In the last few years, virtual reality has become a very significant tool in therapeutic applications, for example, to overcome deep-seated fears or the lack of empathy in abusers.
Giving children a virtual/augmented (mixed) reality playkit to use ahead of an MRI scan seems to ease both their and their parents’ anxieties about this procedure, a new study suggests.
From current mixed reality assistance, technological advances could soon make fully digital autopsies a reality. This could enhance efficiency and legal certainty, and also benefit training.
Cambridge University Hospitals and the Faculty of Education are helping to bring medical training using 'mixed reality' technology a step closer.
Speed in treatment of ischemic stroke can mean the difference between successful recovery versus permanent disability caused by brain tissue damage or death. Time is of the essence to perform thrombolysis with a tissue plasminogen activate (tPA), a protein that can dissolve blood clots causing the stroke or intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy (IAT) because of large-vessel occlusion.
Leading medical XR experts gathered at Shift Medical to discuss developments on the use of immersive technologies in medicine. We interviewed Doctor Egidijus Pelanis of Oslo University Hospital, about applying extended realities in the operating room.
New data published by The BMJ show that white doctors applying for medical posts in London are six times more likely to be offered a job than black applicants.
‘Hello Tessa. Do you know what I’m doing today?’ a fragile, elderly woman asks tentatively. The small robot she’s addressing has a decorative plant on its head and is wearing a jacket. This is not a funny fantasy. Tessa has proved ‘her’ usefulness and acceptability. The little robot results from a year-long pilot project recently completed in the Netherlands by the Groene Kruis…
A way of using machine learning to more accurately identify patients with a mix of psychotic and depressive symptoms has been developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham. Patients with depression or psychosis rarely experience symptoms of purely one or the other illness. Historically, this has meant that mental health clinicians give a diagnosis of a ‘primary’ illness, but with…
Scientists at UC Berkeley and Gladstone Institutes have developed a new CRISPR-based COVID-19 diagnostic test that, with the help of a smartphone camera, can provide a positive or negative result in 15 to 30 minutes.
It’s time to cut through the hype surrounding artificial intelligence and begin to understand the reality in terms of application in radiology. With many different algorithms available that cover a growing array of diagnostic and interpretational areas, Dr Anjum Ahmed believes hospitals and care providers now need to ask the right questions when weighing up AI implementation in their clinical…
Digital medical technology company Brainlab announced the launch of Mixed Reality Viewer, which brings spatial computing into daily clinical practice for surgical plan review, medical student training and patient consultation. Brainlab Mixed Reality (MR) Viewer uses the head-mounted display Magic Leap One from Brainlab strategic development partner Magic Leap to add a new dimension to patient…
Health tech Made in Taiwan is among the mainstays of every MEDICA; this year’s fair is no exception. 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 world-class healthcare companies are demonstrating innovative medical solutions based on national advances in Artificial Intelligence…
From an initial focus on innovative manufacturing, in-house ICT technologies drove production efficiency and quality. Today, Taiwan has advanced to become a leader with its "Asian Silicon Valley" concept. The government also wants to further strengthen Taiwan's key position by independently developing medical products that meet the high demands of international markets – at…
Nosocomial infections present enormous challenges for medical facilities, involving huge hygiene efforts from staff, on patients as well as medical and non-medical products. At MedtecLIVE 2019, in Nuremberg, Susanne Harpel (Dipl. Ing), Deputy Head of the Institute for Hygiene and Environmental Medicine at Giessen/Marburg University Hospital, presented desirable contamination efforts during the…
Extended reality applications like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are mostly known for their use in the gaming or movie industries. However, in recent years, clinicians have begun exploring potential medical applications for those immersive technologies.
Jhy-Wey Shieh sees the link between Taiwan and Germany as obvious: ‘The word “trade” – of central importance for Medica – starts with “t” for Taiwan and contains “de” for Germany – there is no better way to put it.’ Even though the Taiwanese ambassador’s linguistic journey was not to be taken too seriously, this year’s presentation from the Taiwan External Trade…
Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) created a veritable hype. However, that initial awe was increasingly mixed with apprehension about the potential effects of AI on healthcare. In radiology, bleak dystopias are conjured up with AI replacing the human radiologist. A scenario that Dr Felix Nensa considers premature, to say the least.
For many years, Virtual Reality (VR) has been part of the gaming sector with eye goggles for players to interact with certain scenarios. However, more recently VR has shown it can deliver specific treatments in healthcare. It is already being applied, for example, to treat phobias and as a distraction therapy for pain.
In the German healthcare system, innovations are difficult – Xpomet boss Ulrich Pieper is certain of this. Not because the system is different, but because the point of view is wrong. ‘The system assesses innovations according to how much money they save, and not according to whether they achieve healing,’ the industrial engineer explains. Precisely for this reason, he adds, the three-day…
Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) have shown how the Microsoft HoloLens headset can be used during reconstructive lower limb surgery. Surgeons at London’s St Mary’s Hospital are using the device, a self-contained computer headset that immerses the wearer in ‘mixed reality’, enabling them to interact with holograms visible through the visor.
3-D visualisation, augmented reality, automated tumour classification – today, the Republic of China produces cutting-edge medical technology and it’s a long time since ‘Made in Taiwan’ stood for inferior, copied products. Over recent years, this island state has successfully morphed into a productive and, above all, innovative manufacturer of medical technology available on the world…
The Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) has organized, in partnership with TeraRecon, Vizua, Microsoft and Digital Evolutis, the live broadcast of the first surgery performed in the world with a collaborative platform of mixed reality at the Avicenne Hospital AP-HP, and interacting with remote doctors. Dr. Gregory Thomas, Head of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology Hospital Avicenne…
Columbia Engineers make major advance in helping the hearing impaired follow a conversation in a noisy environment - and bring cognitive hearing aids a step closer to reality.
The HIV: The Long View initiative launches today with the release of an evidence-based report that examines the potential implications of future healthcare trends on HIV care and management in Western Europe.
Bioengineers and cognitive scientists have developed the first portable, 64-channel wearable brain activity monitoring system that’s comparable to state-of-the-art equipment found in research laboratories.
The digital world is being enriched by augmented reality (AR), which refers to any type of information offering the user additional help. Mostly, we don’t even notice it; the only external sign being Smart glasses. When new cars are launched we are always surprised by the constantly developing assistance systems they offer – and it’s the same for the growing number of smartphone…
Personalised medicine is often equated with the development of drugs tailored to the genetic make-up of patients or cancers.
1-2 April 2011 – time for lab and clinical staff to be in Parma, Italy, at the 1st European Conference on Pre-analytical Phase. Organised by the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFCC), the meeting will meeting present a range of events to launch a platform for continuous knowledge and idea exchanges regarding pre-analytical aspects of lab medicine.
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…
In a recently published article, a team from Médecines Sans Frontières have suggested a 'World Health Insurance' to help provide healthcare for people in poorer nations (see box). Over 50% of the 42 countries carrying that healthcare burden would be European.
Radiologists working abroad - the reality