding for R&D and manufacturing expansion. Even the agency responsible for selecting the recipients has changed, Jie Ren reports from the Beijing-based market analysis consultancy Whitney Research Inc. Report: John Brosky
'In paediatric cardiology, echocardiography is the method of choice for preoperative diagnostic purposes,' explains Professor Dr Emanuela Valsangiacomo-Büchel, senior cardiologist and director of cardiovascular imaging at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Report: Axel Viola
With unveiling scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 30, at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, Carestream will debut its Carestream Touch Ultrasound System that offers a revolutionary combination of exceptional user experience and image quality to meet the needs of even the most demanding radiologists and sonographers.
Dr Rip Gangahar, Trauma Lead for the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Chair of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Group, discusses the past, present and future of ultrasound training for emergency medicine.
ARIETTA V70 incorporates features that reduce stress and improve its ease-of-use. Detailed ergonomic design that meets recommended industry standards supports a comfortable working environment.
At least 60% of liver lesions can be characterised purely by ultrasound. Screening and examinations of supposedly healthy patients often result in an accidental discovery of liver lesions. According to Dr Antonius Schuster MD MBA, Head of the Department of Radiology at the LKH Bregenz, (Vorarlberg). ‘The prevalence of such changes is around 20% of patients examined’. Depending on a…
A new system, with wider bandwidth due to single-crystal technology combined with 3T technology, gives greater penetration and higher resolution
Given their quality, small size, portability and robustness, SonoSite point-of-care ultrasound systems play vital roles in hectic A&E and surgical departments, and also in monitoring patients in transit.
Visiorad is an association of radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine practices which serve the northwestern part of Hamburg and the adjacent suburban areas. Dr Timo Gomille, partner of Visiorad, and his team focus on breast diagnostics. A mainstay of their daily work is the RS80A – the Samsung ultrasound system which impresses with superior image quality and an innovative operating concept
In the USA, some patients have bled to death while in the CT scanner because this type of examination takes too long for blunt abdominal trauma diagnosis. Report: Chrissanthi Nikolakudi
‘An intelligent imaging tool, Superb Microvascular Imaging (SMI) moves beyond conventional colour Doppler technology by applying a unique algorithm allowing visualisation of small vessels with low velocity, while maintaining high resolution, minimal motion artefacts and high frame rates,’ Toshiba proudly reports.
The Aplio, Toshiba’s flagship ultrasound scanner, has been extensively advanced and essentially turned into a new system. The highly innovative Japanese company in imaging diagnostics has refined the successful Aplio series of scanners and introduced it internally in Frankfurt at the beginning of October.
The heart is a structure in three dimensions and today we see it in three dimensions,’ Jose Luis Zamorano Gomez MD declared with satisfaction.
There is room for worldwide improvement of trauma care, as Congress President Professor Ingo Marzi, Frankfurt/Main (Germany), emphasised.
You never know what you’re going to see in the Emergency Department (ED); but, more and more the first evaluation of a trauma patient’s condition will be with ultrasound.
Medicine as a profession has held a superior aloofness for many centuries, wary of losing its unique distinctiveness and esteem if ‘tainted’ with other professions.
England’s National Health Service (NHS) is taking steps to ensure that, for the first time, a consistent level of care is provided at weekends by focusing on healthcare seven days a week.
There are five big names in ultrasound that sell three out of four systems. Then there is Esaote, the biggest name among hundreds of small companies competing for a place in what is by far the largest, and most innovative market for medical imaging.
Royal Philips today announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Stockholm County Council (SCC) to jointly innovate in health care.
US-American researchers have shown that positron emission tomography (PET), a tried procedure, is a helpful modality to detect breast cancer.
One plus one makes three for Hitachi Aloka. Two years after Hitachi Medical acquired ultrasound pioneer Aloka, the joined companies have succeeded in not only harmonised their original product offerings, but have combined capabilities to create a third brand.
The words ‘Image Gently’ are synonymous with protecting children from unnecessary or excessive exposure to X-rays.
‘Elastography is in a position much like Doppler 20 years ago,’ according to David Cosgrove, BMBCh, MA, FRCR, FRCP, Professor of Clinical Ultrasound at Imperial College School of Medicine in London.
Ultrasound technology is continuously developing and competing with the sectional imaging procedures – therapy progress can be monitored, facilitating personalised medicine.
Why is early detection of breast cancer so important? Professor Dr Walter Heindel, Director of the Institute of Clinical Radiology at University Hospital Münster, Germany, offers an unequivocal answer.
The new President and COO of Konica Minolta Medical Imaging, David Widmann, stepped forward boldly at RSNA announcing major deals with strategic partners and expanding the product portfolio into new markets.
An innovative technology is enabling radiologists to provide more accurate diagnoses.
Toshiba ultrasound equipment is helping provide a better oncological and cosmetic outcome for women recovering from breast cancer treatment and surgery. Daniela Zimmermann discussed intraoperative ultrasound-guided breast surgery with surgeon Dr Monique Petrousjka van den Tol, from the Department of Surgical Oncology, VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Unisyn, a division of GE Healthcare that provides a multi-brand ultrasound probe repair solutions to biomedical and clinical engineers, is expanding product sales and services into Europe.
Widely considered a safe procedure for targeted tissue sampling, the fusion of MR and ultrasound images for prostate biopsy purposes is quickly gaining ground among radiologists.
The current setup for MRI-guided interventions is challenging. With a physician positioned in the MRI room and an MRI operator in an adjacent room, setting scanning parameters requires communication by hand signals or via a headset that comes with inconvenient cabling.
At October’s annual congress of trauma and orthopaedic surgeons in Berlin, the session Ultrasound beyond trauma and orthopaedic surgery – What can we learn from neighbouring disciplines? exposed the unexploited potential of ultrasound for trauma and orthopaedic surgery, EH correspondent Bettina Döbereiner reports.
The CMEF autumn show turned out to attract crowds from China, East and Central Asia, Africa, Europe, the U.S., and further regions.
Crowds of hospital delegates flocking in to Xiamen on the first day of CMEF had already suggested that the event will be welcoming more than the roughly 60,000 delegates expected to participate
Adding high quality, dynamic ultrasound for hybrid imaging enables clinicians to improve detection of a range of lesions or to intervene better for improved clinical outcomes. ‘We can no longer be fascinated with pictures; what we need is proof of the clinical benefit from tools and techniques,’ said Professor Jose Zamorano MD, Director of Cardiology at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in…
A joint meeting combining the Euroson and Three Countries congresses creates a veritable European summit on the state-of-the-art in ultrasound
In 1839 Richard Thoma was the first to observe that arteries respond to flow: he identified a fundamental relationship between blood flow and arterial calibre.
Ultrasound expands its role in cardiac imaging with disruptive applications. Fasten your seat belt. Cardiac diagnostics is entering a zone of turbulence. Manufacturers of leading systems continue to mine data from the sonic signal that opens new fields for research. John Brosky reports
Which technological advancements can we expect to see in the field of medical technology? How well can diagnosis and therapy be customized for each patient?
Like any other cancer – breast cancer is a highly individual disease, shaped by many factors such as age, health status or genetics. Due to the complex web of molecular pathological processes and resistance mechanisms it is very difficult to select the most effective therapy for each patient.
Medicine is not immune to prejudices. In the past, the ‘fatty liver’ diagnosis was often accompanied by the hasty conclusion that the problem was surely caused by alcohol abuse.
Medical Equipment Solutions and Applications (MESA) and Euromedic International have agreed to extend their current diagnostic imaging service and maintenance partnership covering Euromedic’s Tier 1 (MRI, CT, PET-CT, Gamma Camera and Angio) and Tier 2 (mammography, ultrasound and other general X-ray) systems.
Loading high performance functions on highly portable ultrasound systems puts life-saving tools in the hands of trauma physicians, John Brosky reports.
At ECR 2013 Hitachi Medical Systems Europe will for the first time in Europe be showcasing Noblus, an advanced versatile and compact ultrasound platform.
In a Special Focus Session, experts addressed the necessity to perform palliative interventional techniques in cancer treatment and they insisted that interventional radiologists should become more than just technicians.
New business ventures, new systems – and those include 3-D mammography
CT scanners now nicely cover morphology. The challenge is moving to CT functional imaging without frying patients
ECR’s Josef Lissner Honorary Lecture commemorates the co-founder of the European Congress of Radiology who passed away in 2006.
One year ago there was a flurry of excitement, even sensation, as consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics arrived for the first time at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) as the new owner of ultrasound specialist Medisson.
The last decade saw PET and now PET/CT numbers expand rapidly in Europe. More recently the picture has been less rosy with public and private sectors delaying new projects and pushing back the replacement of equipment.
Professor Ulrich Linsenmaier, a leading expert in emergency radiology, has highlighted the need for clinicians to read image data rapidly in an emergency department if they are to help improve clinical outcomes for polytrauma patients.
By creating a single interface with the patient medical record, Agfa HealthCare’s ICIS can bring any type of image and linked meta-data into a patient’s record to be viewed and retrieved.
With 350,000 mammography screenings annually, Unilabs Sweden finds itself on the leading edge for research in mammography and pioneering patient education programmes. John Brosky reports
In the highly competitive US market for interventional radiology, Siemens introduced a ground-breaking new imaging chain for the Artis line that sets a new standard for image quality.
The newest player in radiology, Samsung revealed at RSNA 2012 its vision for leveraging formidable strengths in IT to enhance radiology platforms with a new level of intelligent functionalities.
Times may be tough, but GE Healthcare takes a longer term view, believing innovative technologies can transform healthcare delivery and help improve patient care.
Children are not small adults. General radiologists are increasingly aware of the very special needs of young patients since frequently they rather than specialized paediatric radiologists perform initial diagnostic imaging and thus play a crucial role in the therapy decision. No mean feat as children may present with very different types of diseases and symptoms than adults, knows Dr. Christoph…
An echocardiography system that conveniently slips into a coat pocket, this kind of miniature device is now commercially available. Portable ultrasound has been around for about a decade, but until recently the machines were about the size of a laptop rather than that of a smart-phone
Key trends in computer-assisted surgery and robotics dominated the agenda of the annual congress of the German Association for Computer- and Robotics-Assisted Surgery (CURAC), reports Michael Reiter.
The demand-side markets for medical technology and medicinal products are undergoing changes worldwide and the supply side is providing the right answers with its solutions for high-quality but also economic medical care.
United Imaging is a young company: it was established in 2007 by two experienced R&D executives who came from leading Chinese medtech manufacturers.
The focus of China-based Shenzhen Emperor Electronic Technology is on ultrasound and IVD equipment.
Germany hopes for better research conditions as revision of the EU Clinical Trials Directive is nigh
To treat heart problems, common sense says we should look to the heart. New European research based on an advanced ultrasound system suggests that stiffening of the arteries plays a key role
The first International Day of Radiology (IDoR) will be celebrated on November 8, as participating societies from all over the world will host a series of events to highlight the role played by radiology in modern medicine and help raise the public profile of the radiologist.
Hospitals are complex systems and optimising processes in such systems is a truly challenging task.
The use of contrast agents in ultrasound imaging of the gastrointestinal tract is no longer limited to the liver, although the clinical results of hepatic applications continue to be those that are most comprehensively confirmed.
Photoacoustics offers an additional contrast mechanism that makes the technology far more sensitive for the presence of blood.
Davos has strong ties with medicine. At the end of the 19th century this mountain village was a treasured resort for TB patients and Belle Epoque hospitals, such as the Schatzalp, endure as a period reminder.
Indicating the way to the next step in your examination and inserting comments automatically.
When asked about his vision of imaging in the year 2020, Professor Bernd Hamm MD, director of the three radiology clinics at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, qualified his focus: ‘Technology is always only a vehicle. When we talk about road traffic, we don’t talk about the design of cars but about structural issues’
For his Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Honorary Lecture at ECR 2011, Professor Richard Baron MD, from the Radiology Department at the University of Chicago, USA, focused on Detecting liver tumours: the search for the Holy Grail. Why does he compare this aim with that of the medieval knights?
Following last year’s acquisition of Aloka Co Ltd by Hitachi Medical Corporation, their powerful combination in Hitachi Aloka Medical Ltd has united next generation technologies in high-end ultrasound for use by family physicians and small practices.
Three radiologists, who focused on different clinical applications using different diagnostic techniques, have reached the same conclusion: the next-generation of ultrasound brings new capabilities for detection, differentiation and advanced diagnosis of disease, John Brosky reports.
ILJIN, the shareholder of Alpinion Medical Systems, which began as a Korean die-casting and electrical business 44 years ago, is today an international high-tech company.
ALPINION Medical Systems successfully debuted the E-CUBE 9 to the global healthcare market in 2011 and thus has won recognition in setting a high standard for the healthcare market with its advanced technologies and uncompromising performance.
A Hitachi symposium demonstrated new high-end capabilities for ultrasound and reinforced the role of the radiologist in ultrasound examinations. "We are here not only to demonstrate capabilities, but to deliver a message," said Carlo Faletti, MD, from Turin, the chair for a symposium at the European Congress of Radiology focused on ultrasound multimodal fusion.
This year the European Society of Radiology formally recognized Emergency Radiology (ESR) as a sub-specialty putting its full support behind this critical practice area with a scientific subcommittee to encourage specialized research.
To gain a deeper understanding of Asian and especially South Korean innovations in the healthcare market EUROPEAN HOSPITAL visited the 28th Korea International Medical and Hospital Equipment Show (KIMES) on 16 to 19 February. Executive Director Daniela Zimmermann had the opportunity to speak with Jae-Moon Jo, team leader in medical equipment development and Senior Vice President of Samsung…
20,000 participants attended ECR 2011 – a record its organising body, the European Society of Radiology (ESR), which represents more than 56,000 radiologists worldwide, is keen to surpass. Thus, for 2012, it set out to create an even more attractive, versatile programme, which is led by Congress President Lorenzo Bonomo, Professor of Radiology and Chairman of the Department of Radiological…
MRI: Although an area of constant debate, this is becoming a widely accepted clinical modality in Europe. However, researchers in The Netherlands have shown that performing pre-operative breast MRI in all women with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) can reduce the need for re-excision.
Radiologists in the United Kingdom have taken steps to help ensure unexpected findings iscovered during the course of imaging research are being recorded and effectively disseminated, Mark Nicholls reports.
Embarking on a large-scale refurbishment and building programme, which included building four new high-tech operating theatres, planning for medical video and photographic documentation became a key issue at the diako hospital in Augsburg, Germany.
Education and science are not the only exciting aspects of the European Congress of Radiology; the Vienna venue is also a stage on which companies can introduce novel concepts in medical imaging. Following one product’s world premiere during the RSNA 2011 in Chicago, the Echelon Oval 1.5-T MR system is now debuting before a European audience at the ECR 2012.
The injury was as spectacular as it was ruesome. Struck by a train a male patient was brought to the emergency department in Munich, his right foot hanging on only by muscle and bloody tendons, the bone shattered.
Improving access to care in particular for the rural population - this was one of the major goals of the Five-Year Plan which recently ended; and it has made its way again to the top of the agenda in the People's Republic. Two factors are on policymakers' minds: social stability, and the increase in domestic demand which the Chinese economy needs to reduce its dependency on exports.
Two years ago Dr Michael Michell and team at King’s College Hospital, London, set out to explore the benefits of tomosynthesis over conventional 2-D mammography. Their study has shown advantages in diagnostic accuracy and indicates that tomosynthesis could help to reduce the number of patient recalls for further examination and thus anxiety among women.
On the occasion of Medica 2011, Siemens Healthcare has launched a donation campaign for “Doctors of the World” For every fifty Siemens ultrasound systems sold between October 1 and December 31, 2011, the company will donate one Acuson X150 to the humanitarian organization.
The goals are ambitious: Although in the market merely four years, the start-up firm Alpinion Medical Systems states its intention to become one of the prime providers in the ultrasound segment with superior imaging and unique transducer technologies. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann of European Hospital, Thomas Roth, Alpinion’s Managing Director, explains his corporate strategy and…
The Honda HS-2100 is one of the latest developments from the Medical division of Honda Electronics, in Aichi, Japan. This portable, sleek, compact system has fine image quality, the firm reports: The front-end is fully digital which, combined with the unique technology, guarantees optimal image quality and focusing on pixel level.
Manufactured by Royal Philips Electronics and currently being introduced in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, ClearVue introduces proprietary Active Array technology, which moves key technology from the system to the transducer, resulting in enhanced image quality in 2-D and colour, lighter weight cabling and increased transducer reliability, Philips reports.
Expert warns that breast screening across the country needs to undergo a dramatic transformation over the next 15 years, Mark Nicholls reports.
Comprehensive additional training is necessary in Germany, to specialise in paediatric radiology, and only seven among the country’s 35 university hospitals provide paediatric radiology professorships. Thus, there are only about 80 specialists in this field and very few work in private practice
More than 30 clinicians, researchers and industry partners (including Siemens, Aesculap and SurgiTAIX, an RWTH spin-off) are working on OrthoMIT, Germany’s largest collaborative orthopaedic research project that aims to develop future strategies for knees, hip and spinal surgery. Anja Behringer reports
The goals are ambitious: Although in the market merely four years, the start-up firm Alpinion Medical Systems states its intention to become one of the prime providers in the ultrasound mid-range price segment. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann of European Hospital, Thomas Roth, Alpinion’s Managing Director, explains his corporate strategy and conviction of success.
Siemens Healthcare presented solutions for sustainable cardiovascular care at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Paris, France, under the motto "Are you ready for the long run?". This includes all modern imaging technologies, in-vitro diagnostics, IT solutions and consulting services.
World of Ultrasound met Prof. Ioan Sporea, Prof. Gebhard Mathis and Prof. Byung Ihn Choi to ask them three questions.
Explaining the value of the iU22 xMATRIX ultrasound system, Philips describes its new array transducer within the system – the X6-1 PureWave xMATRIX – as revolutionary.‘It harnesses the power of over 9000 active elements, more than 35 times greater than conventional transducers, to capture crisp, high-resolution images of even technically challenging patients,’ the company points out,…
More than 90% of patients who present with suspect or highly suspect breast lesions (BI-RADS categories 4 or 5) now undergo biopsies. Further treatment is only carried out after the precise histological clarification of the tissue sample is obtained. The intervention is routinely carried out via ultrasound guided punch biopsy. Thanks to new techniques the procedure is now becoming even more…
Lung ultrasound is a technique with widespread uses and advantages in a range of areas from critical care through to less urgent medical areas. Most of all, it is of particular help in the rapid diagnosis of acute respiratory failure. During a session at WFUMB, its benefits and the latest techniques will be outlined by medical intensivist Dr Daniel Lichtenstein -- Lung Ultrasound in Acute…
Dr Helmut Prosch, at the University Clinic for Radio-Diagnostics, Vienna, Austria, is examining the role of imaging in lung cancer diagnosis and staging. The key message of his presentation in the session EUS and EBUS vs. CT, MR and PET-CT in the staging of lung cancer is that the modalities do not compete with one another – as the title suggests – but are perfectly complimentary in the…
Uncontrollable convulsions, tremor or spasms can considerably impair the lives of neurodegenerative disease patients. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) – for which tiny electrodes are implanted in the brain to stimulate the target areas continuously with electrical impulses – can significantly reduce the movement disorder.
In recent years the ultrasound division of Siemens Healthcare appeared to be a Sleeping Beauty slumbering on in the shadow of large slice imaging equipment such as PET/CT and MR/PET, the medical technology giant’s favourite daughters. With many of the world’s wealthy princes, particularly from India, Brazil, China, and so on, knocking on Siemens’ doors, the giant has at last decided to wake…
Prenatal ultrasound images are the first images we see of new humans. But the prenatal ultrasound first carried out by Professor Ian Donald in the late 50s has little to do with today’s potential with 3-D and 4-D imaging with Doppler and colour Doppler. The three tightly linked disciplines gynaecology, prenatal medicine and obstetrics would now be inconceivable without ultrasound
Catastrophes draw people closer, as demonstrated by the development of the new high-end ultrasound scanner Aplio 500 from Toshiba. The clinical evaluation period took place during the tsunami and the nuclear catastrophe in Fukusima. Professor Thomas Fischer at the Radiological Institute, Charité Clinic in Berlin, was impressed by the enormous commitment shown by the Japanese firm’s engineers…
Since 1991 the International Breast Ultrasound School (IBUS) has indefatigably promoted progress and quality assurance in breast ultrasound -- a good reason for IBUS to celebrate its 20th anniversary during WFUMB.
Rapid and accurate acquisition of basic diagnostic information through the innovative concept of point of care ultrasound can have significant benefits for patient outcome, costs, reducing mortality and medical-legal risk scenarios. These benefits of point-of-care (POC) ultrasound will be highlighted during a WFUMB session by Italian critical care physician Professor Luca Neri, founder and past…
Sahlgrenska University Hospital provides emergency and basic care for the 700,000 inhabitants of the Gothenburg region. It also provides highly specialised care for the 1.7 million inhabitants in Sweden’s west because, in this country, endoscopic ultrasound examinations are only provided in university hospitals. Thus Sahlgrenska’s physicians receive referrals of difficult diagnostic cases…
An opening lecture at WFUMB 2011 will surely excite the audience with its focus on using ultrasound examinations of larger, non-human patients. Delivered by Dr Thomas B Hildebrandt, head of the reproduction management research group at the Leibnis Institute for zoo & wildlife research in Berlin/Germany, delegates will hear of the ways in which veterinary needs push ultrasound to achieve…
Around 700 international experts met in Vienna to discuss the latest advancements in ultrasound, such as a new technique called real time imaging, and of approximately 200 scientific papers. That was back in 1969 when for the first time physicians and scientists from around the world came together in Austria’s capital to share their knowledge of the use of ultrasound waves in medicine. The…
Hitachi Medical Corporation and Aloka Corporation have combined their strengths in ultrasound to form Hitachi Aloka Medical Ltd. (Japan), a subsidiary of Hitachi Medical Corporation (Japan). The new company will be making their European debut in Vienna from 26 to 29 August 2011 at the 13th World Congress of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). With its keynote theme, ‘the next generation…
Yes, it’s in beautiful Dresden again and -- as in 2006 when the city last hosted the Congress of the German Society for Senology -- this year’s Congress President is Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland (Department of Radiology, University of Erlangen). However, the repetition ends there; the congress topics will be anything but repeated. Report: Meike Lerner
Medical imaging has recently advanced so rapidly that it should halt. Applying more power to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners is becoming too dangerous for patients and healthcare workers. Magnets for the next-generation MRIs are so powerful that they must be moved to a separate building on hospital campuses, while CT radiation levels have risen to alarming…
From first lady of breast MRI to the Germany’s most influential woman in radiology – that’s one way to describe Professor Christiane Kuhl’s switch from being Vice-Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Vice President of the University of Bonn to become Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital Aachen (UKA).
As one of the first in Europe, the FUS Centre at the Klinikum Dachau in Germany introduced MRgFUS in 2008 as a gentle alternative for the treatment of fibroids. The success that has since been achieved in this encouraged Dr Matthias Matzko, head of radiology and of the FUS Centre, to take on a leading role with the introduction to the market of the second product generation, the ExAblate One.…
The suggestion that a Chinese company will emerge in the future as the dominant provider of ultrasound systems in Europe made Landwind Managing Vice President Wang Guozhong smile before he then confirmed: ‘I’m confident that, with our strengths in research and development and the importance we place on customer service, Landwind can make this happen even sooner.’
Researchers from Italy determined that radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a safe and effective therapy for managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients. The high repeatability of RFA is advantageous in controlling recurrences of cancerous tumors in the liver. Results of this 10-year retrospective study are available in the January 2011 issue of Hepatology, a journal published by…
Philips is ushering in a new era in radiology science with Imaging 2.0, a concept fueled by integration of technology, clinician and patient. Showcasing its commitment to pioneering innovative, cost-effective solutions, Philips is highlighting technologies that focus specifically on the patient, in addition to advanced networking tools that facilitate greater collaboration between radiologists…
This year at the 96th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, Philips was ushering in a new era in radiology science with Imaging 2.0, a concept fueled by integration of technology, clinician and patient.
Pin-sharp outlines instead of a flurry of speckles, three-dimensional bodies instead of two-dimensional cross sections: Modern ultrasound scanners now deliver images of a quality that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago. This new generation scanners have made ultrasound diagnostics more reliable, reproducible and much easier to use for doctors
Medica marks the world debut for the E-Cube 9. And it is also the first strong public showing for the developer of this ultrasound system, Alpinion Medical Systems.European Hospital met with Alpinion President and Chief Executive Officer Seokbin Ko to learn what this new player emerging on the European ultrasound scene is bringing to the game.
Launching its new ProSound F75 at the 20th ISUOG World Congress in Prague this October, Aloka Holding AG explained that it was designed to meet the firm’s new ‘FIT’ ethos (Facilitated workflow; Investment return; True diagnostics). Each machine can be tailored to any physician’s needs (over 45 user presets), simplifying the process, vastly reducing patient dependency and time to conduct…
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation repeatedly compare well with surgery in the treatment of primary and secondary liver, kidney and lung tumours and the palliative care of bone cancer. Thus oncologists are increasingly attracted to using bloodless, non-invasive treatment methods. High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), primarily used in myoma therapy, is leading medical…
High resolution radionuclide imaging is a technique increasingly used to detect breast cancers and has already been shown to offer improved diagnosis in many clinical situations. The technique, which will be discussed at RSNA 2010 (28 November to 3 December, Chicago) , is also allowing clinicians to detect previously unknown areas of breast cancer in women with newly-diagnosed disease.
It’s been around for decades, re-emerged in the ’90s and, today, experts see a bright future for tomosynthesis technology. Thus its progress and future developments, plus specialist uses (e.g. breast) will be a particular feature at the Radiological Society of North America scientific assembly and annual meeting in Chicago this year.
Agfa HealthCare is focused on providing excellent imaging solutions to support clinical confidence and improve delivery of health outcomes. At RSNA 2010, the company will demonstrate its engineered solutions that optimize the radiology workflow all along the imaging chain. By bringing the power of IT to radiology, we deliver tools that promote strong collaboration between healthcare providers and…
Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) division developed and supplied monitors exclusively for Siemens Medical until, about 20 years ago, the customer base expanded and A&D ultimately supplied almost all major medical technology firms with monitors for integration into their systems. In 2007, Siemens decided to focus on its core business and sell off its medical monitors division.
During his Honorary Lecture at the 8th Düsseldorf Breast Cancer Conference in Germany world renowned surgeon and oncologist Prof. Veronesi reflected about the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
The focus on Coronary artery disease – from genes to outcomes at ESC 2010 underlines the importance of CAD diagnosis on the scientific agenda. During the session ‘Multi modality imaging to detect coronary artery disease’, chaired by Professor JJ Bax, of the Cardiology Department at Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, experts will discuss, for example, the advantages of the…
Italian surgeon and oncologist Prof. Dr. Umberto Veronesi, Founder and Scientific Director of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan and former National Health Minister (2000 – 2001), is considered to be one of the biggest authorities on breast cancer research of our time. Many breakthrough changings in cancer medicine sustainably go back on his researches, which once earned him also a…
Looking ahead to MEDICA 2010 (17 to 20 November) the signs are good. The high number of registrations is a sign of optimism in the medical technology industry and the number of exhibitors has already seen a significant increase in comparison to last year. With six months left to go until the fair begins, some 115,000 square metres of exhibition space had already been booked.
Dr Alice Gillams, who heads the image guided tumour ablation programme at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), reported at this year’s ECR that Hitachi’s Real-time Virtual Sonography (HI RVS) fusion imaging technique can achieve more precise radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
Clinicians all over the world use GE Healthcare products and solutions to anesthetize patients. The breakthrough ideas of a small Ohio company in 1910, the predecessor to the anesthesia division of GE Healthcare, have evolved into innovations that continue to open new frontiers in anesthesia. Today, GE Healthcare provides anesthesia technologies in many countries worldwide, collaborating closely…
Siemens Healthcare was presenting its latest solutions for the early detection and treatment of breast cancer at the German Radiology Congress in Berlin. These Breast Care Solutions include a variety of imaging procedures, such as ultrasound, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), supplemented by IT and laboratory diagnostic solutions. Siemens places special focus on the third…
2010 workshop in Aachen, Germany, in March, were welcomed by Professor Thomas M Deserno, head of the Medical Informatics Department at RWTH Aachen University and organiser of what turned out to be an ‘outstanding’ scientific programme.
An international study, conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has shown that some countries are over-exposing children to radiation when performing computed tomography (CT) scans. These children are receiving adult-sized radiation doses, although experts have warned against the practice for over a decade.
The past year has not improved the prospects for ultrasound, according to Lorenzo Derchi, MD, who chaired the session at ECR 2010 dedicated to « Future direction of ultrasound » and opened the discussion by saying the field is in decline.
At ECR 2010, Philips launches the GEMINI LXL, the newest PET/CT scanner, offering many of the features available on premium systems for those working in the clinical areas of both radiology and oncology. Also making its European debut is DoseAware, a new dose-saving solution for interventional procedures. Furthermore, Philips presents its new Sonalleve MR-HIFU Fibroid Therapy system, which offers…
Cardiologists are looking beyond on-screen images of the heart to extract data behind these scans that describe coronary dysfunctions and can reveal hard evidence of the cause of disease reports John Brosky.
With a network of distributors covering 100 countries, a loyal base of customers driving double-digit growth and a full line of ultrasound scanners touching every clinical application, from advanced cardiology to routine examinations, Sonoscape reports that it is solidly ranked among the top companies for medical imaging in Europe.
Combining a dedicated R&D team and with acquisitions of key companies, Landwind Medical is aiming to provide products and services for direct patient care. Managing Vice President Wang Guozhong shares a passion for medical imaging with the company’s founder and confirms that ultrasound and radiology will remain a core focus as the firm continues to expand internationally.
At this year’s ECR, new developments will be outlined during the Contrast agents: Experimental and Clinical session. Mark Nicholls spoke with the session moderator Professor Peter Aspelin, Professor in Diagnostic Radiology at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, about their potential.
During Medica 2009, Daniela Zimmermann met with Ting Yang, Vice President of International Marketing for the Chinese company, Mindray Medical International Co. Ltd. Their discussion ranged from the company’s products to its present and future position in Europe.
Mirror 2, the all-digital colour Doppler ultrasound system, produced by Landwind International Medical Science Pte Ltd, incorporates a number of advanced imaging technologies, including powerful multi-beam parallel imaging, premium vascular imaging, real-time dynamic receiving focusing, magic focus, superior aptitude filter, 3-D, and panoramic imaging, the manufacturer reports.
Founded in Poland, in 1993, Echo-Son S.A. manufactures the ultrasound colour Doppler scanners Spinel II, Epidot_SC, Desmin_M, Epidot_V and the portable (b/w) Desmin_F, Desmin_H and Albit, for medical and veterinary applications (2.5-12.0 MHz, Doppler) and ophthalmology: A+B mode scanner 12 MHz and pachymeter 20MHz.
‘Supremely portable and incredibly tough, the NanoMaxx ultrasound system combines Best in Class performance with affordability and simplicity,’ the Erlangen-based manufacturer SonoSite reports.
When we organised the first Diagnostic Week in Karlsruhe, in 1969, no one could have known that this event would one day turn into the annual highlight in the world of medicine, reflected Dr Wolfgang Albath, laboratory medicine pioneer and one of the founding fathers of MEDICA the world`s largest medical trade show. Initially planned as a moving exhibition, the show has been based in…
Since its foundation by Michael Friebe PhD in 2003, and on the basis of 10 years of business activity in radiology, Tomovation has become an established provider of high-end services for tomography applications, such as MRI, CT, and PET-CT.
As Professor Valentin Fuster pointed out this year, the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) is now a splendid reality thanks to the support of the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III institutions on which, now and for the future, it depends. Along with that public sector backing, CNIC will also receive civil support from the ProCNIC…
Munich, Germany 6 - 10 October
During a gathering of clinicians, scientists and economists at this year's Medical Technology Congress (Treffpunkt für Medizintechnik) held in Berlin's Charité Hospital, all 17 lectures focused on cancer treatments. Bettina Döbereiner reports
Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) is a promising new technology designed to supplement mammography and breast ultrasound examinations when these show suspicious findings. By helping to detect early stage breast cancer it may reduce significantly the number of negative biopsies performed. Dilon Technologies (Newport News, Virginia), pioneer of this technology, received the CE Mark to sell its…
The Magnetic Resonance Center of the University Children's Hospital Zurich has achieved a world first breakthrough in MR-guided, non-invasive neurosurgery. Ten patients have been successfully treated by means of transcranial high-intensity focused ultrasound. This fully non-invasive procedure opens new horizons for neurosurgery and the treatment of different neurological brain disorders.
Open MRI not only provides good clinical images for musculoskeletal diagnoses, but also makes it easier to accommodate big-bodied sportsmen.
With the possibilities of tissue elasticity measuring the diagnostic use of ultrasound has recently increased enormously; the opportunities and limits of this technology and its areas of application are continuously growing.
Although the majority of the 18,000 participants at ECR 2009 were radiologists, medical writer Rob Skelding reports that a specific session for radiographers was well attended. The event also underlined the value of their interpretive skills
Echocardiography is the work horse of non-invasive cardiovascular diagnostics. Has this developed?
Every year the German Society for Senology congress facilitates interdisciplinary breast cancer discussion between gynaecologists, radiologists, surgeons, pathologists, internists, radio-oncologists and plastic surgeons. In an interview with Karoline Laarmann, of European Hospital, radiologist Professor Ingrid Schreer (right), head of the Breast Centre at the University Women's Hospital in Kiel,…
New possibilities in breast ultrasound comprise techniques for optimizing image quality such as tissue harmonic imaging (THI) and frequency compounding (FC), tools for post-processing US raw data such as strain imaging (elastography), and the use of Realtime-Sonoelastography, PD Dr. Anke Thomas from the Charité in Berlin, Germany, introduced her speech at the Hitachi Symposium Realtime Tissue…
The Dutch screening programme, which began in 1990, invites women aged 50-75 years for mammography screening every two years. Today, the national programme is undergoing considerable regional re-organisation. As one of a team of 12 radiologists at the Alkmaar Medical Centre, Dr Shirley Go is responsible for Mammography and Screening in a large Dutch region. Daniela Zimmermann, asked Dr Go about…
Dr Giorgio Rizzatto, who heads the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at ASS 2 Isontina (including the Gorizia and Monfalcone hospitals) in NE Italy, works with nine radiologists, who examine and report on 80,000 clinical and screening breast examinations annually.
April, the month of showers and flowers, and most importantly for those working in healthcare IT, two European congresses: ConhIT and Med-e-Tel.
To date, there is insufficient knowledge as to the cause of this disease, or how to prevent it. We asked some of our EH correspondents to report on measures taken in their countries to ensure that men are made more aware of this disease and whether screening services are provided for early prostate cancer detection.
Big discussions are expected at the upcoming European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Stockholm* when urologist Dr Jochen Walz (right), of the Urological Department at the Institute Paoli-Calmettes, Marseilles, France, presents the forum: Imaging in Europe: Who, where, what, how many! and M F Coelho, of the European Society of Urological Imaging (ESUI) describes the Clinical utility of…
Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumours in women. Treatment is only necessary if the fibroids cause pain and bleeding due to their size and position. Minimally-invasive fibroid embolisation is a gentle, efficient and long-lasting treatment for their removal, leaving the uterus intact. The first evaluations of several international long-term studies have indicated a high success rate…
The role of women in radiology and the challenges they face were again the focus of a session — Women in Radiology: How to maximise their potential — at this year's ECR, when female and male radiologists discussed their work experiences and combining home and family life with demanding careers. A forum also discussed the family friendly approaches in various countries.
Basic research and clinical patient care became separate disciplines in the 70s and 80s.
Philips leads the €15.9 million project to develop image-guided localized drug delivery technologies that could significantly impact the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The goal is to maximize therapeutic efficiency and minimize side effects of treatments for cancer and cardiovascular disease. The hope is that this level of control will also provide a means of tailoring the…
Chicago, November - At first glance, the 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America appeared to be bigger than ever and impervious to the massive economic recession of its host country. RSNA 2008 ate into every inch of Chicago's McCormick Place trade centre. To reduce crowd congestion, technical exhibitions had been expanded to include a third massive…
Shenzhen Landwind Industry Co. Ltd. (Landwind) began operations as a distributor for Siemens and Philips ultrasound products in mainland China and later commenced production of its own black and white ultrasound equipment on an Original Design Manufacture (ODM) basis for HONDA in 2004.
When the first `diagnostics week´ was held 40 years ago the exhibition attracted just a handful of companies, all from the laboratory sector. At the time, no one could have known that this sedate event would eventually develop into the world's biggest medical exhibition, MEDICA.
'I was very surprised!' said cardiologist Dr Maria Prokudina, of the Almazof Federal Centre of Heart, Blood and Endocrinology, when invited by Professor John Elefteriades MD, head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital (University School of Medicine) to lecture about Stress Echocardiography in Clinical Practice.
Designed on all-digital architecture, Mirror 2 delivers outstanding performance and smooth workflow to meet different needs for patients and clinicians, reports manufacturer Landwind International Medical Science Pte Ltd.
In 2007, Professor Andreas Franke, of Aachen University Medical Center, Germany, was the first cardiologist in Europe to perform minimally invasive cardiac catheterisation procedures under live 3-D ultrasound guidance.
High frequency ultrasound (US) techniques continue to improve with better resolution and exquisite B Mode imaging, particularly with improved compounding techniques seen with the Aplipure+ product. However, particular focus has been on improving techniques for breast imaging and one distinctly novel idea is to highlight microcalcifications within tissues.
The Centre for Medical Imaging Ruhr (zmb ruhr) in Bochum offers the technological infrastructure for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic imaging procedures. The primary focus is on ultrasound — the most commonly used imaging procedure in Germany, delivering the highest volume of examinations.
Most professionals will recognise issues that call for consideration in a wider context, a context that does not merely consider strictly professional issues, i.e. issues based upon facts and figures, write Johannes Gossner MD and Joerg Larsen MD FRCR, of the Institute for Roentgendiagnostics, Braunschweig Teaching Hospitals, Germany.
In October, the office of the Federal President announced that Professor Haverich, with his Hanover research team, has been nominated for the 'German Future Prize' for the development and successful use of adaptable biological heart valves
Edan Instruments Inc., based in Shenzhen, China, is one of the leading medical equipment manufacturers involved in R&D, manufacturing and marketing.
'Diagnostics is not diagnostics, not even when it relates to a specific indication such as breast cancer,' says Professor Walter Heindel MD (right), who heads the Munster Mammography and Breast Centre Reference Centre at Munster University Hospital, focusing on the dissimilarities among patient groups and their peculiarities.
High frequency ultrasound (US) techniques continue to improve with better resolution and exquisite B-Mode imaging, particularly with improved compounding techniques seen with the Aplipure product.
In May 2006 the Rosie Hospital, in Cambridge, UK, launched a competition challenging staff to suggest ways to save energy or time. Many came up with energy saving ideas. This resulted in the creation of the Rosie Energy Awareness programme. Monitoring energy usage of various items of medical equipment within hospital, for example ultrasound machines, the energy statistics provided staff with a…
It´s MEDICA time again: A top theme is the rapidly progressing networking process of the agents in the health care system thanks to new applications, in particular in the field of medical IT.
Royal Philips Electronics is to lead `euHeart´, the new European Union (EU) funded research project that aims to improve CVD diagnosis, therapy planning and treatment.
`High performance systems need not be large,´ says Aloka, manufacturer of the new compact ProSound a7, which produces high-resolution images yet can be used in areas with little spare space. `Broadband Harmonics provides high sensitivity and penetration that is comparable to fundamental-frequency imaging resulting in a significant improvement above standard harmonic imaging,´ Aloka reports.
Philips has added a new platform to its HD ultrasound products - the HD15 - which aims to provide small hospitals, clinics and private practices with advanced image clarity and broad application support for everyday use.
Last October the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) added a black box warning on ultrasound (US) contrast agents used in echocardiogram imaging examinations, around 200 reports of serious allergic reactions were received. Problems included cardiac arrest as well as breathing difficulty and seizures; seven of the cases resulted in death.
St. Jude Medical, Inc. has received European CE Mark approval and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its Epicor LP cardiac ablation system, a second generation technology that uses HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue to disrupt abnormal cardiac electrical impulses.
Every summer the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) holds Europe's biggest annual meeting of specialists in cardiovascular medicine, inviting and drawing in top international medical professionals. Karoline Laarmann asked Professor Kim Fox, President of the European Society of Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and professor of clinical cardiology at Imperial…
As one of the biggest foreign companies, GE Healthcare has about 200 employees in cities across Russia and, up to now, has supplied around 5,100 units to over 2,900 medical institutions.
In the 30 years since the overthrow of its last Shah (1979) Iranian radiologists have been welcome speakers and research presenters at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR).
Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) therapy was introduced in June at the Amperklinikum in Dachau, near Munich, the third German site, after Berlin and Bochum for this new technology.
An intraoperative MRI system being developed by UK firm Specialty Magnetics could speed the treatment of breast-cancer patients. The company is working on a dedicated intraoperative MR breast scanner that will enable doctors to carry out image-guided treatments as soon as disease is detected and diagnosed.
Along with paediatric radiology, interventional radiology will have a high profile at the 89th German Radiology Congress and 5th Joint Congress with the Austrian Radiology Society. Congress presidents Professor Dierk Vorwerk and Professor Richard Fotter outlined what's on the agenda for the expected 6,900 visitors. Training, they pointed out, will aim at those preparing to specialise in…
Nearly 14 000 urologists from 84 countries attended the 23rd Annual congress of the European Association of Urology held in Milan, where changing horizons in the diagnosis and therapy of prostate cancer, a symposium sponsored by Ipsen, underlined the main focus of the entire event.
As the opening of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games nears, the US Olympic Committee (USOC) and the General Electric Company (a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games) are running two research programmes aimed at demonstrating that health monitoring and early intervention leads to injury prevention and enhanced health and sports performances for athletes.
From 2000 to 2007, Israeli hospitals have treated the victims of 148 terrorist attacks.
Emergency medicine consultants at the Bradford Royal Infirmary have introduced resuscitative ultrasound techniques to the department using a SonoSite MicroMaxx® point-of-care ultrasound tool.
'How do you treat the HIV-positive, diabetic, schizophrenic patient presenting with chest pain? By making the necessary information available for personalised medicine'
Radiological services and equipment are not yet adapted to obese patients. The accuracy of current MRI, CT and Ultrasound is hindered by subcutaneous and intraabdominal fat. These modalities are crucial in diagnosing pathologies associated with obesity, including heart-related disease. Optimising imaging modalities will be a major challenge for radiology.
The 2008 ECR promises to be international, controversial, inspiring, as well as a meeting in which new insights for inter-professional relationships and working practices are sought. The programme is impressive indeed.
Your ECR 2008 highlights for Sunday!
Over the last three decades CT has become a premier diagnostic tool for the evaluation of the acute patient. Over the past ten years in Israel, we have seen an overwhelming increase in the volume of CT examinations in the emergency department (ED).
Apart from spending a year at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, USA, the professor has never worked anywhere other than at the Radiology Department at the University Hospital of Cattinara Hospital, Trieste, of which she is Chairman. Daniela Zimmermann asked her about what women can achieve in this field, as well as the professor's own multifarious roles and research activities.
US launches a national initiative By Cynthia E Keen
Today, Real-time Tissue Elastography (HI-RTE) provides a method to determine tissue elasticity of certain organs, such as the prostate, in real-time and to perform precise biopsies for reliable tumour diagnosis during standard examinations.
A promising mammography screening technology By Andrew Smith PhD, principal scientist at Hologic, Inc. in Bedford, Mass, is involved in research and development of digital imaging systems.
Germany - Once again MEDICA 2007 drew healthcare professionals- this year around 137,000 — to attend the congress and view the enormous number of medical products demonstrated by over 4,300 exhibitors.
UK - Optical imaging company Michelson Diagnostics Ltd (MDL) has announced successful initial results from clinical testing of its novel optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology. The tests, performed on cancerous and precancerous human oesophagus and lymph node tissue, were designed to establish the potential value of MDL's optical imaging technology used during cancer surgery.
Where are the most high-tech start-ups? That`s an easy one: Silicon Valley. But who comes in a close second? Surprisingly: Israel. Further: Israel ranks Number 1 in terms of availability of scientists and engineers and Number 2 in quality of higher education. The result of this impressive track record is a wide range of successful enterprises and products, particularly related to the life…
Today, ultrasound is present in most specialised medical fields, and even used in small practices. However, in terms of quality, when using ultrasonic equipment in the low price segment, users often had to compromise in terms of quality.
By Shahram Vaezy, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, and Vesna Zderic, Assistant Professor at Electronic and Computer Engineering Department at George Washington University, Washington DC.
A new research collaboration to study the potential of microbubbles and ultrasound to treat ischemic strokes has been established between ImaRx Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutal company in Tucson, Arizona, and the Philips' Medical Systems division in Andover, Massachusetts.
In 2008, the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) will include a Special Focus Session titled "Women in Radiology". During an EH interview, Professor Dr Maximilian Reiser, President of ECR 2008 (Vienna, Austria) discussed this and other aspects of the new programme.
About 27,000 healthcare professionals from over 100 countries attended RSNA 2006. These included over 5,000 European clinicians. In addition, over 28,000 people from non-US countries manned about 750 exhibition stands.
The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…
The Acuson P10 is a new portable ultrasound device, developed and manufactured by Siemens Medical Solutions. The new system in the size of a Blackberry embodies Point of Care Testing (POCT) abilities: It weighs a little more than 700 grams and could be used for earliest possible diagnostics in an intensive care unit, ambulance or medical helicopter, providing physicians with valuable information…
It has only recently been discovered that very often it is not the size of the plaque in the coronary vessels but its inflammation status that determines the occurrence of a cardiac infarction.
The Forum Medizintechnik-Pharma - an association that provides a recognised contribution to the development of the co-operative environment in medicine, technology and pharmaceuticals, met for a symposium in Germany this July.
The following two articles look at the advantages of a new ultrasound technique in prenatal diagnostics: Advanced Dynamic Flow (ADF). While the authors use ADF for different purposes - K. S. Heling applies ADF for general vascular imaging and R. Schmitz focuses on fetal liver tumours and a fetal aneurysm in the vein of Galen - they both arrive at remarkably similar conclusions. But read for…
Just as medical teams are getting used to using management and hospital information systems (HIS) the next wave of innovative IT products and solutions is ready to hit them.
Back in the 70s, when scientists first speculated on the development of 3-D ultrasound computed tomography (3-D USCT) the available technology could not equal their dreams. Now, before the end of 2007, a prototype at Germany's Karlsruhe Research Centre will be used for the first in-vivo tests.
Already in 1993, the world market for contrast media was thought to be worth $ 3 billion. In 2001, an astonishing 12.2 million contrast medium-supported CT studies were carried out in Europe alone. Currently, the overall sales of contrast media are estimated to rise to $ 915 million in Europe in 2008.
Like any other congress, the 88th German Radiology Congress will present the latest research, workshops and refresher courses.
Medison, the Korean-based manufacturer of diagnostic ultrasound systems founded in 1985 and pioneer of the first commercial real-time 3-D ultrasound scanner, recently received the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Competitive Strategy Leadership Award.
Some 23 years ago, when William Mortimore set up a firm to focus on connectivity, a tool called MergeBox (which allows modalities to speak to other networks) inspired him to name his new business.
First came state-of-the-art equipment, then patients. Now, says Peter Bor×uta, patience is also needed, before perhaps the chance to carry out research becomes a reality. Peter Boruta MD PhD is Professor of Radiology and Head of Radiology at Slovak Medical University, in Bratislava, and Director of the Diagnostic Imaging Institute in Trnava.
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) recently published an international white paper focusing on the financing of European and US healthcare systems.
One of Europe's most modern radiology and diagnostics centres opened in Vienna-Donaustadt, Austria, this January.
GE was the first to undertake molecular imaging development on a large scale. 'You have to be a very special company to work in this discipline,' Reinaldo Garcia, President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Healthcare International, pointed out, when we asked for an update on his company's progress in this field
Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a global medical solutions company covering research and development, manufacture, sales and service for medical diagnostic X-ray systems, CT scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, nuclear medicine systems, as well as healthcare IT systems and radiation therapy equipment. Daniela Zimmermann, of European Hospital, recently visited Toshiba's…
The European Congress of Radiology (ECR) is a never-ending story of surprises, excitement, and success. Year after year, more scientists, radiologists eager to learn, and partners from industrial companies flock to this excellent meeting.
From November 26 to December 1, 2006, the Windy City - Chicago, Illinois - was the destination for radiologists from all over the world.
Better measurement standards for high-intensity focused-ultrasound (HIFU) are necessary.
The Saint Ann Hospital, in Brno, is about to commence a joint project with the renowned Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Surgery is no longer the automatic choice to eradicate malignant tumours.
Frederik L Giesel MD MBA about the importance of process management and efficiency in hospitals.
Guidelines increase the use of contrast agents.
Wilhelm Niedergoeker, Managing Director of the Messe Dusseldorf GmbH, previews this year's events.
Professor Raimung Erbel, of the West GErman Heart Centre Esse, Duisburg University Hospital aobut the hot topics of this years´congress.
MORTIS is a new teleradiology system which utilises high-resolution laptops to receive images for diagnostic purposes.
A short story about life with and without PACS - Part II - written at the Klinikum Krefeld, Germany and the Kantonssptial, Liestal, Switzerland.
Generating targeting agents for diagnostics, prognostics and radiotherapy, by designing biochemically specific elements in contrast agents to be the targeting molecules attached to and carrying diagnostic or radiotherapeutic molecules to abnormal cells.
Scientific meetings held since 1998 at Alpbach, Germany, have attracted the sponsorship of leading associations and companies such as the Philip Morris External Research Programme, the Donors Association of German Science, Swiss National Fund, the German Heart Centre Foundation, Berlin, and Philips Medical Systems. At the 4th Alpbach Meeting, which focused on Magnetic Resonance, Contrast…
The organisers of Medica, the world's largest medical trade fair have reported that 137,000 visitors from around 100 countries attended these events in November.
Dr Darius Jakubowski, a perinatal specialist and former senior physician at Holweide Hospital, works for three days a week at Holweide Hospital as a resident gynaecologist.
USA - Radiologists at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts have released findings from a breast cancer research study designed to evaluate the use of software from Advanced Image Enhancement, Inc (AIE) for examining regions of interest (ROI) with Hologic's Lorad Selenia digital mammography system.
At ECR 2006, Aloka will present three advanced products. Hans-Guido Sturk, the company's Product Line Manager, General Imaging, reports.
Alfred E Schiller, founder and managing director of Schiller AG, based in Baar, Switzerland, describes the rise of his company and its place in today’s highly competitive intensive care market. Alfred Schiller founded Schiller AG in 1971 and three years later introduced his first product – a pocket-sized electrocardioscope, which has been built on successively over the years. The…
Article by Stefan G Ruehm MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Director, Cardiovascular CT, at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.
Ballon Brachytherapy and effective drug combination.
At this year's ECR in Vienna, Helen Carty, the incoming ECR 2004 president, said she felt both honoured - and rather awed - at being entrusted to lead a congress built on friendship, in which 'disparate nations of many creeds and races, rich and poor, come together to give and to share knowledge, experience and science in this nonconfrontational atmosphere'. Awe is something many radiologists…
The Diagnostic Breast Centre Gottingen has opened the first European Women's Healthcare Centre (WHC). Professor Uwe Fischer, head of the new centre, said: "We have set ourselves the objective, with the help of ultra-modern systems and high-quality processes, to diagnose breast cancer in the very earliest stages."
The diagnosis of kidney and urinary tract problems can be particularly difficult when young patients are involved.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is not only one of the most common, but also one of the deadliest types of cancer in men. Diagnostics are correspondingly sophisticated, from imaging via ultrasound or MRI to various biopsy techniques – often even in combination. Keep reading for current developments in early detection, staging, therapy and research.