Experts at Newcastle University have discovered artificial intelligence can be used to analyse medical imaging from CT scans, which is aimed at predicting survival in patients with laryngeal cancer.
A three-part ‘multiparametric’ MRI of the prostate is standard of care in the UK for patients suspected of having prostate cancer. Now, a study shows two-part scans are sufficient for diagnosis.
How often should men get checked for their level of PSA, a marker for prostate cancer? A German study involving over 12,500 men shows that a five-year interval between tests is safe.
When treating oesophageal cancer, surgeons may have a preference towards either open surgery or keyhole techniques. Now, a study explored superiority of one over the other in terms of recovery time and complications.
Pulse oximeters delivering poorer results in people with darker skin tones, underdiagnosis of cardiac conditions in women: some medical devices are not as fair as the ought to be, a new review finds.
Artificial Intelligence has helped scientists reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated in the future.
A new test to help diagnose Barrett’s oesophagus – a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer – has reduced the need for invasive endoscopy in thousands of low-risk patients.
Staff shortage remains an immense challenge in healthcare. To address this, new UK research points out ways to make clinical working environments more attractive for nurses.
A new BMJ survey shows many doctor parents find it almost impossible to fit their work in with available childcare options. For some, childcare costs are more than they earn.
Vending machines dispensing self-test kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have proven to be an effective and widely accepted means of reaching individuals who rarely or never get tested.
Digital pathology brings benefits for sample management and optimisation, lets pathologists work on samples remotely: The UK Government has now approved the use of the technique for cancer samples.
A simple blood test could help diagnose patients with glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, sparing them from undergoing invasive and highly-risky surgery, report UK researchers.
As a result from better living standards and medical advances, population longevity increases – a development which, paradoxically, current healthcare systems are ill-prepared for, Sir John Bell points out. The UK’s Our Future Health programme, which he chairs, exemplifies the paradigm shift to a prevention-centered healthcare approach.
UK law changes threaten the security of messaging apps – and their use in the NHS. Doctors warn that patient care will suffer if they can no longer use apps such as WhatsApp to share information.
The largest-ever study of patient views on online GP consultations saw a strong backing for the new option. Important benefits named were greater convenience and flexibility, but also efficiency.
Gender equity is a key factor in achieving excellence in academic medicine. So far, however, this is only partly reflected in reality: In Europe, women represent 54% of physicians and 40% of radiologists. However, female representation in radiology decreases at increasing levels of leadership. A panel of experts assessed the challenges women have to face in radiology and explored strategies to…
New research suggests a new approach to precision radiotherapy can reduce the risk of swallowing problems for patients, without impacting the success of treatment.
A new deep-learning approach to AMR testing has been shown to detect antimicrobial susceptibility within as little as 30 minutes - significantly faster than current gold-standard approaches.
A nationwide programme to reduce the risk of developing diabetes in the United Kingdom is proven beyond reasonable doubt to work, a new study reveals.
Health systems depend on nurses' professional judgement for operational staffing decisions, but often, the potential of their insights remains untapped, new research reveals.
Surgery to straighten a crooked septum (the thin wall of bone and cartilage dividing the space between the two nostrils) is more effective than nasal sprays, a new study suggests.
Stark inequalities in diagnosis and treatment of four of the most common heart conditions in the UK have been revealed in new research led by a team at the University of Leeds.
New research led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital unveils that women who struggle with getting enough sleep might be at greater risk of developing hypertension, or high blood pressure.
A new survey by The BMJ reveals shortages of vital diagnostic tests for respiratory conditions, such as COPD and asthma, across some of the most deprived areas of England.
Mammographic screening is used to detect breast cancer, but is prone to false findings. Could an AI reader help improve this? UK researchers compared the performance of man and machine.
New research finds the use of an electric field a promising means to prevent aerosol spread of viruses in healthcare environments, for example during surgery.
Using data from more than 400,000 individuals, researchers have created a platform for predicting the risk of developing blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukaemia over a 10-15-year period.
To reduce avoidable errors, especially involving injectable medications in anaesthesia care, UK experts have published a new guidance on safe injection practice.
Identifying victims of major disasters remains a significant challenge for investigators. Often, identification can take weeks or longer but new approaches are paving the way for greater accuracy and quicker identification whilst preserving the body without unnecessary invasive investigation. An expert session at ECR heard about how new imaging technology can help with disaster victim…
Combining ultrasound and MRI technology can help detect prostate cancer at an earlier stage and potentially save lives, according to new University of Dundee research.
Global healthcare consumes millions of tonnes of single use plastic every year. A team at the University of Birmingham is taking on this sustainability challenge.
Treatment times for radiotherapy could be reduced for some early breast cancer patients, according to a trial led by University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
UK researchers find that digital health products, e.g. health apps, could make a substantial contribution to tackling NHS urgent care pressures, by keeping patients out of hospital in the first place.
Patients with heart disease could benefit from less extensive interventions thanks to technology that creates 3D computer models of blood flow through the heart's arteries, according to new research.
Defibrillators are being used in just one in ten cardiac arrests where the lifesaving devices are available, according to new research presented at a British cardiology conference in Manchester.
A trial of a new blood test for more than 50 types of cancer correctly revealed two out of every three cancers in more than 5,000 people who had visited their GP with suspected symptoms.
British societies BCS and BJCA publish a joint policy statement to stamp out bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the specialty, endorsed by 19 affiliated organisations.
In the last decade, regional and global health organizations have pushed for making safety a central pillar of procurement, with a directive that cost should not be a barrier. The crucial question is: How easy is that to implement? How can a confident decision be reached that protects patients and healthcare workers without straining costs?
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh have found that the accuracy of detecting bowel cancer is increased to almost 100% by carrying out a common test twice rather than once.
A new class of immunotherapy shows promising results for fighting the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
A new analysis of the carbon footprint of products used in the five most common surgical operations shows that 68% of carbon contributions come from single-use items.
Around 5,500 people with severe developmental disorders now know the genetic cause of their condition, thanks to a major nationwide study in the U.K..
Wearable devices such as smart watches could be used to detect a higher risk of developing heart failure and irregular heart rhythms in later life, suggests a new study led by researchers from University College London (UCL).
A new clinical trial has shown that men diagnosed with prostate cancer can benefit from ‘radical radiotherapy’ that delivers treatment in five hospital visits instead of the typical 20.
It’s clear that radiology is lacking in the “green” department: healthcare still causes a large share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, not least due to diagnostic imaging. Dr Sarah Sheard from Imperial College Healthcare, UK, invited her ECR audience to take a closer look at radiology’s climate footprint – and revealed ways to make the field more sustainable.
The 2022 summer heatwave resulted in a fifth of UK hospitals being forced to cancel operations during the three days when temperatures soared, a new study reveals.
Interactive mobile apps have become ubiquitous in daily life. The Covid-19 pandemic has escalated the use of disease-specific monitoring apps. Mobile apps enabling cancer patients to self-manage their physical condition and symptoms can help them to evaluate toxic side effects of their treatments, offer artificial intelligence (AI)-generated recommendations to minimize them, and alert them to…
A pioneering new method to assess the quality of organs for donation has the potential to revolutionise the transplant system, saving lives and tens of millions of pounds.
Predicting a Covid-19 infection from the sound of a cough? Researchers found that technology using Machine Learning performed no better than simply asking people to report their symptoms.
After 25 years of AI health tech research, computers are slowly beginning to listen to patients. This is the conclusion of a review of a quarter of a century's worth of studies on the topic.
Radiotherapy does not improve survival rates in older patients with early breast cancer, new research suggests.
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.
Researchers have developed a new blood test to detect prostate cancer which displays greater accuracy than the current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) method.
A new blood product combining red blood cells and plasma in one bag is associated with a better survival from a penetrating major trauma injury, a new study has found.
Nurses who worked in critical care during the Covid pandemic are at an increased risk of mental health problems, according to a new study.
High levels of microplastics were detected in surgical environments in a new study. Microplastic was found in both the operating theatre and anaesthetic room, in cardiothoracic surgeries.
Preparing patients for surgery in a separate space from the operating theatre brings significant benefits in freeing up operating theatre schedules and staff time, according to new research.
Transforming a regional digital pathology network into a national programme across the UK has the potential to save the NHS around £100m a year. Such a network – one that sees a centralised digital pathology image library and archive, as opposed to individual hospitals having their own infrastructure and teams to manage it – can also offer a range of other benefits alongside significant cost…
A cancer researcher and consultant has estimated for the first time how many women are living with secondary breast cancer in England – in new research which could help to shape cancer services.
Treating pancreatic cancer patients with chemotherapy before surgery significantly improved 1-year survival rates compared to immediate surgery, a randomised clinical trial has found.
Scientists are developing artificial intelligence (AI) and talking robots to help to detect urinary tract infections (UTIs) in vulnerable people early.
Rows of ambulances held in queues outside emergency departments waiting to admit patients to hospital is becoming an increasingly familiar scene in the UK. Senior figures across the health sector are becoming increasingly concerned at the levels of harm this bottleneck is causing patients. Patient care has hit a massive roadblock as delays in handovers between ambulances and emergency departments…
OpenRad announced at RSNA the launch of its enterprise remote reporting platform, which enables cloud-based reporting, collaborative workflows across companies and advanced mobile fleet management.
The first blood test to diagnose inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) could be in use in as little as a year, following the discovery of a molecular signal in the blood.
An advanced radiotherapy technique can be used to safely treat prostate cancer patients in as little as one to two weeks, compared with the current standard, which takes one to two months.
Clinician and nurse burnout is a frequently discussed topic in the healthcare community in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to an analysis of the NHS published earlier this year, more than 400 workers in England have left the NHS to restore work-life balance within this past year. Burnout and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder after working through the Covid-19 pandemic are major…
Scientists have discovered that cervical cancer can be divided into 2 distinct molecular subgroups – one far more aggressive than the other – as part of the largest ‘omics’ study of its kind.
Is joint decision making of healthcare professionals and their patients better than a doctor making the calls on his own? New research supports this notion for cardiology.
Referrals to Cambridge’s long Covid clinic fell dramatically in the period August 2021 to June 2022, which researchers say is likely due to the successful rollout of the vaccine.
Researchers have shown that when brain cells are directly exposed to blood taken from Covid-19 patients with delirium, there is an increase in cell death and a decrease in the generation of new brain cells.
When double reading screening mammograms, radiographers trained for the task perform as well as radiologists in key areas, according to a new publication.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have developed a new biosensor capable of accurately monitoring the condition of a chronic wound.
With the life expectancy of populations improving, experts believe the rising diagnosis and prevalence of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) will have a significant impact on healthcare services going forward.
The critical times in a woman’s life of pregnancy and the menopause – and their relation to heart health – is explored at the ESC. The defined field of gender-specific cardiology is becoming an increasingly important area of focus, experts say.
Hospital patients who develop infections where 10% of sufferers die will be offered double the traditional course of antibiotics in a new trial.
New research suggests that providing a break in treatment to patients with advanced bowel cancer could not only benefit a patient’s quality of life but could also help reduce costs.
Cambridge University Hospitals and the Faculty of Education are helping to bring medical training using 'mixed reality' technology a step closer.
Automa + Healthcare is held in September, and gathers leaders from hospitals & healthcare providers, governmental bodies and institutions with the goal to contribute to further development of ongoing digital health trends.
Outsourcing NHS services to the private sector is associated with reduced quality of patient care and increased rates of deaths from treatable causes.
Researchers have developed cutting-edge imaging technology to help doctors better diagnose and monitor patients with heart failure. The state-of-the-art technology uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to create detailed 4D flow images of the heart.
Surgeons completed the first documented ‘net zero’ operation in the NHS, combining evidence-based approaches and documents using a carbon output calculator developed specifically for this task.
Scientists have identified a new disease in a ground-breaking discovery that could help patients with unexplained liver and kidney problems.
A special type of MRI found lung abnormalities in patients who had previously had COVID-19, even those who had not been hospitalized with the illness.
A new way of differentiating healthy from diseased cells could pave the way for more personalised treatment for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a common and aggressive type of brain tumour.
Cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) can have a devastating impact on a patient’s life. Radiologists must learn to recognise these white spots in the brain and conventional imaging may just reveal the tip of the iceberg.
Ultra-powerful 7T MRI scanners could be used to help identify patients with Parkinson’s disease and similar conditions who are most likely to benefit from new treatments, say scientists.
Reaching out across 15 hospitals and a population of six million people, a network established by the National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC) is an ambitious move to advance digital pathology in the North of England.
Using MRI scans to detect heart failure could revolutionise how the condition is diagnosed, thanks to new research from the University of East Anglia and the University of Sheffield.
Computational approaches are being applied on enormous amounts of data from sequencing technologies to develop tools to help clinicians manage cancer more effectively.
In an online event to mark International Women’s Day, five women at various stages of their careers in cancer care discussed the hurdles they had to overcome – often because of their gender – and their determination to succeed.
Cognitive impairment as a result of severe Covid-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, scientists found.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could help guide the post-treatment surveillance of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and improve outcomes as a result, according to a new study.
During the first Chemnitz’ Robotic-Symposium, two experts reported on the current state and the future of robot-assisted surgery and highlighted why it is a good time to be involved in this field of technology.
Around 33% of GPs are likely to quit direct patient care within five years, according to a UK survey. The high percentage of young physicians is especially alarming.
Can mobile phones increase the risk of brain cancer? A new, large study was unable to verify such concerns. However, the researchers say it might still be a good idea to cut back on smartphone time.
A proof of concept for a robot that can reach some of the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy.
Hospitals that boost nursing staff engagement also find they improve the retention rate for senior doctors, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.
A new type of AI companion is being designed to aid memory recollection, boost confidence and combat depression in people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
Molecular radiotherapy shows great potential in becoming a more mainstream treatment for cancer, but the field is being hampered by a limited radionuclide supply.
UK researchers have found that a new type of ultrasound scan can diagnose most prostate cancer cases with good accuracy in a clinical trial involving 370 men.
Engineers at MIT have developed a kind of surgical duct tape — a strong, flexible, and biocompatible sticky patch that can be applied to biological tissues and organs to help seal tears and wounds.
New research has pinpointed ethnicity as a potential factor in brain tumour survival. A UK study showed that white British people who have been diagnosed with a malignant primary brain tumour appear to have an increased one-year mortality than patients from at least four other ethnic groups.
Researchers outline a new minimally invasive and inexpensive blood test that can identify cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms and whether these cancers have metastasised in the body.
The number of gamified mobile applications is rising rapidly—especially in healthcare. Gamified apps or devices are used in many fields, from mental health therapy to stroke rehab to managing metabolic conditions. This article illustrates how gamification is employed in diabetes care.
Researchers in the UK and China have developed an AI model that can diagnose Covid-19 as well as a panel of professional radiologists, while preserving the privacy of patient data.
A large-scale qualitative study looks into the difficulties frontline doctors faced across two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK and Ireland since early 2020.
At the BIR virtual congress, spinal imaging specialist Professor Elizabeth Dick focused on approaches and protocols for a range of spinal injuries and discussed assessment and imaging strategies, choice of modalities, and other key factors.
Smartphone pictures of post-surgical wounds taken by patients and then assessed by clinicians can help with the early identification of infections, a study has found.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) from a single blood test picks up 31% more cases of rare genetic disorders than standard tests, shortening the ‘diagnostic odyssey’ that affected families experience, and providing huge opportunities for future research.
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.
Water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services provider Ecolab launches its Hand Hygiene Compliance Measurement (HHCM) System, a digitally connected technology to systematically monitor and improve hand hygiene in healthcare settings, across Europe. In healthcare settings, clean hands save lives. While the Covid-19 outbreak increased adoption of hand hygiene measures at first,…
Fast, flexible laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that cope with data and workflow complexities of molecular and genetic testing now work in laboratories internationally. Here, in the first in a new Lab Pinnacle Series, experts from the CliniSys Group, Sunquest Information Systems and Data Innovations (all owned by Roper Technologies), discuss the value of a LIMS in molecular and…
According to new research, vaccinated people are at greatest risk from severe Covid-19 leading to hospitalisation or death from 14 days post the second dose vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected.
A team of researchers are developing the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm with the aim of diagnosing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) more quickly and as effectively as traditional radiologist-interpreted diagnostic scans, potentially cutting down long patient waiting lists and avoiding patients unnecessarily receiving drugs to treat DVT when they don’t have it.
More than 50 leading digital pathology experts have been lined up for a major conference in London in December looking at all aspects of the field. Speakers will explore latest developments, new trends, challenges, and innovation, as well as the effects of Covid-19 on pathology practice, during the 8th Digital Pathology and AI Congress on December 1 and 2. Artificial intelligence will feature…
Brexit could have a potential impact on healthcare delivery across the UK, according to an expert in the field. Dr Hugh Harvey believes that will be particularly noticeable in the area of Medical Device Regulation (MDR), with the UK and Europe seemingly going in different directions on the subject after the UK left the European Union (EU) at the end of last year.
Patient-oriented innovations and cases of the processes digitalization are presented at the Healthcare Automation and Digitalization Congress 2021 (AUTOMA+ Healthcare Edition 2021). The Congress takes place online, at BGS Online Platform on September, 27-28, 2021, and gathers hospitals, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies to network and share solutions regarding the personalized…
Triage HF Plus, highlighted in the BCS conference session ‘Digital Innovation in Cardiology - What's new?’ is a digital heart failure care project that uses a customised algorithm to detect early signs of deterioration in patients with implanted devices. During her presentation ‘Digital solutions to identify worsening heart failure’, consultant cardiologist Dr Fozia Ahmed discussed the…
Researchers from the University of Oxford have announced the results of a study into thrombocytopenia (a condition with low platelet counts) and thromboembolic events (blood clots) following vaccination for Covid-19, some of the same events which have led to restricted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a number of countries.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is providing numerous opportunities across clinical care in the field of cardiovascular imaging. While challenges remain, AI is being applied in terms of diagnosis and prognosis, defining cardiovascular imaging pathways, and image acquisition and analysis. It can also help cardiologists predict which patients may do well, or which treatments are best applied to those…
Scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and the Cambridge-1 supercomputer to synthesise artificial 3-D MRI images of human brains and create models that show disease states across various ages and genders. The Synthetic Brain Project is focused on building deep learning models which have been developed by King’s College London (KCL) and NVIDIA data scientists and engineers as part of…
A new study of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) following Covid-19 vaccination provides a clearer guide for clinicians trying to diagnose and treat patients. The research, led by University College London (UCL) and UCL Health and published in The Lancet, is the most detailed account of the characteristics of CVT, when it is caused by the novel condition vaccine-induced immune…
Italy, France, and Greece have made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers, and England is making it compulsory for care home workers and consulting on whether to extend this to healthcare workers and other social care staff. Experts debate in The BMJ whether frontline health and social care workers should be compelled to take up the vaccine, if efforts to encourage them fail.…
Cancer informatics and digital pathology provider Inspirata announced that King’s Health Partners ECMC and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust will pilot its Trial Navigator software as part of an evaluation the organisations are conducting into how artificial intelligence based automation can improve the identification and efficiency of matching patients with cancer to early phase…
Markers in our blood – ‘fingerprints’ of infection – could help identify individuals who have been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, several months after infection even if the individual had only mild symptoms or showed no symptoms at all, say Cambridge researchers. The team has received funding from the National Institute for Health Research to develop a test…
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…
Experts at University College London (UCL) and spinout company Odin Vision working with clinicians at UCLH have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer. The first procedure in the world using the AI technology was performed at University College Hospital by UCLH consultant gastroenterologist Dr Rehan Haidry. The system, called CADU, uses AI to support…
Aerosol generated by playing woodwind and brass instruments is less than that produced when vocalising (speaking and singing) and is no different than a person breathing, new research has found. The findings could be crucial to developing a roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions in the performing arts, which have been significantly restricted since the start of the pandemic.
A cutting-edge imaging technique that creates 4D flow images of the heart has been carried out for the first time in the UK at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).
Digital transformation has been a significant factor in the way hospitals have responded to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at HIMSS21 European Health Conference, experts were also quick to point out that the approach of the ‘human resource’ to the challenges and changes was a key factor.
People with long Covid could be monitored with the aid of a ground-breaking mobile phone app and clinical website. The system has been developed to help NHS rehabilitation teams manage the large number of people suffering from the debilitating effects of the illness. Patients will also be able to use the app to track their recovery. The app will initially be available to patients in 27 NHS trusts…
Specialist biorepositories are helping advance personalised medicine by supporting the availability of human tissue for research using digital pathology techniques. The pivotal role of the Glasgow Tissue Research Facility (GTRF) in making tissue available to shape new therapies and treatments was outlined in a presentation to the online “Transforming Digital Pathology – Integrating AI to Move…
Artificial Intelligence in health and care is being introduced across the UK via a major national project that is already producing a range of innovations. Latest developments were outlined to the online Intelligent Health conference in a headlining presentation by Dr Indra Joshi, Director of AI at NHSX, which is a joint unit bringing together teams from NHS England and NHS Improvement, and the…
Researchers used AI to identify which daily changing clinical parameters best predict intervention responses in critically ill Covid-19 patients. The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) - a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve…
Some clinicians are concerned that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis has risen throughout Western society since the late 1980s. Is this correct? And if so, has the true incidence of PTSD really spiralled out of control, or has it simply become overdiagnosed? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ this week. PTSD is a serious and uncommon condition resulting from severe trauma, but it…
Clinical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter announced the European launch of the DxA 5000 Fit, a workflow-automation solution designed to fit into medium-sized labs that run fewer than 5,000 tests a day. The clinical laboratory has gone through trial by fire in 2020, where total testing was 245% of baseline volumes, with ~55% being SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests. Despite vaccines, many industry…
A team led by a clinical academic at University College London (UCL) has outlined the mechanism behind rare cases of blood clots and low platelets seen in patients who have had the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. The new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, highlights the importance of rapidly spotting this new syndrome, known as vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia…
Any future attempts to reduce the spread of Covid-19 should be focused on tackling close airborne transmission of the virus which is considered to be the primary route for its circulation, according to experts. Respiratory experts argue that it is now clear that SARS-CoV-2 is most likely to transmit between people at close range through inhalation rather than through contact with surfaces or…
A new report shows how palliative and end of life care in the UK was compromised by shortages of PPE, essential medicines, and equipment, because these services were not seen as ‘frontline NHS’ in the pandemic. Better End of Life – a collaboration between Marie Curie, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, King’s College London Cicely Saunders Institute, and the University of…
Skin swab samples analysed using mass spectrometry could be used to detect Covid-19 in patients, according to research conducted at the University of Surrey in the UK. Current Covid-19 testing is via a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which involves taking a swab of the back of the throat and inside the nose, but the team from Surrey - working with Frimley NHS Trust and the Universities of…
New research has shown that results of blood tests routinely performed by GPs everywhere contain a hidden fingerprint that can identify people silently developing potentially fatal liver cirrhosis. The researchers have developed an algorithm to detect this fingerprint that could be freely installed on any clinical computer, making this a low-cost way for GPs to carry out large scale screening…
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…
It is possible to identify Parkinson’s Disease based on compounds found on the surface of skin, according to new research. The findings offer hope that a pioneering new test could be developed to diagnose the degenerative condition through a simple and painless skin swab. Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a technique which works by analysing compounds found in sebum -…
Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the NHS. The imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours. Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks at home. Traditional endoscopies mean patients need to attend hospital and have…
AI is revamping workflows and experts showed how radiologists can integrate it into their department to improve daily practice and healthcare at ECR. The panel also discussed the health economics side of AI to help radiologists define which products make more economic sense for their department. The session tackled automated organ segmentation, an interesting application for AI in radiology.
Despite Brexit uncertainties, four leading UK cancer research experts expressed optimism for continued pan-European collaboration and innovation during the online panel debate ‘Brexit deal: What it really means for cancer research and innovation’ hosted by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI).
Researchers at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust have discovered a backup natural pacemaker, which is able to generate a pulse and control the heart rate. The British Heart Foundation funded study ‘completely changes our understanding’ of the heart’s anatomy and has important implications on the work of cardiologists and heart surgeons. As part of…
Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) increases detection of breast cancer in symptomatic women under the age of 60, especially in dense breasts. A large, multi-institutional study conducted in the United Kingdom comparing the sensitivity of full-field digital mammography (FFDM), DBT, and FFDM plus DBT supports findings of two similar published studies, both conducted in China in the same time frame.
Implementation of artificial intelligence into Scotland’s national breast screening service is moving closer following an initial success with a trial project. While Scotland’s breast screening trial has delivered highs and lows, significant hurdles have been overcome in terms of approvals, governance and patient acceptance.
Advances offered by Big Data and Artificial Intelligence within the healthcare environment are opening up new opportunities for radiographers. Roles in systems development, and being part of the safeguarding aspect by ensuring machine-based bias does not take over patient management, may be performed by radiographers alongside other contributions as AI plays an increasing role in healthcare.…
Clinical audit within radiology departments can help promote high quality medical care and improve patient experience, as well as provide educational and teaching opportunities. Aiming to see consistent delivery across Europe, clinical audit is currently under the initiative ‘Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Radiotherapy, and Nuclear medicine including Therapies’. The latest project…
Scientists have used a technique to grow bile duct organoids – often referred to as ‘mini-organs’ – in the lab and shown that these can be used to repair damaged human livers. This is the first time that the technique has been used on human organs. The research paves the way for cell therapies to treat liver disease – in other words, growing ‘mini-bile ducts’ in the lab as…
Around 50% of patients who have been hospitalised with severe Covid-19 and who show raised levels of a protein called troponin have damage to their hearts. The injury was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at least a month after discharge, according to new findings published in the European Heart Journal. Damage includes inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), scarring or…
A team of researchers studying the effectiveness of different types of face masks has found that in order to provide the best protection against Covid-19, the fit of a mask is as important, or more important, than the material it is made of. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, carried out a series of different fit tests, and found that when a high-performance mask – such as an…
Researchers in Oxford have developed a machine learning algorithm that could significantly improve clinicians’ ability to identify hospitalised patients whose condition is deteriorating to the extent that they need intensive care. The HAVEN system (Hospital-wide Alerting Via Electronic Noticeboard) was developed as part of a collaboration between the University of Oxford’s Institute of…
Medics.Academy – a UK company delivering global access to medical education – and the Ethiopian Medical Women’s Association (EMeWA) have signed a partnership agreement to help women physicians in Ethiopia. The project will help EMeWA – an organisation established by female physicians in Ethiopia – to fulfil its vision to establish an excellence center for women physicians through one of…
The continuing corona virus epidemic has impacted strongly on cancer care and research, including the delay of treatments and diagnoses as well as on trials of new therapies, and the shift in research to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. However, the session ‘Cancer research and Covid-19’, during the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Virtual Showcase (online 2-3 November) looked at how UK…
Hundreds of cancer patients have benefitted from using computer algorithms to manage their symptoms and improve their wellbeing in a unique UK trial. The early stage colorectal, breast or gynecological cancer patients took part in the trial of the eRAPID system, developed by the University of Leeds, which allowed them to report online symptoms from home and receive instant advice on whether to…
Patients with acute heart failure nearly double their risk of dying if they get Covid-19, according to new research. The small, single centre study highlights the need for patients with heart failure to take extra precautions to avoid catching Covid-19. “Our results support prioritising heart failure patients for Covid-19 vaccination once it is available,” said study lead investigator Dr.…
Doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge aim to drastically cut cancer waiting times by using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate lengthy radiotherapy preparations. The AI technology, known as InnerEye, is the result of an eight-year collaboration between researchers at Cambridge-based Microsoft Research, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge.
An Artificial Intelligence test has been shown to be able to rapidly screen patients arriving in Emergency Departments for Covid-19, using clinical information routinely available within the first hour of coming to hospital. Results of the CURIAL study, published in The Lancet Digital Health, show that the AI test correctly predicted the Covid-19 status of 92.3% of patients coming to Emergency…
A senior UK health figure has highlighted how contrasting leadership approaches are impacting the response to the global coronavirus crisis. Dr Clare Gerada also fears that response is affecting health professionals and leaders within the sector, with a significant rise numbers seeking help for mental health issues. Delivering the prestigious Sir Godfrey Hounsfield Lecture to the 2020 British…
The demand for more user-friendly ways to offer long-term ECG is growing and accelerated even more due to Covid-19. New devices and service models enable high quality ECG monitoring without patients having to leave their homes.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on healthcare services but one area where that has been felt particularly deeply is with lung cancer screening. With sessions cancelled, treatment delays and social-distancing and safety requirements, many patients have been affected. However, as services begin to pick up again and lung cancer screening returns, three experts closely associated…
Overcrowding is a challenge that faces numerous hospitals across the UK. The burden of managing occupancy rates can immediately turn into a major issue that puts immense pressure on hospital staff, patients and their families alike. Studies show that when capacity rates increase above 92.5%, the death rate in hospitals can expand exponentially. It can represent one-in-seven mortalities amongst…
A new study suggests that individuals who have previously had COVID-19 are highly unlikely to contract the illness again, for at least six months following their first infection. The study, done as part of a major collaboration between the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, was published as a pre-print.
The evolving area of immunotherapies in lung cancer and the role of iRecist treatment assessment protocols were investigated during a virtual session organised by the British Institute of Radiology (BIR). Consultant radiologist Dr Charlie Sayer, specialist in lung cancer imaging at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, South of England, focused on immunotherapies, the limitations of…
A study published by The BMJ finds that machine learning models have similar performance to traditional statistical models and share similar uncertainty in making risk predictions for individual patients.
‘Mini-lungs’ grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals has provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs. Writing in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the researchers detail the mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection and the early innate immune response in the lungs.
AI in healthcare has been a trending, sometimes head-spinning topic for a few years – and, with the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians have been presented with a whole new range of AI products that may or may not meet their needs. When it comes to choosing one’s own set of tools, which criteria should prevail?
The professional perception of vitamin D as a medicine, rather than as a key nutrient, is constraining practice and jeopardising the health of elderly care home residents in England, conclude researchers in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. At a time when the vulnerability of elderly care home residents is under the spotlight because of the impact of COVID-19, an urgent review is…
Scientists have unearthed a possible link between the severity of COVID-19 and air quality. The preliminary study – looking at whether areas with higher levels of air pollutants in England are associated with a larger number of cases/deaths from COVID-19 – was conducted by a team from the University of Cambridge. Aware of the effects that air pollutants have on human health – and that…
Around 550 million people have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to two University of Manchester medical students. The figure more than doubles the previous estimate of 251 million people with the illness linked to smoking by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease Study. The University of Manchester students, Emily Hammond and Charles McDonald, made the…
A study of almost 400,000 British participants has identified a new link between raised levels of the growth factor IGF-1 and increased thyroid cancer risk and has confirmed associations with breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. This could lead to new preventative strategies, including diet and lifestyle interventions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has, for the first time, measured blood flow to the heart to help predict which patients may suffer myocardial infarction or stroke. A research team at University College London and Barts Health NHS Trust and the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in the USA – are optimistic that AI analysis of perfusion maps will be a reliable, convenient and detailed new…
Contrary to expectations, the risk of COVID-19 infection among hospital staff at the height of the coronavirus pandemic was lowest among intensive care clinicians, reveals a study of one major UK medical centre, published in the journal Thorax.
A new study has suggested that more patients could benefit from combinations of cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce their risk of stroke and heart attacks. While risk is reduced for many patients through taking statins, those at the highest risk of cardiovascular events may benefit from combinations of lipid-lowering therapies, according to the results of a European study of patients across 18…
A new procedure to correct atrial fibrillation (AF) has been performed for the first time in the UK last week at Leicester's Hospitals. AF affects 1-2% of the general population, which amounts to more than 1 million people in the UK, and increases the risk of stroke by five times. Treating the condition with medicine is often ineffective, with many patients continuing to suffer from…
Making the transition from clinician to a senior hospital management role can prove challenging. Professor Erika Denton did it – whilst also retaining some clinical responsibilities. A radiology background, Denton believes, is a major asset in making the move into high-level management. Currently the Medical Director of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) in the east of England,…
A rather unique trial in the UK currently explores the capability of dogs to detect coronavirus infections in humans with their highly sensitive noses. The researchers are asking people in England for help with the trial. Led by the ARCTEC team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in collaboration with the charity Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University, the trial…
Four stranded DNA structures – known as G-quadruplexes – have been shown to play a role in certain types of breast cancer for the first time, providing a potential new target for personalised medicine, say scientists at the University of Cambridge. In 1953, Cambridge researchers Francis Crick and James Watson co-authored a study published in the journal Nature which showed that DNA in our…
A significant number of patients reported a deterioration in their hearing when questioned eight weeks after discharge from a hospital admission for COVID-19, according to University of Manchester audiologists, in a study supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). One hundred and twenty one of the adults admitted to Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS…
A ‘pill on a string’ test can identify ten times more people with Barrett’s oesophagus than the usual GP route, a new study shows. The test, which can be carried out by a nurse in a GP surgery, is also better at picking up abnormal cells and potentially early-stage cancer. Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer in a small number of people. It’s usually…
CT has a critical role to play in management of mass casualty incidents with the ability to image patients from head to toe, offering a rapid overview for clinicians. The benefits of CT were outlined by Dr Elizabeth Dick during an ECR session examining the role of radiology in the management of mass casualty incidents, terror attacks and assaults.
The coronavirus pandemic created unprecedented upheaval and challenges within health systems, economies, and society. In hospitals, new ways of working had to evolve. Social distancing led to virtual consultations and teleradiology has found an added dimension. We asked three radiologists about the relevance of teleradiology during the epidemic, and what the future holds.
While scientists recently confirmed the crucial role contact-tracing apps play in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians are exploring which app architecture offers better privacy protection. However, there is no doubt that in Western countries such an entirely voluntary app can only be successful if the population at large supports it.
Public Health England, in partnership with the University of Oxford, recently conducted a head-to-head evaluation of four commercial immunoassay tests available in the UK and used for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
A new polymeric heart valve with a life span potentially longer than current artificial valves that would also prevent the need for the millions of patients with diseased heart valves to require life-long blood thinning tablets has been developed by scientists at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge. The team's latest in-vitro results, published in Biomaterials Science, suggest that the…
A group of senior clinical academics and physicians are concerned about the rapid roll out of COVID-19 antibody testing in England and are publicly questioning how good the tests are - or even what they mean. In a letter to The BMJ, they argue that there is currently no valid clinical reason for large scale testing, test performance has not yet been adequately assessed, and testing risks…
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…
Cardiologist Professor Martin Cowie raised an important issue on the challenges of the digitisation of cardiovascular healthcare at the ESC Congress 2019 in Paris. In his presentation, he confirmed that, within digital health transformation, the role of physician and the patient-doctor relationship will continue. However, much of the preparation may be conducted remotely.
To develop and manufacture COVID-19 test kits in massive quantities was not part of their 2020 business plans. Yet, as the epidemic evolved into a global pandemic, the urgent need for diagnostic and antibody SARS-CoV-2 test kits triggered an unprecedented scramble among medical manufacturers.
Researchers in the UK have shown that a widely available drug reduces death in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19.
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) has taken the first steps towards establishing a digital histopathology service, which will help to improve cancer care. New systems are being introduced to embrace new technology to track specimens, digitise slides and enable clinicians to analyse and report cases digitally on computers.
Early results from a study by researchers at Swansea University and The University of Manchester shows people are torn over whether they will use the COVID-19 contact tracing smartphone app planned for release in the UK. The study finds: Only one-third of people taking part said they will be downloading the app, with the rest either saying they will not be downloading it or are not yet sure;…
Researchers from the University of Surrey are applying specialist skills in mass spectrometry to assist in accelerating the search for a Covid-19 vaccine.
A British cyber security company, VST Enterprises has signed a contract with international digital health technology firm Circle Pass Enterprises (CPE), owner of ‘Covi-Pass’, to supply 50 million of its ‘digital health passports’ to 15 countries. VST was founded by tech entrepreneur Louis-James Davis to integrate its state-of-the-art VCode & VPlatform technologies into the Covi-Pass…
It is possible to implement a privacy-respecting contact tracing app that can achieve widespread adoption in the UK, but only if the NHS, rather than the government, run it, researchers at Cass Business School have found. The researchers found that adoption rates increase further if the app is linked to priority testing for COVID-19 for those who get infection alerts. They also found that the…
The COVID-19 pandemic could, over the next year, lead to a 20% rise in the number of deaths from people who have been newly diagnosed with cancer, according to research supported by DATA-CAN. The analysis is the first to focus on the impact of the emergency on mortality rates in people with cancer and uses data from the health records of over 3.5 million patients in England.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more strain on healthcare systems but it has also highlighted the necessity to integrate social care to healthcare to protect the most vulnerable populations in ageing societies, an eminent healthcare consultant told us in an exclusive interview.
Coronavirus can be identified automatically from sick patients’ lung X-rays using artificial intelligence (AI) developed at Brunel University London.
Accident and Emergency departments across the NHS have seen dramatic falls in attendances amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Senior A&E practitioners are becoming increasingly concerned that people who need to be seen for serious conditions such as suspected heart attacks are staying away – or not seeking help until much later – because they are frightened of contracting coronavirus.
To deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, the continuity of the radiology reporting activities is crucial. To guarantee this, care providers are expanding the remote reporting capabilities for their radiology teams. As part of their #StrongerTogether campaign, Agfa HealthCare demonstrates how remote and home reporting solutions can keep imaging workflows going across quarantine lines.
The UK government should look to veterinary infectious disease know-how to end the current lockdown and abandon its financially ruinous strategy to manage the Covid-19 epidemic, argue two leading vets in a trenchant critique of official policy in this week’s Vet Record.
The sunny Sunday of March 22, 2020, may well go down as a watershed date in the context of Coronavirus in the UK. A couple of days earlier, UK schools had closed en masse – open only thereafter for children of key workers – and the British government had advised that pubs, bars, cinemas, gyms and restaurants should close and people should adhere more rigorously to social distancing.
The Government and the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser have backed the UK’s leading clinicians and scientists to map how COVID-19 spreads and behaves by using whole genome sequencing. Through a £20 million investment, the consortium will look for breakthroughs that help the UK respond to this and future pandemics, and save lives. COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium - comprised of the NHS, Public…
The world’s first licensed, downloadable artificial pancreas app for people with type 1 diabetes now launched, based on over a decade of research by Professor Roman Hovorka at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The CamAPS FX app works with an insulin pump and a glucose monitor to automatically deliver insulin to people living with the condition…
Examining the safety of AI integration into clinical workflow during at the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) annual congress in London, this November, Professor Nicola Strickland focused on issues of data quantity and quality, regulation, validation and testing of algorithms. She also urged radiologists and computer scientists to work more closely together to develop safe, effective and…
Novel advanced imaging biomarkers are being developed in a series of studies at several UK centres that may lead to the earlier assessment of treatment response to glioblastoma (GBM) and a better survival rate.
A new strategy to transform imaging in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has been unveiled after a major data-gathering project to assess the present state of the service. The process will see the creation of a national strategy for imaging networks designed to deliver improved care and better value services for patients. Key to this has been ‘The Model Hospital’ concept – a digital…
Errors in breast imaging: the subject is vexing. How to avoid or address errors are also concerning. These subjects lay at the core of a presentation to radiologists during the recent annual congress of the British Institute of Radiology, when consultant radiologist Dr Rosalind Given-Wilson described the how, where, and what of errors or near misses, along with their impact on patients and…
St Helier Hospital in the London Borough of Sutton – part of the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust – has one of the largest renal medicine departments in the UK, and relies on Fujifilm SonoSite point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) systems to improve care and patient safety. Dr Pritpal Virdee, a senior registrar in the department, explained: “We have a very busy renal department…
A simple blood test coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis could help spot the signs of a brain tumour sooner in patients. Brain tumour diagnosis is difficult: patients often see their family doctor (GP) several times before referral for a scan. However, research presented at the 2019 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Glasgow last November suggests the…
Surgery for appendicitis is the most common emergency operation in children. A new study has found that the UK has the highest reported national rate of ‘normal appendicectomy,’ where children undergo surgery for suspected appendicitis but laboratory examination of the removed appendix finds it to be normal. Although most children who are misdiagnosed as having appendicitis improve without…
The need to consider a formal recommendation on early screening for lung cancer was acknowledged by the Cross Party Group for Cancer, held at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in January. Attended by over 40 people representing patients, the medical community, and the pharmaceutical industry as well as political advisers and Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Group agreed to write to the…
One of the causes of breast cancer may be inflammation triggered by harmful bacteria say researchers. Scientists say their idea – as yet unproven – is supported by the available evidence, which is that bacterial induced inflammation is linked to cancer. The paper in the journal Medical Hypotheses is by Lancaster University medical student Auday Marwaha, Professor Jim Morris from the…
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.
Researchers at Cardiff University have discovered a new type of killer T-cell that offers hope of a “one-size-fits-all” cancer therapy. T-cell therapies for cancer - where immune cells are removed, modified and returned to the patient’s blood to seek and destroy cancer cells - are the latest paradigm in cancer treatments. The most widely-used therapy, known as CAR-T, is personalised to each…
A computer algorithm has been shown to be as effective as human radiologists in spotting breast cancer from x-ray images. The international team behind the study, which includes researchers from Google Health, DeepMind, Imperial College London, the NHS and Northwestern University in the US, designed and trained an artificial intelligence (AI) model on mammography images from almost 29,000 women.…
Agfa announces that it will launch the DR 100s high-productivity, ergonomic, mobile DR imaging solution, at RSNA 2019. With a customer-driven design that meets the needs of today’s healthcare environments, the DR 100s delivers a new force in mobile imaging. It combines agility, excellent DR image quality, fast image preview and a broad range of applications, including Chest, Abdomen, Skeletal…
It’s a world’s first. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is collaborating with Amazon to provide reliable health information from the service’s website through voice-assisted technology. In a speech announcing the service, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, addressed the need for dependable information.
TomTom Telematics is helping Kent Central Ambulance Service to meet its NHS targets for patient delivery 97% of the time, following the installation of the WEBFLEET fleet management solution in June 2018. With a fleet of 28 specialised vehicles, Kent Central Ambulance Service provides non-emergency transport for high dependency patients attending hospital for outpatient clinics, operations or…
A partnership between the Royal Stoke University Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, and a UK industry-leading medical devices company have been rewarded for its use of an innovative bioelectronic technology to prevent life-threatening blood clots in acute stroke patients – winning in the category: Best use of technology (acute care), at the Building Better…
Swarms of nanoparticles which are 15,000 times smaller than a pinhead may be able to deliver vital drugs to the brain, offering new hope to patients in the early stages of a stroke. The research, carried out at The University of Manchester, shows that tiny vesicles called liposomes, just 100 nanometres in diameter can translocate through the damaged blood brain barrier following stroke. And that…
Dr Clemens Martin Auer knows ‘disruption is an ambivalent concept’. Auer is president of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), in which healthcare policy is discussed annually from a European perspective: ‘For some, disruption is the promise of necessary change whilst for others it means suspicions and fears.’ The term – a synonym for ‘transformation’ but also for…
Standardisation of robotic surgery procedures is seeing increased usage and improved outcomes for patients and could also play a role in helping with the overall well-being of surgeons in terms of, for example, ergonomic benefits that could reduce repetitive strain injury (RSI) and back conditions. Richard Kerr from the Royal College of Surgeons (England) recently chaired the RCS Commission on…
BD participated in the 5th European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) conference on preanalytical phase in Zagreb, Croatia 22–23 March 2019. At the conference, we met Mr Steve McManus, Prof Ana-Maria Simundic, EFLM conference chair, Prof Mario Plebani and Dr Alexander von Meyer, member of the EFLM conference scientific committee. Prof Simundic and Dr von Meyer…
Today is World Restart a Heart Day. That's why medical students from Cardiff University are taking part in what is expected to be the largest mass CPR training event ever conducted. Medics and other lifesavers all around the globe will teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to members of the public.
The current introduction of instant access to all patient clinical imaging and medical documentation in one picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for use throughout the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT), in Essex, UK, lies in the hands of Imaging Systems Manager and radiographer Stephen Townrow. In 2017, Townrow went to his hospital’s Board with a business case to consolidate…
A new awareness campaign launched by the National Health Service (NHS) aims to tackle the growing issue of mental disorders in the UK. 'Every Mind Matters' encourages adults to be more aware of their mental health and helps them to discover simple steps to look after their mental health and wellbeing. The campaign offers free, NHS-approved mental health resources, via the One You website, which…
A new report by researchers at King’s College London has found that the widespread practice of routine ward rounds in England, known as intentional rounding, may not be the best way for nurses to deliver care to patients. The report also found that intentional rounding makes a minor contribution, if at all, to the way nurses engage with patients. The research was commissioned and funded by the…
A trial tele-ophthalmology system pioneered by the University of Strathclyde and NHS Forth Valley, has paved the way for what's believed to be one of the world’s first tele-examinations of an eye streamed live using a 5G smart phone. The system uses a live video feed to securely connect doctors, opticians and patient through a mixture of 3-D printed technology developed at Strathclyde, and the…
To demonstrate advances in 5G connectivity for healthcare, a UK team has linked a paramedic in a simulated ambulance to a hospital-based clinician. The paramedic wore a robotic or ‘haptic’ glove, which received signals over the live 5G network. Using a joystick, the clinician remotely directed the paramedic to move the ultrasound sensor to where on the patient the clinician wanted to scan.…
The Queen Mary University of London team applied an artificial intelligence (AI) technique to analyse the heart MRI images of 17,000 healthy UK Biobank volunteers. They found that genetic factors accounted for 22-39 per cent of variation in the size and function of the heart’s left ventricle, the organ’s main pumping chamber. Enlargement and reduced pumping function of the left ventricle can…
Amid ever-growing demand for services, significant challenges face the pathology workforce in the years ahead but – there are also good opportunities. With advances in technology and the advent of artificial intelligence as a decision-making support tool, Professor Jo Martin, President Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) in the UK, believes there remain opportunities for pathology to play a…
Researchers have developed a neural network approach that can accurately identify congestive heart failure with 100% accuracy through analysis of just one raw electrocardiogram (ECG) heartbeat, a new study reports. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic progressive condition that affects the pumping power of the heart muscles. Associated with high prevalence, significant mortality rates and…
Technology developed using artificial intelligence (AI) could identify people at high risk of a fatal heart attack at least five years before it strikes, according to new research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The findings are being presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Paris and published in the European Heart Journal. Researchers at the University of…
Innovative software that allows a surgeon to view inside a patient’s heart in real time while applying treatment has been used for the first time in the UK in operations at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). University of Leicester Professor and Leicester’s Hospitals Cardiologist Andre Ng used the new technique in operations on two…
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has become faster, simpler and more widely available in recent years because it has evolved to deliver effective assessment and diagnosis of a range of heart conditions with expanding guideline indications.
A new survey will give patients, carers and members of the public the opportunity to have their say in what they think is important for future research for vascular conditions. The Vascular Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) survey, developed in partnership with the James Lind Alliance aims to identify unanswered questions about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of vascular conditions from…
On the centenary of his birth, Mark Nicholls reflects on the life and legacy of Nobel laureate Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield, the man who pioneered computed tomography. It was a discovery that came from a moment of inspiration during a country walking holiday; the idea that one could determine what was inside a box by taking X-ray readings at all angles around the object. From that, Sir Godfrey…
Adding vitamin D to wheat flour would prevent 10 million new cases of vitamin D deficiency in England and Wales over the next 90 years, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. The researchers say overhauling existing public health policy to introduce the mandatory fortification of vitamin D in wheat flour would not only be cost saving but would significantly reduce the burden on the NHS…
A pioneering European research project designed to develop new diagnostic tests to assess patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has expanded giving access to more patients. Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (LITMUS) funded by the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint undertaking, brings together clinical scientists from international…
A new study has begun to test whether broccoli and garlic can help improve prostate health. The Norfolk Accumulation of Dietary Bioactives and Prostate Cancer (ADaPt) study has been launched by researchers at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH). The study, which will take place at the NNUH-run Clinical Research Facility at the Quadram…
Women continue to lead a rather marginal existence in medicine. Although there are now more female than male medical students, professorships and directorships are almost exclusively held by men. This imbalance was addressed with the lecture series ‘Women in Focus’ at the 2019 European Congress of Radiology (ECR).
A review of evidence by researchers at King’s College London has found high levels of alcohol dependence among hospital inpatients. The researchers estimate one in five patients in the UK hospital system uses alcohol harmfully, and one in ten is alcohol dependent. Currently little is being done to screen routinely for alcohol dependence in hospitals, and services for patients with alcohol…
Cancers with the same genetic weaknesses respond differently to targeted drugs depending on the tumour type of the patient, new research reveals. The study is set to prompt changes in thinking around precision medicine—because it shows that the genetics of a patient's cancer may not always be enough to tell whether it will respond to a treatment. The researchers are already starting to design…
Vaccinating schoolboys against the potentially deadly human papillomavirus (HPV) could dramatically reduce head and neck cancers in men, according to research involving the University of Strathclyde. The two-year project studied 235 patients in Scotland with head and neck cancer and found that 78% of people with head and neck cancers were men, while HPV was present in 60% of the cancers. This…
Image analysis of prostate cancer is a challenging area for clinicians. The disease shows a low mutation burden compared to melanoma and stomach cancer, for example, making morpho-molecular correlation more difficult, and there is often very low inflammation. With the role of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in prostate cancer currently unclear – and with the advent of new approaches to prostate…
As reporting workload for pathology departments continues to rise rapidly, artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions are set to play an increasing role in daily practice. ‘I see this as the future of digital pathology,’ said histopathologist Professor David Snead at the Digital Pathology and Artificial Intelligence Congress held in London.
Hot-glue guns can be used for more than putting together cardboard furniture, home decorations, and toys. In fact, researchers at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology have developed a hot-glue gun to adhere human tissues that have been seriously injured.
The migrant population is fast growing and heterogeneous. Experts at a session held during the European Congress of Radiology (ECR 2019) concluded that radiologists can play a key role in detecting and differentiating related diseases. Migration is a growing phenomenon and has an impact on health, according to Jozef Bartovic from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Copenhagen, Denmark.…
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is widely used in hospitals across the country. However, as these systems are often shared between departments, and consultants may work at more than one hospital within a trust, there is a clear advantage to choosing instruments from a single supplier wherever possible. Jim McWilliams, Associate Director for Technical Services at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in…
Virtual reality (VR) can identify early Alzheimer’s disease more accurately than ‘gold standard’ cognitive tests currently in use, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The study highlights the potential of new technologies to help diagnose and monitor conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 525,000 people in the UK. In 2014, Professor John…
A single high dose of radiation that can be delivered directly to the tumour within a few minutes is a safe and effective technique for treating men with low risk prostate cancer, according to a study presented at the ESTRO 38 conference. Radiotherapy traditionally involves a series of lower dose treatments that take place over several days or week. The new treatment is called high dose-rate…
The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will be launching a new report by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) on introducing more automation in the NHS. As families and businesses face a 50 year high tax burden, the government has a duty to provide good value for money. The NHS is an essential service which needs to see further improvement and less money wasted.…
Scientists could help match cancer patients with no other treatment options to clinical trials with experimental medicines, by analysing the genetic faults in a sample of their blood. The researchers, funded by Cancer Research UK, The Christie Charity, AstraZeneca and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), demonstrated in their feasibility study that a blood test can be carried out…
Research has revealed that a new blood test is able to detect disease relapse up to two years earlier than imaging in patients with early-stage breast cancer. The research, carried out by the University of Leicester and Imperial College London and funded by Cancer Research UK, showed that the blood test was able to detect 89 per cent of all relapses, on average 8.9 months quicker than imaging.
The debilitating behaviours and all-consuming thoughts which affect people with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), could be significantly improved with targeted deep brain stimulation, according to the findings of a new study. OCD is characterised by unwanted intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive stereotyped behaviours (compulsions- sometimes called rituals) and often means…
NHS organisations are entering into working partnerships with drug companies, but they are not making the details, and even existence, of many of these deals available to the public, reveals an investigation by The BMJ today. These partnerships are used to support a variety of initiatives, including several projects to review the medication of people with ADHD, and more than 20 projects that…
A one-off operation that targets the nerves connected to the kidney has been found to maintain reduced blood pressure in hypertension patients for at least six months, according to the results of a clinical trial led in the UK by Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust, and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The study, published in the journal…
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.
More than a third of people with Type 2 diabetes who took part in a weight management programme delivered by the NHS through GP surgeries remain free of diabetes two years later. These latest findings of the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), funded by Diabetes UK and led by experts at Newcastle University and the University of Glasgow, were announced today at Diabetes UK’s…
Skype hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for people with severe irritable bowel syndrome, a new study has found. The study of 20 patients who had the treatment via the online communications tool was led by Professor Peter Whorwell from The University of Manchester It is published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Professor Whorwell is a gastroenterologist at…
New medical software which overlays tumour information from MRI scans onto ultrasound images is helping to improve detection of prostate cancer by guiding surgeons as they conduct biopsies. Developed at University College London (UCL), the software is deployed via a system called SmartTarget and embraces artificial intelligence (AI) to use both systems in tandem to enable surgeons to pick up…
Fabrizio d’Abate, St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in London, UK describes new aspects of learning and training in ultrasound operation: "A textbook represents the most traditional tool of a teaching arsenal. However, the IT boom and internet have transformed the way people approach different tasks in their lives, from solving a problem to acquiring knowledge. This…
Researchers have created a new machine learning software that can forecast the survival rates and response to treatments of patients with ovarian cancer. The artificial intelligence software, created by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Melbourne, has been able to predict the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer more accurately than current methods. It can also…
Radiometer Limited’s AQT90 FLEX analysers have been used in a successful trial to asses D-dimer point-of-care testing (POCT) for suspected lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The editorial piece, published in Emergency Nurse, describes a reduction in patient waiting times of up to 75%. The article, authored by Neal Aplin, Advanced Clinical Practitioner at the Great Western Hospitals NHS…
A patient at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) was the first person in the world to take part in a pioneering gene therapy trial for Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, a rare disease that causes toxic levels of ammonia to build up in the blood. Simon Smith, 45, was diagnosed with OTC deficiency as a teenager. Although he defied medical expectations by living a full life in…
Carestream Health will showcase its latest version of Vue Clinical Collaboration Platform at the HIMSS 2019 tradeshow (Booth #2741) being held February 11-15 in Orlando, Fla. The latest release of its Clinical Collaboration Platform includes a zero-footprint offering with additional modules, as well as report analytics using natural language processing (NLP) to enable data-mining of diagnostic…
Longer hours, more demanding working practices, complex cases and increased administration are taking their toll on physicians as growing numbers, across a range of specialties, report signs of burnout. All this despite technological advances such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to aid diagnosis, read and interpret images, improve workflow and enhance decision-making.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds have announced a critical milestone in going digital, by scanning every glass slide they produce. The milestone represents a major step towards achieving faster and accurate diagnosis for cancer patients in the future. The Pathology Department, located in St. James’ Hospital in Leeds, is one of the largest in the UK processing over…
Women who work intermittent night shifts and do not follow a healthy lifestyle face an especially high risk of type 2 diabetes, suggests a study published by The BMJ. The researchers found that the risk of type 2 diabetes is actually higher than simply adding the individual risks associated with unhealthy lifestyle and shift work together, indicating that combining an unhealthy lifestyle with…
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…
Virtual Reality (VR) technology is aiding trainee surgeons to practise complex procedures in a simulated setting, rather than learning skills on real patients. VR is also helping to demystify neurosurgery in that it enables medical students and patients to ‘enter’ and experience a neurosurgical operating theatre. Alex Alamri, a trainee neurosurgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust in London, UK,…
Following a report from software firm Nuance Communications that suggests technology firms should consider shadowing nurses to fully understand their workflows and inform the creation of solutions that work for them, nurses’ views on technology and data are to be consulted in a new Royal College of Nursing initiative alongside NHS Digital’s chief nurse Anne Cooper.
Royal Philips has been leading two healthcare innovation projects that will receive government investment as part of major cross-sector collaborations with the NHS, academia and industry partners from the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, delivered through United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI). A joint multi-million pound investment by government and industry partners,…
Burnout in doctors has devastating consequences on the quality of care they deliver, according to a large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis. The study, by experts at the Universities of Manchester, Keele, Leeds, Birmingham and Westminster, looks at 47 papers which together analyse the responses of 43,000 doctors. It finds that doctors with burnout are twice as likely to make mistakes,…
FUJIFILM SonoSite has recently become an Official Supplier of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB), providing point-of-care ultrasound systems to support the first-class care of riders and teams competing in the championship. The company’s robust and highly portable ultrasound systems will provide the BSB medical team with on-site imaging capabilities, complementing clinical…
Neuroscientist Lynda Chin MD, Founder and CEO of Real-world Education Detection and Intervention, has little doubt: ‘Artificial intelligence to the rescue,’ she proclaimed in her keynote address at the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Summit, held in Las Vegas this spring. ‘We need a system and analytics to interpret data!’ she urged, despite being well aware that building a…
The benefits of digital pathology have been well-documented along with the need for significant capital investment. Yet, as some pathology networks are discovering, there can be ongoing challenges to bringing an integrated system into play. Path Links – a single managed clinical pathology network operating across Lincolnshire in the east of England – and Nottingham University Hospitals in the…
Experts report that a new blood test to diagnose heart attacks could be carried out on a hand-held device in the not-too-distant future. The test, devised by a team at Kings College London, uses similar technology to the troponin test, but instead analyses cardiac myosin-binding protein C (cMyC). In research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester, UK, this June,…
A major study has been launched to investigate the interaction between genes and lifestyle factors and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Led by Professor Stuart Cook, at the National Heart and Lung Institute, this, the largest ever DCM study, will investigate why people develop DCM, with a focus on who is most at risk of sudden death or heart failure (HF). Six hospital trusts across England –…
UK doctors think Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), dubbed Brexit, will be very bad for the NHS, reveal the results of an anonymised survey of their political beliefs and voting patterns, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. As a group, they are predominantly left-wing and liberal-minded. But high earners tend to lean more to the right of the…
Researchers at the Kennedy Institute and Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, working with clinicians at NHS Lothian, have found that injection of the anti-TNF drug adalimumab into Dupuytren's disease nodules results in the reduction of the cell characteristics responsible for progression of Dupuytren's disease.
The UK urgently needs a joined up and strategic approach to the recruitment of international health professionals, argue experts in The BMJ.
The overall UK radiology equipment market spend for the six months to the end of March 2018 is down by around 30% compared to the same period in the previous year. This is according to latest figures from AXREM (the Association of Healthcare Technology Providers for Imaging, Radiotherapy and Care), which represents all the major medical imaging manufacturers active in the UK. Commenting on the…
Figures show that the rates of pathology testing are continuing to rise despite a backdrop of financial constraint within the NHS. General practitioner (GP) Dr Jessica Watson has expressed concern that some tests are being carried out for the wrong reasons – often for a non-medical purpose – and that unnecessary tests are causing increased anxiety and uncertainty rather than offering…
Brexit is bad for our health and can be prevented, argue experts in The BMJ today. Public health doctors, Mike Gill and Martin McKee, together with Mark Malloch Brown of Best for Britain and Fiona Godlee, The BMJ’s Editor in chief, say “whatever our views as individuals, or how we voted in the 2016 referendum, we can no longer escape the fact that Brexit in any form so far discussed is bad…
Schistosomiasis, a disease that is common in sub-Saharan Africa, is particularly widespread in Madagascar. The Schistosoma mansoni parasite responsible for the disease is linked to fibrotic changes in the liver which can be detected using point-of-care ultrasound.
While specific data remains limited on a possible connection between online forums and sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), this has become an area of increased focus. The subject was, for example, aired in April by one of the UK’s leading experts in the field, during the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), in Madrid. At the four-day event, Dr…
Digital bed management systems being trialled in NHS hospitals to improve patient flow are showing early signs of success. Innovations such as patient tracking and real-time location of equipment and staff to help make hospital stays more efficient are being tested at 10 sites. Project leader Bernard Quinn is particularly optimistic about technology that monitors bed availability and patient flow.
Plans to bring together University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals, have been given the green light from the trusts’ respective Boards of Directors, with the decision cleared by both Councils of Governors. The enlarged…
Health chiefs are failing to investigate a clear pattern of rising death rates and worsening health outcomes in England and Wales, argue experts in The BMJ today. Lucinda Hiam at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Danny Dorling at the University of Oxford say weekly mortality figures show 10,375 additional deaths (a rise of 12.4%) in England and Wales in the first seven…
New laws mark the biggest shake-up in data protection legislation in decades. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect across Europe on May 25. Whilst the new legislation affects a wide range of organisations and businesses, Freelance Data Privacy Consultant Darren Rose emphasises the importance of healthcare providers being ready for the change.
Laboratory networks are consolidating across the globe as they seek to deliver a more efficient and cost effective service. The latest developments on several continents were outlined at the FiLM 2018 – Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine congress held in Birmingham, UK in January. With consolidation viewed as a way to deliver economies of scale, it was a recurring theme at the congress with…
Emergency radiology is no longer a babbling field; professionalisation will bring more recognition to this young subspecialty, according to Elizabeth Dick, a London-based consultant, who will coordinate part of the new European Diploma in Emergency Radiology (EDER), the European Society of Radiology’s new tool. We interviewed the radiologist, who spoke of her daily practice and why she loves…
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.
Testing cancer drugs on miniature replicas of a patient’s tumour could help doctors tell in advance which treatments will work, a major new study reports. The exciting new technique involves growing ‘mini tumours’ from biopsy samples – and could help end reliance on trial and error in selecting cancer treatments for patients where genetic tests are not predictive of response. Researchers…
Mologic Ltd, which develops powerful, personalised diagnostics to improve the lives of patients, and Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (Fraunhofer CAP), a world-leading centre in the field of applied laser research and development, announced they are working together to develop a rapid, point-of-care test to immediately diagnose bacterial urinary tract infections (UTIs) and any associated…
Newcastle stroke experts are backing a regional campaign launched by Public Health England (PHE). The Act F.A.S.T. stroke campaign launched in the North East urges the public to call 999 if they notice even one of the signs of a stroke in themselves, or in others. Current figures show there are over 64,500 people on GP registers in the North East who have had a stroke, and in 2016 1,765 people…
LBM Bioesterel in France, Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova in Italy and Friarage Hospital in the United Kingdom are among the first laboratories to install the Atellica Solution immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzers. The trending motivators for installing the latest innovation from Siemens Healthineers include the unprecedented flexibility to automate redundant and complex procedures to simplify…
HORIBA UK Ltd, Medical announces that Thame and Marlow Community Hubs, within Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, have each recently installed HORIBA Medical’s latest point-of-care testing analyser, the Microsemi CRP. These new analysers are now streamlining existing diagnostic pathways in the community and helping to reduce local A&E admissions for frail patients. The Microsemi CRP is a…
In late 2017, NHS England released guidelines recommending that health professionals ask all patients about their sexual orientation in order to improve services for non-heterosexual patients, but should they? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today. After decades of campaigning from lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) charities, sexual orientation is now a protected characteristic that is…
Patients’ unfavourable views of hospital care in England are strongly linked to insufficient numbers of nurses on duty, rather than uncaring staff, indicates observational research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Increasing the registered nurse headcount may boost satisfaction with the quality of care, conclude the researchers, who base their findings on national survey data from…
Professor Jo Martin, the newly-appointed President of the Royal College of Pathologists in the United Kingdom, believes the National Health Service (NHS) is on the brink of embracing digital pathology more widely. A number of UK laboratories, he explained, are adopting digital pathology in histopathology – in line with some labs in Sweden and Holland, where it has become routine – and the…
A new genetic test to assess breast cancer risk in women who have a family history of the disease could be introduced into clinical practice in the UK within the next few months. Devised at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Manchester, researchers believe the test for high-risk groups could also help reduce the number of women needing to have surgery to remove…
It is of grave concern that there has been no public consultation on government plans to enable accountable care organisations (ACOs) to operate in England, say experts in The BMJ. ACOs were conceived in the US in an effort to improve care and reduce growing health care costs. They involve government and private insurers awarding large contracts to commercial providers to run and provide…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare, being able to remove the drudgery’ of routine tasks, join up fragmented care records, trigger alerts when abnormal results occur, speed-up the process of identifying clusters of patients by digging deep into electronic health records, and increase efficiency of healthcare staff resources.
A new blood test to detect heart attacks has been developed by a team of researchers at King’s College, London, which could speed up diagnosis, according to results from pan-European trials. The test is quicker than the standard test, which combines an ECG with a blood test to measure the levels of troponin. Under current guidelines, suspected heart attack cases are tested for high blood…
The Virtual Fracture Clinic (VFC) established by the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust sees patients with broken bones or soft tissue injury supported through video links and self-management methods, rather than make additional journeys to hospital for face-to-face appointments with orthopaedic consultants.
Overcrowding in healthcare systems has become a worldwide phenomenon with regional influences related to the different healthcare structures in different countries. A recent BBC analysis (February 2017) showed that overcrowding afflicted 9 out of 10 NHS hospitals this winter, with 23 declaring ‘black alerts’, as other European hospitals face similar ‘care crises’, especially member states…
New technology being deployed across the NHS in central England is helping to deliver more secure mobile systems for healthcare professionals. The partnership between Toshiba and the Birmingham CrossCity Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is bringing the work of health and social care organisations closer together. One of the initiatives planned for the Birmingham area is the introduction of…
Among the earliest centres to embrace the concept of digital pathology, the Leeds Digital Pathology Project began in 2003 thanks to a Department of Health grant. Today the centre is Europe’s largest.
Scientists in the United Kingdom are investigating the potential of a new regenerative and tissue engineering technique that could transform veins into arteries to improve the outcomes for patients undergoing heart bypass surgery.
Antimicrobial resistance mortality is set to surpass cancer and traffic-related deaths by 2050, according to the UK National Health Service (NHS).
A recent Medical Imaging Equipment Age Profile report from AXREM provides worrying reading. The report highlights the continuing increase in the age of the installed base of medical imaging equipment across the United Kingdom.
A health authority in England has sparked a major debate within the NHS after suggesting that obese patients and smokers could be refused surgery to help save Money.
A pioneering diagnostic device identifies more abnormal cells on the cervix than standard colposcopy, according to data published in two European clinical papers.
Billy Boyle, Founder and CEO of Owlstone Medical, a diagnostics company developing a breathalyzer for disease, is to be awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s prestigious Silver Medal. The award recognizes engineer Billy’s work in spearheading the development of the company’s Breath Biopsy platform and driving a vision to save 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs.
Led by six globally-recognised experts in cancer care, the organisation known as CHILL, Cancer-related Hair Loss, International Leadership and Linkage, announced today an initiative to collect and track evidence-based patient information and clinical guidance. Data will be used to establish clinical best practices to ensure maximum effectiveness of scalp cooling to minimise chemotherapy-induced…
The Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI) has become the first UK Life Sciences industry association to create a bespoke membership offering for international companies. The unique programme will help drive growth and investment in the UK.
‘The literature on hand washing, while extensive, often contains conflicting data, and key variables are only superficially studied, or not studied at all. Some hand washing recommendations are made without scientific support, and agreement between recommendations is limited,’ explained Professor Donald W Schaffner at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, who has led a team of researchers to…
The future of the National Health Service is under threat unless action is taken to address critical issues, according to members of the UK’s House of Lords.
Clinicians and researchers in Southampton are leading a pioneering study into the use of computer-generated hand models to help improve the success of joint surgery for patients with arthritis.
The global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack had a particularly acute impact on health services across the UK. Mark Nicholls looks at how the NHS was left vulnerable to the WannaCry cyberattack. While affecting computers across the world – from Russia to the US – NHS hospitals were forced to cancel routine surgery and GP appointments as systems were affected by the cyberattack or were…
Tens of thousands of "ransomware" attacks have targeted organizations around the world on March 12. The hackers locked down particular files on a computer and asked the computer's administrator for a payment in order to regain control of them. Groups hit included hospitals in the UK that had to cancel outpatient appointments.
Dr Krishna Chinthapalli, a neurology registrar at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, describes how a virus - or “ransomware” - infected and locked computers at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles hospital in February 2016.
A simple eye test could help solve the biggest global cause of irreversible blindness, glaucoma. In clinical trials, the pioneering diagnostic test - developed by researchers at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and the Western Eye Hospital - allowed doctors to see individual nerve cell death in the back of the eye.
British NHS organisations are obliged by law to report people it fears at risk of becoming terrorists under the Prevent strategy - part of the UK government’s counterterrorism plan aimed at stopping people becoming terrorists. But new data collected by The BMJ has uncovered low levels of referrals to Prevent since the duty took hold, suggesting that it is having little impact in the NHS.
Repeated infection with the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), which causes stomach upsets and diarrhoea, is linked to higher death rates, as well as having a significant impact on health services in terms of cost and hospital beds occupied. This issue will be adressed in two presentations at the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID),…
The UK’s first dedicated emergency department sepsis team has been set up in one of the country’s leading hospitals. Leicester Hospital’s created the team to recognise and manage sepsis. The key aim is to strengthen the response, in a timely manner, to sepsis cases admitted to the emergency department or to identify rapidly any patients who deteriorate within the unit.
Medical laboratories must be pro-active if they are to meet the new challenges being presented to the sector globally, according to Dr William Morice from the renowned Mayo Clinic in America.
The British government has pledged to increase the number of places available at United Kingdom medical schools by 25 per cent by 2018 in a bid to boost the number of home-grown doctors within the National Health Service (NHS).
Leading clinicians, scientists, academics and crossbench peers have urged a radical rethink of the approach to health in the United Kingdom.
Digital mobile X-ray systems equipped with a Flat Panel Detector (FPD) are used to examine patients during hospital rounds and for urgent cases in A&E and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Leading medical equipment manufacturer Shimadzu (www.shimadzu-medical.eu) reports that its new MobileDaRt Evolution MX7 digital mobile X-ray systems provide ultra-modern and extensive mobile digital…
It is a collaboration that could push vascular imaging to a new level.
A number of organisations within healthcare remain at risk of leaving systems vulnerable by failing to ensure there is a broad range of protection in place to safeguard data from hackers or cyber attack.
Is it time for a dedicated (hypothecated) tax to fund the NHS, asks The BMJ in a debate article? A dedicated tax is the only way that we can be sure the government is reflecting public wishes, argues Richard Layard, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics.
Older patients who see the same general practitioner over time experience fewer avoidable admissions to hospital for certain conditions, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
A leading British medical organisation has issued a hard-hitting report that paints ‘a grim picture’ of the National Health Service (NHS).
The British decision to leave the European Union was and still is constantly discussed. Thinking about the consequences leaves more open questions than answers.
The ability to digitise results from patient samples has been one of the key enabling technologies that make personalised medicine possible now, says Dr Fiona Carragher, the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England.
Pathology services in the UK are struggling to cope with the increasing number of patient samples that need to be tested, according to a Cancer Research UK report* published today.
Big Data sits at the heart of addressing the challenges that will lead to a more sustainable health and social care system. Hospitals and health systems must embrace a Big Data approach if they are to deliver better care for patients according to Dr Mark Davies, Medical Director of healthcare analytics company MedeAnalytics. Report: Mark Nicholls
Wearable monitoring devices are offering patients the chance to play a greater and more active role in their own healthcare. They are alerting physicians and carers when a patient may be unwell, or their condition needs closely monitoring, and they have potential to improve the accuracy of findings within clinical trials. Report: Mark Nicholls
How to cut the high cost of cancer drugs engendered high interest at the recent Forum on Hospital Management held in Vienna.
A European health consortium is developing a set of low radiation, low cost, flat panel X-ray detectors that use novel photonics technology to make diagnosis safer for patients, hospital and dental staff, generating some of the highest resolution images ever seen in rapid moving body functions, such as malicious growths or the beating heart of a baby.
‘Amputation v. reconstruction’ – a vital issue – was debated by two leading surgeons during the Microsurgical Lower Limb Reconstruction session at the Advances and Controversies in Reconstructive Microsurgery (ACRM) 2016 conference, held in the United Kingdom this May. Consultant Plastic Surgeon Umraz Khan, from North Bristol NHS Trust presented a plastic surgeon’s view, while Ben…
Radical steps have been taken to address a growing financial crisis facing hospitals across England. Under new rulings, NHS England will allow the worst affected hospitals to relax critical performance indicators, such as waiting time targets, as the NHS financial crisis deepens. Report: Mark Nicholls
Two new studies have focused on the impact of weekend care and discharge on heart patients within the NHS in England. In one, patients suffering atrial fibrillation (AF) who were admitted to a National Health Service (NHS) hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying within five years than patients admitted during normal hours.
MRI increasingly helps to diagnose cardiac disease, yet its role in clinical decision-making of acutely hospitalised patients has hardly been explored.
Cardiologists have highlighted the importance of all imaging modalities – including echocardiography and cardiac CT – to evaluate prosthetic heart valves in a new series of recommendations. AF-patients who were admitted to an NHS hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying over the next five years than others.
Rectal cancer surgery - using a Da Vinci robot and conducted by Tas Qureshi, Consultant Surgeon and robotic lead at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - was beamed live from his operating theatre by satellite to an international conference of specialist doctors, student doctors and to a worldwide audience via multimedia platforms with live audio and twitter feedback.
A largely stunned nation now asks what will happen to its beloved NHS and the EU medical professionals who are here to support it.
England’s NHS has received an advanced medical imaging and genomic data integration platform from a global healthcare information systems specialist.
The development of a healthcare IT infrastructure in European hospitals faces two major hurdles, Ben Giese reports: ‘contradictory return on investment (ROI) reports and the unquantifiable risk of security breaches’.
A debate has flared up across the United Kingdom over which genre of music should be played in the operating theatre during surgery. Amid claims that loud music can be distracting to some surgical personnel, questions have also been posed as to who should choose the music – the head surgeon or nurse? How loud it should be played, or should music is permissible in the operating theatre (OT) at…
John Herman, European Marketing Manager of Sony Healthcare Solutions, explains the potential of 3-D and 4K technologies in medicine.
Quality Control is our passion and with more than 30 years' experience developing QC for the in vitro diagnostics market we believe in producing high quality material that can help streamline procedures, whilst saving money for laboratories of all sizes and budgets. These qualities have been reflected in our RIQAS External Quality Assessment (EQA) programmes which, as outlined in Case Study 1,…
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Bath, and The BMJ, show how NHS England, unable to budget for broad access to these drugs, tried to alter the outcome of the NICE process, and when it failed, defied NICE’s authority by rationing access to them.
Bed blocking is a major problem within NHS hospitals across the UK, with thousands of patients sitting in hospital beds facing a ‘delayed discharge’ until the necessary next stage of their care becomes available. A delay may be non-availability of a temporary or permanent space in a residential home, or rehabilitation unit, or a smaller community hospital, or lack of a supportive care package…
A ‘technology’ project to modernise healthcare for patients with long- term medical conditions is being trialled in the United Kingdom in seven ‘test bed’ initiatives. Test Beds, a term used to describe a technology project resulting from collaborations between the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and international innovators, aims to harness technology to address issues facing…
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust) has awarded Siemens Healthineers a cooperation contract worth around €50 million. The Trust is an integrated care organization which is responsible for the care of 530,000 local people in the midwest of UK. For a contract life-time of 10 years, Siemens will provide four hospital sites with a comprehensive suite of management services…
Today, The BMJ has decided to come out and state that the UK should remain in the European Union. “Some readers may wonder why The BMJ is intervening in a political debate,” say the editors. “We think this issue transcends politics and has such huge ramifications for health and society that it is important to state our case.”
North West EHealth announced that its unique Linked Database System technology was used to deliver the world’s first digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in the ground-breaking Salford Lung Study* (SLS). The study relied on bespoke software, developed by NorthWest EHealth and securely hosted within the NHS network, that integrated the electronic medical records of consented…
Whilst digital pathology has the potential to deliver more precise diagnostics, there remain a number of barriers to its widespread implementation.
A UK-based neuropathologist has highlighted how the digitisation of pathology will play a pivotal role in taking patient care on to a new and more efficient level. Speaking in a recent Webinar under the heading The Adoption and Benefits of Digital Pathology for Primary Diagnosis, Dr Daniel du Plessis also noted how the digital era would raise the profile of pathology and ‘bring it out of the…
European countries must stop denying migrants their fundamental right to healthcare, argues a doctor in The BMJ today. Europe is experiencing the largest mass migration of people since the Second World War, according to estimates from the Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Researchers have found that a combination of chemotherapy and modern radiotherapy can benefit patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer – a cancer that starts at the back of the nose. These cancers are very rare in the UK and so modern treatments had not been previously studied in patients with advanced disease.
Head and neck cancer patients may no longer have to undergo invasive post-treatment surgery to remove remaining cancer cells, as research shows that innovative scanning-led surveillance can help identify the need for, and guidance of, neck dissection. The study from the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire used advanced imaging to identify…
A unique pilot project to promote entry into professional life in Germany for refugees with a medical background might counteract the acute shortage of qualified employees in healthcare. The programme is scheduled to start this spring.
A research team from the University of Liverpool has reached an important milestone towards creating a urine diagnostic test for prostate cancer that could mean that invasive diagnostic procedures that men currently undergo eventually become a thing of the past.
A higher nurse to patient ratio is linked to a reduced risk of inpatient death, finds a study of staffing levels in NHS hospitals, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
A new way of using MRI scanners to look for evidence of multiple sclerosis in the brain has been successfully tested by researchers at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Post mortems are now rarely carried out within UK hospitals – according to a study that examined all acute NHS Trusts within England, NHS Boards in Scotland and Wales and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, and found that the process has disappeared completely in around a quarter (23%) of NHS trusts. In 2013, the average autopsy rate (percentage of adult in-patient deaths that undergo…
Last week during the United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change, health system representatives from around the world have gathered in Paris to announce a series of commitments to reduce carbon emissions and exert leadership to combat climate change.
Many Western countries including England and the United States have come to rely on nurses trained abroad in times of nurse shortages. Yet little is known about how such practices affect quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Astellas Pharma EMEA today announced that it will host the Antimicrobial Resistance in Europe: Innovating Today to Protect our Health Tomorrow debate at the Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels, on 3rd December, 2015. The event will convene leading scientists and economists from across Europe to discuss how policy-level innovation can address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the single greatest…
New studies reveal the heightened risk of death that patients face if admitted to hospital over a weekend. Researchers have studied what effect the day of hospital admission has on death rates across England in 2013-2014, as well as on hospitals in other countries, such as Australia, the USA and The Netherlands. Report: Mark Nicholls
Around 25 treatments for seriously ill patients with specific cancers listed on England’s National Health Service’s Cancer Drug Fund are to be removed. This large change is likely to affect patients with cancers of the breast, bowel, prostate, blood, upper gastrointestine, brain and central nervous system, as well as gynaecological cases. Report: Mark Nicholls
With 3-D printing revolutionising manufacturing, its healthcare potential is being explored for medical devices, prosthetics, dentistry and drug development. One area under the spotlight is the creation of artificial muscles using a 3-D printing system. Dr Fergal Coulter, who has played an important role in helping develop the technique, outlined the manufacturing process, which he invented for…
Agfa HealthCare announces that it has been selected as one of the approved suppliers in the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) Healthcare Clinical Information Systems Framework. This four-year, £1.25 billion framework - which can be extended by an additional two years - speeds up and simplifies the healthcare IT systems tender process for healthcare providers.
During a session focused on innovations in cardiovascular imaging, at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference (Manchester in June), Professor Dudley Pennell, Director of the Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Unit, and Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, outlined the background to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
As new cardiac genetic testing panels become available, cardiologists have been warned not to lose sight of the importance of comprehensive clinical evaluation. While genetic testing is helping to identify more people at risk of inherited conditions, experts stress they are only part of the diagnostic toolkit.
The role transthoracic echocardiography plays in a number of common clinical scenarios was discussed by leading cardiac imaging experts at this year’s British Cardiovascular Society Conference.
A ground-breaking genetic testing programme for an inherited and potentially-deadly high cholesterol condition has been extended to more United Kingdom health trusts.
NHS trusts under the most serious financial pressures are the least likely to be able to terminate expensive private sector deals, warns an expert in The BMJ this week.
Fostering a collaborative way of working won the UK’s Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust recognition as an elite public sector healthcare employer, recently judged one of the top 100 ‘Best Places to Work’. The trust, led by chief executive Susan Acott, has created an energy-driven, patient-focused culture within the hospital, reflected by staff at all levels. This has been the driving force…
Researchers from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Biomedical Science discovered the ultrasound transmits a vibration through the skin and wakes up cells in wounds helping to stimulate and accelerate the healing process.
A growing number of clinical tests are being delivered in community hospitals with more patients receiving quicker, accurate diagnoses closer to home, without stays in acute hospital beds. Professor Daniel Lasserson, an Associate Professor in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University, shares the opinion that using point-of-caretesting (POCT) to facilitate high…
Following up on European Hospital’s page one report (Issue 2: Cut prescriptions… Choose treatments wisely!) EH reports that the United Kingdom has also launched the campaign to help. Report: Mark Nicholls
Clinical trials are under way at two NHS hospitals in England to assess breathalyser technology to detect lung cancer. Phase I clinical trials of a diagnostic breathalyser developed by Cambridge-based Owlstone Ltd have shown accurate identification of 12 lung cancer biomarkers in breath specimens. A Phase II trial is now targeting development of a small, handheld device that can be used in GP…
New figures for the UK’s key National Health Service (NHS) Trusts have revealed their total deficit of more than €1.1 billion for the year 2014-15. This rise on the previous year’s deficit of €160m comes against a backdrop of health authorities being required to find ‘efficiency savings’ of almost €1.4bn over the last five years. The NHS was also a major issue in the recent UK…
Since 2009, as part of diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship strategies, Hampshire Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust has used serum procalcitonin (PCT) – an innovative and highly specific marker to diagnose clinically relevant bacterial infections and sepsis. Report: Mark Nicholls
Many NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom have established Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinics (RACPC) to work in tandem with them in offering primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) – the gold standard treatment for heart attacks – 24 hours a day. Report: Mark Nicholls
The UK pathology sector faces numerous challenges as it strives to create a future medical laboratory workforce. As in many divisions of the National Health Service (NHS), this area has an ageing population yet must evolve against a backdrop of fast-developing technologies, emerging science, financial constraints and the challenge of working in tandem with the private sector. Report: Mark…
The proposed EU draft IVD regulation looks set to have major implications for IVD manufacturers and laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Replacing a current system that is inflexible, unresponsive and does not effectively protect patients, the new regulation will apply directly to all 28 EU countries and govern the manufacture and marketing of in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs).
It’s thumbs up for Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics’ Aptio Automation, following a two-year deployment by Dundee-based National Health Service (NHS) Dundee, the first north European healthcare organisation to use the system to consolidate formerly siloed biochemistry, immunology, haematology and haemostasis testing onto a single automation track.
Given the increasing focus on telehealth and telecare services aimed at improving long-term patients’ living conditions and save costs, numerous pilots in various countries have been conducted for proof of concept purposes. Among these, the United Kingdom’s ‘Whole System Demonstrator’ (WSD) programme is the largest randomised controlled trial. Set up by the English National Health Service…
PET scanners are not the only way to image radiotracers. Recent work developed around a phenomenon called Cerenkov luminescence aims to bring a new modality out of preclinical development and into clinical practice.
Delegates were asked an increasingly vital question during ECR 2015: do they rather want to be imagers or doctors? “This will probably be one of the most interesting sessions of this meeting and, after this congress, maybe even your career,” said Jim Reekers, professor of interventional radiology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as he kick started the eponymous Professional…
Researchers from the University's Institute of Population Health studied reports voluntarily submitted by dermatologists to a national database which is run by the University (THOR), between 1996 and 2012. Sixty percent of eligible UK dermatologists used this database which is designed to report skin problems caused or aggravated by work.
Sucking up blood spilt during a major surgical procedure, or drained from a heart-lung machine after surgery, the Hemosep cell concentration system has a blood bag that uses a chemical sponge technology and mechanical agitator to filter red and white blood cells and platelets through a plastic membrane so that they can then be returned to the patient by intravenous transfusion. Report: Mark…
A third of NHS contracts have been awarded to private sector providers since the Health and Social Care Act came into force, finds an investigation by The BMJ today. The report examines the reality behind the claims of widespread NHS privatisation
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued strict new guidelines on safe nurse staffing levels to all hospitals. Report: Mark Nicholls
'We desperately need a ‘no treatment’ trial for DCIS', says Clive Wells, Chairman of the European Working Group on Breast Cancer Pathology, and London Regional Co-ordinator for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) National Breast Cancer Screening Programme. Interview: Frank Swain
A new study concludes that jet air and warm air hand driers have a greater potential to contaminate washrooms by spreading bacteria into the air and onto users and bystanders. The findings have significant implications for infection control health professionals and purchasing managers responsible for equipping hospital washrooms.
A first of its kind expert consensus report on Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), contributed to by more than 1,000 healthcare professionals across Europe, has been presented today at the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) International Congress in Lyon, France. The consensus report aimed to identify a set of expert views on CDI management, in order to determine attitudes to diagnosis,…
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.
Might spatial atmosphere play a key role in patient recoveries – or are the expertise of doctors and nurses and exquisite medical equipment the only important issues in healing? Report: Bettina Döbereiner
Barmer GEK, Germany’s second largest statutory health insurer, is covering the expense of a web-based stimulation therapy developed by Caterna Vision GmbH, a spin-off from the University of Dresden. Report: Cornelia Wels-Maug
Research being conducted in the United Kingdom is focusing on techniques to help improve the weaning process for patients coming off mechanical ventilation in hospital intensive care units. Report: Mark Nicholls
Accident and Emergency (A&E) teams play a key role in identifying patients with sepsis, followed by risk stratification for severe sepsis and septic shock, initiating resuscitation and treatment, and ensuring the correct onward management of patients identified with sepsis. Report: Mark Nicholls
Dr Alex Horton, Consultant Radiologist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, discusses how the latest development in point-of-care ultrasound systems, SonoSite’s X-Porte™ Ultrasound Kiosk, combines good image quality and robustness in a way that is ideal for use in the interventional radiology suite.
Considerable literature finds greater cost efficiency under private provision of cleaning services in hospitals. Since the 1980’s the private sector has increasingly provided public services based on the argument that this would increase efficiency through competition.
The University Medical Center in Utrecht (UMCU), The Netherlands, is in the process of creating a multidisciplinary centre of excellence, able to manage resources efficiently while delivering the highest level of patient care and clinical research.
In uncomplicated stable angina cases no evidence suggests that angioplasty reduces heart attacks or death risks, Mark Nicholls reports
A hospital with a reputation for trailblazing heart surgery has taken transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) onto the next step in the UK.
UK scientists are developing a hand-held testing device for use at the point of care and provide a disease diagnosis on the same day.
Efforts to unify training and certification, a regulatory environment conducive to innovation and a growing bank of clinical evidence for key procedures, is helping interventional radiology (IR) to move to a new level.
Smoking prevalence is 50% higher in this group; Researchers say that more effort is needed to help them quit.
The survival of premature newborns in England is 30% higher in specialist units treating large numbers of neonates, reveals an analysis of national data published in the online journal BMJ Open.
More than four million people acquire a healthcare associated infection (HAI) in the European Union (EU) annually; of these 37,000 die as a direct consequence of the infection, according to a European Centre for Disease Control 2008 estimate.
The UK’s first Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is on target to open for the first patients in 2015.
Pointing out that it is unacceptable that some 300,000 people become adversely infected while being in the care of the UK’s National Health Service every year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care, has launched a new set of quality standards.
Scientists in the UK are working to develop a hand-held testing device to provide same day diagnosis from a patient’s bedside. The device will use disposable cartridges and utilise printed circuit board technology (PCB) that will allow a fast and low-cost diagnosis.
A Birmingham hospital trust is to lead a major research study over concerns that one of the commonest sexually transmitted infections is becoming resistant to current treatment.
Coping with the side effects of chemotherapy treatment is challenging for people with cancer. When fatigued or nauseous, it is not easy to assess if these conditions are acceptable treatment side effects or require medical assistance.
The Spanish National Health System is organised following the principles of universal coverage and solidarity, to ensure equal access to healthcare services for all citizens.
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.
A disposable vital signs monitoring system no bigger than a plaster was today hailed a “game changer" by a leading hospital medic ahead of its UK rollout.
UK retail ‘star’ to examine the healthcare sector. Sweet Valentine’s Day, when the government’s Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt described Sir Stuart Rose, former Executive Chairman (2004-2011) of the British fashion, food and furnishings chain stores Marks & Spencer (M&S) as ‘…one of the country’s most inspirational leaders’.
Patients in intensive care units in hospitals across the UK are benefiting from a combination of new techniques and technology with changes in clinical practice that help to dramatically cut incidences of infection.
Healthcare is undergoing a major change set to offer a real prospect of far more genetically targeted treatments, according a leading human geneticist Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University, England.
Ageing populations, struggling healthcare systems, medical staff shortages, rising costs – all are well recognised. Thus telemedicine, dubbed the ‘gold rush of the 21st century’ earlier in the year by Jonathan D Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), is gaining momentum.
The properties of copper in helping prevent nosocomial infections were debated this October at the Infection Prevention 2013 conference, when Professor Tom Elliott, Consultant Microbiologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, addressed the question: ‘Can the use of copper help prevent infection?’
A Technology Strategy and Roadmap to plot the course of IT within the National Health Service (NHS) over the next few years was unveiled recently by NHS England.
Virtual observation of patients taking prescribed TB medication could prove an effective technique to ensure they effectively complete their treatment course, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress held in Barcelona.
After acknowledging that too many patients were developing hospital-acquired decubitus ulcers (also known as pressure ulcers or bedsores), staff at England’s Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust adopted a zero tolerance approach and prioritised action against bedsore development, which has resulted in a dramatic decrease in cases.
This year a further one in six of England’s hospitals started to offer patients the choice of ‘self-funding’ for treatments and services that are subject to restrictions or long NHS waiting times. These include IVF treatment, cataract surgery, varicose veins, carpal tunnel syndrome therapy and hernia repair.
United Kingdom – The Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Radiologists and the Society and College of Radiographers have worked together on recommendations that outline improvements for patients by ensuring that timely and appropriate medical imaging services are provided to them and their referring doctors.
Managed Equipment Service (MES) contracts have the potential to transform equipment-supply financing for healthcare, according to Siemens Financial Services’ Ulrich Stark, Head of Debt Origination for Healthcare in EMEA, and Anthony Casciano, CEO of Project, Structured & Leveraged Finance Healthcare
With the effectiveness of ‘tumour board review’ in the USA questioned in a 2012 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mark Nicholls sought the opinion of UK-based consultant urological surgeon Ben Challacombe
A taskforce has been set up in England after it emerged that more than 750 patients had suffered as a result of serious preventable mistakes in hospitals over the past four years.
It’s no secret that NHS procurement is more often than not a complex and slow process but Helen Parslow, director of business development EMEA at Harris Healthcare talks of her recent experiences and says that it doesn’t have to be that way.
The “Nicholson challenge" is a set of mandates put forth by the England’s NHS leader Sir David Nicholson. It aims at identifying, and tapping, efficiency potentials in the service.
A major new cutting edge radiotherapy treatment will be available in the UK thanks to £250 million of government funding to build two new facilities in Manchester and London, Public Health Minister Anna Soubry confirmed on August, 1.
Statistics behind the headlines: Have there been 13,000 needless deaths at 14 NHS trusts?
A group of nurses from across the country have attended the first ever nutrition study event in Birmingham aimed at providing vital training around the feeding of patients through tubes.
The Norwegian Health Directorate has selected FairWarning Patient Privacy Monitoring solution as an integral part of the national roll out of the Norwegian Summary Care Record (SCR).
Run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new automated Medical Laboratory at the Northern General Hospital has drawn a previously fragmented service into a purpose-built centre.
Figure includes growing number of NHS hospitals offering patients the choice of a new private care option to “self fund” treatments at cut-price rates
Research using an analytical health economics model has suggested the current system of screening within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is only moderately likely to be cost effective.
Israel - Researchers are using breath-test technology to detect volatile organic compounds to tell whether a patient has stomach cancer.
A UK study has highlighted the issue of patients waking up from a general anaesthetic while undergoing surgery. The research, which questioned more than 7,100 consultant anaesthetists, revealed that there was about one episode of accidental awareness in every 15,000 general anaesthetics cases in the three million UK operations in 2011.
The NHS has to overcome people’s ‘status-quo bias’ if it is to increase the number of screenings for bowel cancer.
The second Management in Radiology session at this year’s ECR focussed on challenges for radiology coming from telemedicine, eHealth, appropriateness, and safety issues.
Mark Nicholls discovers how a CT scan at a British hospital played a critical role in identifying the long-lost remains of a 15th Century English king
‘This is a dramatic demonstration that medical genomics is no longer a technology of the future – it is a technology of the here and now' Report: Mark Nicholls
Julian Baines, Group CEO of EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc, considers the present role of point of-care tests and their potential value to health services
Aspects of new healthcare legislation are causing concern among medical laboratory experts in the United Kingdom – including the lack of future funding for innovation and development under a new reimbursement model, little appetite to quantify the cost effectiveness of laboratory testing, reduced staffing and a shift in emphasis that will see the need to make profit over-ride initiative and…
Whether it was a constitution of sorts writ on cavernous rock at the dawn of mankind no one knows. What is clear is that since the inception of the first rudimentary societies the male always expected to rule and the female to follow and obey.
A record number of liver transplants have been carried out by the Birmingham Liver Teams at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The formation of the National Institute for Health Research has made the field vastly stronger and the country is now placed second only to the USA, reports Mark Nicholls
Patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are already seeing the benefits of hourly nurse rounds, which are expected to be rolled out nationwide, under plans announced by the Government on January, 4. to improve standards of care.
Significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare as well as better access to it: that’s what we expect from electronic health records (EHRs). However, their developers have recently suffered a number of setbacks.
It seems medical records are too serious to be left to patients. Across hundreds of European e-health projects, the heavy spending in health information technology goes to building an electronic health record (EHR) that can be shared among health professionals.
Procedures, financing and cultural philosophies can shape the difference, Michael Reiter, Mark Nicholls, Eduardo de la Sota, Jane MacDougall report
With growing bed shortages and increased demand on clinical services, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) says that the country’s National Health Service (NHS) is approaching the point where acute care cannot keep pace in its current form, Mark Nicholls reports
As other countries tumble by the wayside, Austria bravely battles on.
Nine British hospitals are working with National Health Service (NHS) Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on an electronic reporting pilot that may offer quicker access to patient test results and data.
Siemens platform provides tracking, biochemistry, haematology, serology and coagulation services in a single automated laboratory solution
Surgeons at a leading UK hospital are pioneering robotic endovascular surgery to treat patients with complex conditions.
Even mild perioperative hypothermia can have significant effects on rates of surgical site infections (SSIs), morbid myocardial outcomes, blood loss and transfusion requirements, altering the response to drugs, extending recovery rates, hospital stay and patient discomfort.
The world’s first point-of-care wound test, unveiled last November at the Wounds UK conference, is now used by the National Health Service (NHS) -- and internationally.
Could bone marrow cells prolong life? Recruitment of 3,000 patients will begin across the EU later this year for the BAMI (Bone Marrow Cells in Acute Myocardial Infarction) study, which will test whether stem cells taken from bone marrow and administered after a heart attack will prolong life. Mark Nicholls reports
The storage and retrieval of an ever increasing volume of imaging data is raising hospital IT managers’ interest in sharing computing resources via the Internet, thus saving on storage space, hardware and software costs and concerns over data security. Mark Nicholls spoke with Saskia Groeneveld, Carestream’s Regional Marketing Manager (Healthcare Information Solutions), about the company’s…
NHSScotland has selected the international IT services company Atos, in partnership with IMAGE Information Systems, to support the roll-out of a new national screening program’s IT system for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). Currently, there is no existing vascular screening system worldwide.
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics launched Aptio™ Automation¹, the company’s next generation laboratory automation platform, at the 2012 AACC and ASCLS Annual Meetings and Clinical Lab Expo in Los Angeles, July 15 – 19 (Booth #1701). Aptio Automation promises to transform laboratory operations by combining Siemens’ industry-leading workflow expertise with peak performance, adaptability and…
Britain’s many new hospitals are more than brave architectural statements – they consistently win awards, inspire others and, above all, improve life for all who use them. Now another stunning creation is about to rise. Despite beginning life as a workhouse for the poor, and having to grow in bleak, outdated buildings, in its near 100- year history Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool…
Around 20,000 people become major trauma victims every year in England. Studies have shown that Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) with dedicated personnel and specialist equipment save more lives and reduce the risk of serious disability. Thus, to offer such victims better chances of survival, a new network of 22 MTCs has been established across the country to provide centralised care, with experts…
Hospital infection control specialists from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are travelling to Liverpool to learn how an English hospital Trust has become a world leader in infection prevention and control, Mark Nicholls reports
Scientists in Scotland have developed a new test using a strip with electrical sensors that can show whether wounds or lesions have been infected with bacteria, including MRSA, Mark Nicholls reports. The hand-held test provides rapid results and allows almost immediate detection of bacteria, which means patients can be given more effective drugs much quicker and speed up their recovery.
“This is breaking news, which just happens to coincide with the ESTI meeting,” said David Hansell MD, who will present a preview of the as-yet unpublished update to the ATS/ERS classification for idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP).
Suspicion of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a pregnant patient will quickly bring a radiologist to a choice, where the next step holds potentially significant consequences for both the mother and unborn child.
Imaging of the chest is the most common radiological examination worldwide. With the incidence of respiratory problems and lung cancer growing, all radiologists should be familiar with the appropriate imaging protocols. In a field dominated by chest x-ray (CXR) and CT, controlling radiation dose is mandatory.
A new report from Siemens Financial Services (SFS) shows that annual growth rates for global medical equipment leasing and renting have now outstripped growth in the medical device market as a whole. The global medical leasing market is currently expanding at a rate of 6.50%, outpacing the 4.98% growth rate of the global medical device market.
A new survey brings fresh insight into radiologists’ thoughts on teleradiology in Europe. Conducted by radiologist Dr Erik Ranschaert from the Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Den Bosch, The Netherlands, the findings were presented in March to a Special Focus Session at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna. Mark Nicholls reports.
Speaking at the ESR meets Radiation Oncologists session, Dr Gina Brown (Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London) emphasised that radiologists’ input is critical in treatment and surgical decisions and that radiologists, oncologists and surgeons should work more closely in the planning and delivery of treatment and surgery for the overall benefit and long-term well-being of rectal cancer…
Cuts in pharmaceuticals spending, doctors’ jobs threats, A&E closures, non-payments to medical suppliers – can a new government save their country and its NHS by massive stringency and tax hikes? Our correspondent Dr Eduardo de la Sota Guimón reports.
Professor Timothy Evans, a leading intensive care specialist believes regionalising critical care into major centres across England and Wales is an ‘inevitable step’ as the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) seeks to make the best use of resources, Mark Nicholls reports.
In breast imaging, advances are constant. Dr Peter Brader, at the Department of Radiology, Division for Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University Vienna, believes a paradigm shift will take place in this and by 2025.
PBT uses a high-energy beam of particles to destroy cancer cells by more accurately targeting the affected areas and is particularly suitable for complex childhood cancers. It also increases success rates and reduces side effects, such as deafness, loss of IQ and secondary cancers.
Integrated information management reduces risks and cuts cost, Finn Snyder reports. Intensive care units (ICUs) are vital in healthcare. ICUs in US hospitals, for example, treat six million of the sickest and oldest patients annually, according to a document recently published for the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation, which states that choices about how to manage them carry high stakes:
A British ambulance service has successfully made the transition from paperbased patient reporting to a fully electronic system enabling paramedics to capture patient data at the scene of an incident and transmit it to the receiving hospital ahead of arrival at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit.
Critical ultrasound, as a tool for immediate therapeutic decisions, and emergency POC ultrasound – an extension of the clinical examination at the bedside or on the accident scene – have shown clear benefits along with lung ultrasound.
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is delighted to announce the release of a new publication, Community Nursing, in partnership with the Scottish Government and the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland. The publication presents a dataset that has been developed and tested in the NHS Scotland. The dataset is mapped to and encoded with the International Classification for Nursing…
Fylde Coast Medical Service (FCMS) is one of the first out-of-hours primary care providers in England to pilot the Department of Health’s new initiative, NHS 111, using Advanced Health & Care’s (Advanced’s) Adastra system.
There are many ways in which hospitals could improve efficiency and reduce the need for cutbacks in services for patients, according to a major review of hospital efficiency published today (Thursday) by the UK based health think tank Nuffield Trust.
Patients in the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are already enjoying the benefits of the scheme which aims to tailor nursing care to their individual needs via hourly nurse rounds. The Care Round initiative was introduced to all 28 inpatient wards at the hospital in March 2011 with the aim of supporting nursing on the wards.
A former nurse who rose through the ranks to lead one of the UK’s largest hospital trusts has been made a Dame in the New Year Honours list.
A Birmingham hospital trust is expanding its kidney dialysis service by commissioning a tenth satellite unit – its first outside England. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is to provide a chronic haemodialysis facility at a hospital in Powys, mid-Wales.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has one of the largest immunohistochemistry / in situ hybridization (IHC / ISH) workloads in the United Kingdom, performing almost 120,000 IHC slides a year.
Expert warns that breast screening across the country needs to undergo a dramatic transformation over the next 15 years, Mark Nicholls reports.
Medical advances learned from treating military casualties severely injured on the battlefield are helping to enhance medicine for British civilians. Mark Nicholls reports on a conference to hasten advances into the public arena.
New research carried out in the UK has revealed that young children with congenital heart disease are at risk of having harmful toxins in their blood, particularly following surgery. Mark Nicholls reports
Carestream upgrade and migrate PACS will now be installed across the country's 34 hospitals, replacing all hardware with new WinTel platforms configured with Carestream Vue PACS V11 software and new compression, storage and retention plans implemented on the National Archives.
Led by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, the United Kingdom’s Labour government proudly launched its National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in 2002, a forward-looking plan with huge budget to match. The following year the nation was awed by something akin to a gold rush, as information technology companies scrambled to compete for and gain healthcare IT contracts from the £12 billion project.…
Recent events have again underlined the reason why Papworth Hospital in ambridgeshire, England, maintains a enowned international reputation for cardiac and thoracic procedures. As Britains largest specialist cardiothoracic hospitals, over 2,000 major heart operations were performed there in 2010. In the year ending 1 April 2011, 824 patients had coronary bypass operations, including urgent,…
There is a large variation in unplanned reoperation rates after colorectal surgery in English NHS hospitals, finds a study published on bmj.com today. As such, researchers suggest that reoperation rates could be used alongside other quality measures to help improve surgical performance on a national scale.
The Dignity in Practice study followed a number of national reports showing that the NHS does not always treat older people with care, dignity and respect and that the lack of dignified care provided in acute NHS Trusts is a major source of complaint.
UK -- Family doctors (GPs) in Norfolk are inviting patients aged over 40, with a Body Mass Index above 30 and a family history of diabetes, to take part in the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS). Funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the innovative £2.2million project will run for five years at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) and will involve 10,000…
United Kingdom – A call has been made for tighter regulatory controls to ensure the safety regulation of medical devices, following joint investigations carried out by the British Medical Journal and the Channel 4 TV programme Dispatches, which were televised and published online at BMJ.com this May.
The UK -- Patients admitted to hospital with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face a six-fold greater risk of death if they become infected with Clostridium difficile, according to a new study carried out by researchers at Imperial College London and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust (pub: Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics).
The lives of people who find communication difficult are to be dramatically improved following a report published by Devices for Dignity (D4D), into Voice Output Communications Aids (VOCAs). The free to access report, whose development was led by Barnsley Hospital and NHS Sheffield as part of a D4D consortium, is designed to improve the development of new technologies and stimulate further…
Delegates at the UKRC 2011 will examine who should deliver 21st century imaging services in the UK, when the relationship between radiologists and radiographers will be the focus of a keynote debate. The session ‘This house believes that radiologists have given up enough of their professional role to radiographers’ will also see delegates vote on this issue.
Public satisfaction with the National Health Service has reached record levels, according to Professor John Appleby, a leading health economist, writing on the British Medical Journal website. He was referring to the British Social Attitudes Survey, in which 64% of people declared they are either very or quite satisfied with the NHS – the highest satisfaction level since the very first survey…
England – ‘Wheelchairs receive better care than nurses’; they need annual physical and psychological tests to ensure they can cope with job demands. The subject, discussed this April during the Annual Congress of the Royal College of Nursing, followed the publication (11/2010) of the Government’s NHS Health and Wellbeing Report (pub: 11/10).
The critical care expertise available before a severely injured person can be admitted to hospital is “incomplete, unpredictable, and inconsistent,” shows research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. Ambulance services are often reliant on volunteer doctors with variable levels of expertise and the availability of specialist doctors is patchy, particularly over evenings or…
Much of the newly revealed variation in amputation rates in England is due to many diabetics not receiving nine key care processes, including checks on weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, urine and, in particular, consistent foot care checks.
Southampton University Hospitals’ Department of Laboratory Medicine has recently transformed the way it delivers its pathology service, becoming one of the largest automation installations in the National Health Service to operate under a managed service contract. This has contributed significantly to the development of a strengthened and expanded pathology network across Southern England.
Changing for the better does not depend on the number of hospitals, physicians or beds you have; it’s about eliminating inefficiencies in the pathways of patient care. The organising principle for healthcare needs to be quality. ‘It is the one industry where quality is cheaper,’ emphasises Ari Darzi, renowned pioneer in minimally invasive and robotic surgery, holder of the Hamlyn Chair of…
A senior IT executive has warned hospitals of the need to create an effective healthcare disaster recovery strategy to protect the huge increases in digital information they are now generating. With a growth in electronic patient records and digital imagery, it is now estimated that 30% of the world’s digital storage is found in healthcare.
The United Kingdom’s diagnostic imaging departments are not only dealing with an increasing workload of over 10% per annum but also with the growing sophistication of MR and CT scanners. They need and are looking for solutions to deal with an almost exponential data explosion. This daily overload has to be managed in telemedicine network data sharing environments as well as in long-term…
A cardiologist at a UK hospital has become the first in the world to develop a technique to ‘slice’ 3-D images of the heart into intricate sections using computer software. The method, devised by consultant congenital cardiologist Dr Joseph Vettukattil at Southampton General Hospital, is known as multiplane review (MPR) 3-D echocardiography. This allows cardiologists to identify heart defects…
The British government’s plans to introduce wider choice and shared decision making within the NHS may be challenging to implement, says an expert on bmj.com. In its new plans for the NHS, the government wants to extend the offer of choice beyond what is currently available to include choice of specialist team, choice of general practice, and choice of treatment. But do patients want a choice…
A new obesity measurement for the 21st Century, which can help identify individuals at risk of illness such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes, has been officially launched this week. The Body Volume Index (BVI), designed by Select Research, uses a 3D white-light scanner to calculate risk factors associated with a person's body shape and type, through analysis of weight and body fat…
Facing billion-euro deficits, European healthcare systems are putting hospital operations under the microscope to find areas where costs can be slashed dramatically, reports John Brosky.
The use of bariatric or weight loss surgery in England has increased ten-fold in National Heatlh Service (NHS) hospitals since 2000, according to a study published in August on bmj.com. The researchers suggest that one reason is the increased demand by obese patients now more aware of this treatment option.
The aim of the predictive modelling systems being trialled in the UK are to identify which people in a given population are the most likely to be admitted to hospital in the next 12 months and then focus preventive measures on them to try to avoid hospital admission. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which commission hospital services in the UK, are favouring the model as they try to cut costs during a…
Drug company Novo Nordisk’s decision to pull its Mixtard 30 insulin drug from the UK could add almost €11 million to the NHS drugs bill in England alone, according to an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). This decision could also leave thousands of patients dependent on others to help them take their insulin, said DTB, as it launched its Don’t Drop Mixtard 30 campaign in…
A Government White Paper on healthcare reform has caused Unison, Britain’s biggest public sector trade union (over 1.3 million members), to launch legal action against the Government ‘as a matter of urgency’. The day after the paper was presented in July, NHS CEOs were instructed by NHS CEO Sir David Nicholson to implement the proposals ‘immediately’ - without being given time to…
Worthing Hospital, on the south coast of England, has installed a CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution dual detector room in its busy Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. The new modular system, with its cassette-sized wireless detector, floor rail and full auto positioning, replaces the existing analogue room.
At the end of June a shocking new estimate was released in the UK regarding the number of people unwittingly going about their lives without knowing they are type 2 diabetics – there are just over a million of them. How will the country cope with this discovery and its present diabetic population?
Despite some uncertainty about how it works, there is a growing consensus that Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) – also known as Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC) – is revolutionising wound care. Speaking at the 1st International Surgical Wound Forum, held recently in Amsterdam, surgeons from Europe and the USA predicted the growing use of this innovative technology across the spectrum of…
The Health Informatics Congress held in the UK this April, revealed how IT is helping health Trusts across the UK to take innovative steps in the way they respond to patients’ needs. The Clinical Showcase session examined how Trusts are coping with new patient administration and reporting systems and, in particular, how Cerner Millennium and Lorenzo systems are being implemented.
A multiple sclerosis risk sharing scheme, set up by the Department of Health (DoH) in 2002 to ensure that disease-modifying drugs were available on the National Health Service (NHS), has been deemed ‘a costly failure’, according to researchers reporting on www.bmj.com in June. The scheme, they advise, should not be continued.
The reduction in junior doctors’ hours to 48 hours a week with the introduction of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) has increased the number of work shifts and continuity of care is suffering as patients are ‘handed over’ again and again to different doctors, according to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
A change in political control naturally creates change in the way things are run, and the jaw-jutting ‘Get tough’ nature of the UK’s new coalition Government is palpable. For hospitals, one early change relates to data reporting on MRSA bloodstream infections and C. Difficile. Up to now, these were published monthly by the National Health Service (NHS) Trust; soon they will be published…
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announced the release of PRISCA version 5.0 Prenatal Risk Calculation Software available in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The upgraded version offers the industry’s only Shared Database that allows laboratories to compare data and integrate patient demographic factors into the analysis. Both of these features help increase the accuracy…
A telemedicine project is being used in rural areas of eastern England to enable stroke patients to receive clot-busting drugs within a critical three-hour time window. Adapting video-conferencing facilities, a telestroke service has enabled patients to receive a diagnosis from a stroke specialist, who can authorise thrombolytic drugs to be administered to those deemed eligible.
The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition (WoHIT) -- the first joint eHealth conference of the European Commission and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS Europe) --- was held in Barcelona this March, creating Europe’s largest gathering of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) stakeholder groups as well as end-users, hospital CEOs, practitioners and…
The Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has become the first site, worldwide, to evaluate the full serum work area (SWA) capabilities of the cobas 8000 high throughput clinical analyser.
Hot topics to be covered during the EuroPCR Forum sessions are the challenging implementation of the best standard of care for STEMI patients throughout Europe (with the timely use of stents), the introduction of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in clinical practice and the challenges related to bifurcation treatment options.
The cardiovascular community gathers in Paris May 25th-28th for EuroPCR. EuroPCR is the leading course in interventional cardiology. It is also the official congress of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI). More than 12,000 participants will learn about the latest developments in the field and engage in discussions and constructive debate about the best…
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) has launched NHS Global, a new branch of the organisation that aims to generate additional funding from other countries and organisations, and to explore new international opportunities to export its knowledge, skills, products, ground-breaking treatments, cutting edge research and other services.
Last January Dr Maurizio Pupi became the International Business Manager of Vanguard Healthcare – the UK supplier of mobile healthcare facilities – which intends to spread its already very established and necessary services beyond the United Kingdom.
A key development at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), east of England, has seen a change in the role of radiology assistants: They now help to prepare patients for radiology scans and look after them -- work previously undertaken by radiographers. The change now allows radiographers more time to concentrate on scanning patients, resulting in faster scanning with quicker…
Although food for in-patients can be integral to healing, the standard of catering can be disappointingly low in some hospitals. In addition, sometimes even the help needed by those patients unable to eat or drink unaided can be overlooked. In addition, the problems of poor hospital hygiene can, at worst, result in deaths as well as legal issues for management. These two difficult areas are now…
How can speech recognition become a workflow improver instead of a road to frustration? Kaye Bonython, Programme Manager, Imaging Informatics & OSL, HCA’s Portland Hospital for Women and Children, really knows: She has driven a series of PACS-related enhancements in HCA organisation, including group-wide speech recognition reporting – that was in 2006. Now, 99.98 per cent of reports at HCA…
The key to implementing PACS installations networked to multiple hospitals is fully to establish in advance exactly what clinical scenario needs to be satisfied. In her lecture, Dr Nicola H Strickland BM BCh, at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK, spoke about the several possibilities, as well as the requirement and challenges which have to be considered in each scenario.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has joined forces with almost 40 of the UK's leading health organisations to warn that cutting specialist nurse services for people with long term conditions would be a "false economy", as they began a campaign for guaranteed access to specialist nursing care for all patients with long term conditions.
The threat of litigation is becoming an increasing area of concern in radiology circles. The changing role of the radiologist with a growing workload and more information now available in imaging examinations, have combined with an expectation of greater accuracy from patients to raise the threat of radiologists being sued. This threat has reached such a level that for the first time, radiology…
Under constant and continuing debate, and given the increasing use of CT and interventional imaging, the issue of radiation dose management was the focus of an ECR session with Dr Manthos Koutalonis, Medical Physicist at the Barts and The London NHS Trust – Radiation Safety Group, as moderator and presentations by three key speakers.
Dr Nicola H Strickland BM BCh, MA Hons (Oxon) FRCP, FRCR, Consultant Radiologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Department of Imaging, Hammersmith Hospital, London, trained in natural science and medicine at the University of Oxford, and in radiology at Hammersmith Hospital, London. Now a staff member at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, she has been…
Considering the huge tasks and issues involved, the connection of health services, digitised EPRs, and text messaging via mobile phones, all are progressing -- some slowly, others at a more rapid pace – as many speakers at the e-Health Insider Conference underlined.
Treating alcohol-related conditions cost the NHS approximately £2.7 billion in 2006/07, almost double the 2001 cost. This new NHS Confederation briefing, produced with the Royal College of Physicians, outlines the extent of the problem and gives examples of where the NHS is managing problem drinkers effectively and efficiently.
The mobile healthcare provider Vanguard Healthcare, which reports unprecedented success in the UK in recent years, is planning to expand into the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Scandinavia - an international push implemented, in part, by the firm´s new partnership with the multinational healthcare company Alliance Medical.
Throughout the world, every day, thousands of hospital patients are victims of identification breakdowns and errors that resulted or could have resulted in far greater health problems for them and other outcomes for hospitals.
Expert advises specific strategies should be developed to deal with this relatively new patient group.
A pioneering new treatment to repair leaking heart valves is being performed at a UK hospital as part of a clinical research trial. The minimally-invasive procedure to treat mitral regurgitation involves surgeons passing a device through a vein in the neck and into a patient's heart.
Positive CB7630 (Abiraterone Acetate) Phase II Data was presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago this May/June, Cougar Biotechnology Inc, a development stage biopharmaceutical firm with a specific focus on oncology. In mid-July, Johnson & Johnson announced its acquisition of Cougar, which is now working with Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a division of the J&J firm Centocor…
Training healthcare personnel is not cheap; losing these human resources to other countries can prove even more costly. Where and why are nurses on the move?
Heat from the burning issue of healthcare reforms in the USA has crossed the Atlantic and is scorching the British public. Could their massive support for their NHS, which has filled Twitter by the minute, help to douse US concepts? Brenda Marsh reports from London
Responding to the publication of the Public Accounts Committee report, Reducing Alcohol Harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), renews the call for tighter alcohol regulation. "Nurses have said time and time again that the Government must take drastic action to stop this dire situation spiralling out of control,"…
British girl Hannah Clark who was given an extra heart as a toddler has become the world's first heart transplant patient to make a full recovery after having her donor organ removed and function restored to her original heart. The case highlights that in some cases of cardiomyopathy, it is possible for the patient's own heart to make a full recovery if it is given adequate support to do so.
European hospitals are increasingly using robotic dispensing systems to accelerate drug distribution and the patients discharge process.
HIV/AIDS has reached pandemic proportions. 35 million people are infected. Given the situation of hard pressed general practitioners (GPs) today, as well as geographical and other difficulties (as in Africa, for example), a new device that will enable HIV patients to monitor their own health and the effectiveness of treatments, without visiting their doctors so often, is indeed promising.
The technology firm NCR Corporation, which specialises in automated teller machines, self-checkouts and other self- and assisted-service solutions, announced in April that King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London has chosen to install the firm's new patient automated arrival system NCR MediKiosk. This autumn, 50 MediKiosks will be deployed in the dermatology, haematology,…
In July 2007, Bernat Soria Escoms, one of the world's leading experts in stem cell research, became Spain's new Health Minister, when his predecessor Elena Salgado was moved to Public Administration.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, Chairman of the Consultants Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), has called for private management consultants to be "ditched" from the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
CardioPod will be installed in pharmacies and GP surgeries across England, allowing patients easy access to an NHS Health Check carried out by a trained professional, who will give expert advice on their cardiovascular risk score and what action they can take to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes and kidney disease.
Although the potential of proton therapy was recognised over half a century ago, and since its development is now known to deliver a radiation beam accurately into a tumour without damaging surrounding tissue, high equipment costs limit its general introduction. Mark Nicholls reports on a British hospital with two decades of experience in its use - and value
Flu preparations - Under the UK´s National Health Service (NHS) code of practice for nosocomial infections, the hospital Trusts and others are required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that healthcare workers are free of, and protected from, exposure to communicable infections.
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
The last time medical science enriched clinical practice with new advanced technologies ideas about aetiology and the treatment principles of a great number of diseases changed. Now the dilemma of modification of diagnoses and treatments, including laboratory diagnostics, is a very hot issue in Russia.
A series of expert presentations organised by European Hospital in cooperation with the ECR addressed the latest issues affecting hospital management, information technology and fincance and attracted more than 400 attendees. Click here to read the summary of the five Management speeches.
One of the most exciting innovations to be presented at this year's ECR (European Congress of Radiology), was be Viamo™. This pioneering product from Toshiba Medical Systems Europe is the first to offer premium technology in an ultraportable ultrasound system without compromising image quality or ease of use.
UK - Following a six-month study of 3,000 hospital patients in 12 wards in Merseyside, researchers at Liverpool University found that one in seven had suffered adverse drug reactions.
More for less: Driving up performance in acute care
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.
Organised jointly by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFCC) and the French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC), the two-day symposium served as a platform to address future strategies to promote accreditation for clinical chemists and all professions in laboratory medicine.
United Kingdom - Next year, patients arriving at a new 1,200-bed hospital opened by the new University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) will be able to register their details in self-service kiosks that are being integrated with the NHS NPfIT (National Programme for IT) Patient Administration System (PAS) by operational software provider Blue Prism. These will be the first…
HDR brachytherapy patients require at least six hours between treatment sessions to enable the body to recover. A leading provincial cancer hospital has become the first in the UK - and one of the first in Europe - to deliver two high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy radiotherapy treatments in the same day.
VUmc University Hospital of Amsterdam, which performs approximately 150,000 radiology examinations per year, is yet another renowned hospital to choose Sectra's radiology IT solution for handling of patient information and radiology images (RIS/PACS). In signing a long-term agreement with VUmc, the IT and medical-technology company Sectra passes the 1,000th customer milestone.
A rapid, portable, point-of-care test for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), developed by TwistDx based on a new way of detecting DNA, was one of nine products chosen from approximately 250 applications submitted to the Smart Solutions for HCAI programme, an NHS project that aims to identify innovative technologies with the potential to fight hospital bugs.
MRSA bloodstream infections in England are continuing to fall, the latest quarterly statistics from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed: There were 725 MRSA bloodstream infections in England between July and September. This represents a 13% decrease on the previous quarter (April to June) when there were 837 cases and a 33% reduction in the corresponding quarter of 2007.
A new IT system, designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the therapy department at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (ROH) NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, is reported to have shown clear benefits for therapists, managers and patients.
An innovative scheme using mobile technology to identify patients 'at risk# of developing CVD by effectively establishing smoking status has recently proved a great success for NHS Hammersmith and Fulham.
The current global financial crisis is like to hit Bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies due to a lack of funding for research and the discovery and production of many new drugs, according to Professor David Wield, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Edinburgh-based Innogen Centre, and chair of the recent international ESRC conference Genomics and Society: Reinventing…
In a strategic move intended to enhance the global launch of its 'groundbreaking' diabetes monitoring device, set to help combat the 'worldwide epidemic', the US company Sensys Medical has chosen to relocate its world headquarters to the United Kingdom (UK).
In the 60 years since Britain's National Health Service (NHS) was born, investment and innovation in this service has transformed healthcare delivery, placing the NHS in the top league for groundbreaking science - from the first test tube baby to the regular NHS organ transplants today.
The Continua Health Alliance, a non-profit coalition with more than 170 healthcare and technology industry members worldwide, demonstrated how seamlessly sharing data of Continua pre-certified products and solutions - across a variety of environments - can help consumers, professionals and businesses.
The antimicrobial technology firm BioCote Ltd, which is showing its products at the British Pavillion, is also promoting the results from the first study to investigate how silver antimicrobial products can reduce levels of bacteria in hospitals, clinics and care homes.
A transatlantic survey of more than a thousand healthcare professionals has shown that over a third are unwittingly putting personal information at risk by storing patient records, medical images, contact details, corporate data and other sensitive information on mobile devices such as laptops, BlackBerrys and USB sticks - and not adequately securing them.
Specialists at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in London, have started using pioneering laser surgery to treat patients with pathological eye conditions, such as superficial corneal scarring.
Individual budgets can give people more choice, flexibility and control over their personal care, as well as a better quality of life, according to a pilot scheme evaluation report launched by Care Services Minister Phil Hope.
NHS managers are refuting a report that ranks the UK 13th for healthcare out of 31 European countries. The Euro Health Consumer Index 2008 puts the Netherlands in first place, with the UK trailing behind countries including Estonia, France and Germany.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) wants the Department of Health to spend a forecasted surplus of around 2.2 billion euros on the 2008/09 National Health Service (NHS) budget on nurse recruitment and training and to support the transition from acute to community-based care under health minister Lord Darzi's reform of the NHS.
A UK collaboration, led by an optical imaging company has produced its first optical coherence tomography (OCT) tissue images at a wavelength of 1 µm. Based on interferometry, OCT works by analysing near-infrared light reflected from a sample and using differences in the reflected intensities to create high-resolution images. Employing 1 µm light - as opposed to the longer wavelength…
The creation of standardised cross-enterprise healthcare records in Germany will be increasingly promoted in numerous national initiatives and projects spanning several manufacturers, e.g. by the eFA initiative for the electronic case file headed by the Fraunhofer Institut ISST. By Jens-Uwe Thieme, Business Line Manager HIS & ERP Systems, iSoft Health GmbH
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…
The UK's National Health Service is notorious for its waiting time for surgery. The Scottish Government recently decided to tackle this issue and proposed a Patient Rights Bill which includes a legal right to surgery within twelve weeks .
For several year, experts have been deploring the lack of physicians' and healthcare workers' attention to hand hygiene and equipment sterilisation. Now, hospital clothes are also in the line of fire. How dangerous are the scrubs really?
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) from UK installed a new educational programm on the internet called eHealth. The courses are free of charge for employees from the National Health Service (NHS) and shall improve the health community's ability to respond effectively to major incidents and emergencies.
Good news for diabetes patients in the UK: According to a report published recently by the Department of Health, diabetes care in the NHS is improving and focusing more on prevention. The result: More patients have been identified, and in more people at risk development of the condition could be prevented.
Last week the English government closed its consultation on the effectiveness of vascular checks for high-risk people aged 40-74. Would this help? Experts from New Zealand and the WHO say "yes". Others argue that public health approaches targeting the whole population are both: cheaper and more effective than tablets.
Joint replacemtents are daily hospital routine. A first national study in England gives information about the outcome of the often performed hip resurfacing and unicondylar knee replacement techniques. Both surgical operations try to preserve bone - but are they medically sensible?
Britain is a primarily Christian country. It is also home to people with various religious beliefs who have migrated here from many parts of the world, or are British born. In a 2001 census, 72% of the population identified itself as Christian.
London, UK - A Hansen Sensei* robot has been used to perform vascular surgery on a 78-year-old patient for an aneurysm that would have been thought too high-risk for conventional surgery.
Although outbreaks of nosocomial infections, e.g. Clostridium difficile and MRSA, have dropped by almost a third since last year, and many hygiene measures have been initiated and improved, there are now proposals for an even more stringent measure to control hygiene: the possibility that National Health Service (NHS) Trust hospitals that break hygiene regulations could be fined up to…
The relationship between England's GPs and hospitals is currently at a sensitive stage, with a review of health services across the country set to impact on the way the two groups work and liaise with one another.
The British public doesn't believe in the tax funded healthcare system. Within the next ten years they will have to pay for some NHS services, they assume in a BMA poll. Also the will to go abroad for medical services rises within the public.
British researchers found that the NHS and private healthcare are not providing good enough basic care to a large portion of the population in England. Particulary older and frailer people are suffering from lack of care.
From September onwards, Europe's largest academic health science partnership will start its programm in London, UK. Their focus will lay on preventing and treating major diseases in 10 key areas.
It runs and runs and runs The Olympus AU640 clinical chemistry analyser is the most reliable analyser considering a period of 12 months. This is the result published in the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency Analyser Monitoring Programme Annual Report 2006-2007.
A study by the Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) at the University of Manchester, UK, calculated the treatment costs of injuries caused by gun and knife crime paid by the National Health Service (NHS). The result is alarming: three million GBP a year.
Compared to 1997 people aged 60 and over receive a lot more from their physicians: Not more attention but more drugs or other medical aids. The average number of prescriptions for elder people doubled from 1997 to 2007, a report from The NHS Information Centre reveals.
Michael Schumacher once won nearly every qualifying in Formula One. But Germany won't win the world championship in qualification of their healthcare workers, neither, however, would most European countries. The lack of well-trained employees in healthcare may turn out to be a major setback for the booming branch.
Answer: Older men, living in high social deprivation who are treated for pain or infectious diseases are very endangered. That is the simplified result Scottish researchers investigated while trying to point out criterias that might predict the likelihood of emergency admission in adults older than 40 years
So called circulating tumor cells (CTC) seem to be an indicator of the progression and therapy outcome for cancer patients. US- and UK-researchers have shown concurrently that blood tests of CTC's are as reliable as painful biobsies to predict how well patients respond to therapy.
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust is a partnership of two specialist hospitals which are known for excellent expertise, standard of care and research success. For their new magnetic navigation catheter lab they use the very latest system standards to optimise workflow and procedures.
Report: Mark Nicholls
UK — A plea to hire more 'ward clerks' to free hospital nurses from excessive bureaucracy has been made by the Royal College of Nursing to the government and change NHS targets so as to place more emphasis on patient satisfaction and hygiene standards.
Lean Laboratory and Lean Automation are vital ingredients for the efficient and productive running of today's modern pathology laboratories. Automation serves as an essential endorsement to Lean, says Paul M Button, Senior Consultant at ValuMetrix, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics*
The UK's MRSA rates have been declining since 2006 — and this year could be 50% lower than in 2004. This increasing control over dangerous pathogens has not been achieved without considerable hospital staff efforts, relentless public and government pressures on them, and in-house malcontent about the out-sourcing of cleaning work. Given the cost of nosocomial infections to patients, the NHS…
Following a 6-month inquiry in 2007 on how to improve the National Health Service (NHS) (and patients' organisations urging action over an apparent decline in nursing care since the domination of the hospital matron was curtailed) one of the proposals put in a Downing Street Cabinet meeting was that doctors and nurses should smile more.
When it comes to children's cancer care, the National Health Service counts on the concern of others, critics say. In their opinion the Britisch NHS tries to compense financial deficits by falling back on charity support. This could lead to large inequalities between different disease treatments and to over-reliances on local donations and social work.
Since 2002 the number of children in England needing hospital care for complications of diabetes has risen about approximately 25 percent. The Patient group Diabetes UK blames cuts in the NHS service for this trend, BBC News reported yesterday.
The NHS is still suffering from wide variations in infection control standards, according to a survey of health staff in the UK. The study carried out by the watchdog body the Healthcare Commission, after questioning more than 155,000 NHS staff, indicated that there had been improvements in infection control in several areas.
'Lean Laboratory' and 'Lean Automation' are vital ingredients for the efficient and productive running of today's modern Pathology laboratories. Automation serves as an essential endorsement to Lean, says Paul M Button, Senior Consultant at ValuMetrix, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics*
When the Oxford Radclife Hospitals NHS Trust invested £109 million in its new Oxford Children's Hospital, funding for certain special embellishments could not be contemplated. Thus a £15 million Campaign was launched to enable the hospital to be built and equipped far beyond the NHS standard. £13.8 million of that target has so far been received. Who raised that astonishing sum? Its…
UK - Whilst the life-threatening Clostridium difficile is not absolutely resistant to antibiotics, after an individual has been infected the bacteria often reappears.
Labs are Vital is a global initiative managed in the United Kingdom by a steering group that includes the Royal College of Pathologists, Association of Clinical Pathologists, Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedical Science, British In Vitro Diagnostics Association and Abbott Diagnostics.
Ireland - Researchers are investigating a new breed of bacteria that carry extended spectrum beta-lactimases (ESBLs) enzymes which can destroy many common antibiotics, including penicillins and cephalosporins.
The EU eHealth initiative and action plan is the driver for patient information sharing and the networking of expertise across different institutions and countries. Launched in 2004, it will be applied in its current form till 2010.
The upper gastrointestinal (UGI) team at Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has developed a rapid access service for upper gastrointestinal cancers. The new system means that patients are referred directly from their GP to the hospital for an endoscopy.
Risk is an inherent element of the hospital system and the resulting dangers are often normalised by medical staff to allow them to do their job, according to research by a University of Nottingham academic.
Brenda Marsh reports on the country's flourishing and expanding breast screening programme
According to a survey published in the journal Clinical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, there seems to be a serious under provision of out-of-hours emergency endoscopy services for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding in the UK. The electronic survery was carried out by the British Society of Gastroenterology, which sent two questionnaires to the endoscopy leads of 188 acute NHS…
A British collaboration has secured £325,000 (?460,000) of government backing to develop an in vivo optical imaging probe for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in oncology. The long-term objective is to use optical coherence tomography (OCT), an interferometric imaging modality, to perform real-time diagnosis and to guide the removal of cancerous or precancerous tissue during the same…
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.
UK - Results from a National Health Service (NHS) trial, which investigated the effectiveness of silver at reducing levels of bacteria in an actual hospital setting, have been announced by BioCote Ltd, manufacturer of antimicrobial products.
Ten years ago, Tim Smokoff began his career with Microsoft. Since then, the healthcare arena has become a long term investment for the company and today he is Managing Director of the Microsoft Healthcare Group.
The new £2 million remote access stereotaxis catheter laboratory at London's Heart Hospital, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), is the first of its kind in the UK and one of only 40 worldwide.
GS1 is the leading global standards organisation in the healthcare industry. In 56 countries worldwide, GS1 standards have been chosen to identify pharmaceutical products uniquely. Major regulatory bodies have endorsed them, including those in the US, Japan and the UK . It standards improve patient safety and reduce costs in the healthcare supply chain. Automatic product identification on all…
Juggling the NHS accounts?
UK — The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has launched a new guide to help nurses understand business and financial practices in the country's National Health Service (NHS).
Researchers from the School of Dentistry at the University of Manchester developed a technique to identify osteoporosis from ordinary dental x-rays. The software-based method has the potential to improve the early diagnoses of osteoporosis on a wide-scale screening level.
The Sensei Robotic Catheter System, a first generation robotic platform launched by Hansen Medical at the USA's Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions in May this year, is in use in Europe.
Austria - Following the first World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition last year, the organisers have decided that the 2007 meeting (22-25 October) will 'move on from exploring fact-based IT solutions to examining health IT in the wider context of health delivery'.
UK — A report on the care of young surgical patients has been launched by The Children's Surgical Forum, a body of representatives from the medical royal colleges, surgical specialist associations, Department of Health, Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Surgeons Patient Liaison Group.
As part of a Welsh Assembly Government sponsored exercise for the replacement of radiology equipment within NHS Wales, Toshiba Medical Systems Limited was awarded a framework agreement for a 2-year period for the supply of ultrasound equipment until April 2005. Following an evaluation exercise undertaken by representative clinical staff within NHS Wales, Toshiba were chosen as the preferred…
]UK — Leading up to his June departure as Prime Minister, Tony Blair highlighted his government's achievements in the National Health Service (NHS), particularly in the way technology has improved and is set to improve patient care.
During the last ten years or so, there has been a convergence of modern international science with traditional Chinese medicine, with research carried out in physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology.
With entries from infection control teams from all over the world, with each hospital facing different challenges and with widely differing resources at their disposal, judges working on the 2006/2007 Oxoid Infection Control Team of the Year Awards focused on teams that had demonstrated that they really made a difference to standards of infection control within their own hospitals and have set…
UK - Looking at the growing need to understand how digitisation of health information will impact upon patients, staff and managers across the health service, Professor Ann Blandford of the University College London, and Professor Peter Lunt, surveyed 200 patients as well as their representatives, clinicians and other healthcare professionals (librarians and IT staff) working in eight NHS trusts.…
An independent report that suggests better ways to use the UK's current radiotherapy resources, as well as predicting the needs of a radiotherapy service in the future, has been released by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG), led by national cancer director Professor Mike Richards, and Dr Michael Williams, vice president of the Royal College of Radiologists.
In Ireland, breast cancer is particularly virulent: 18.5% of all cancer related deaths among the women are due to breast cancer.
The growing use and successes of IT in several industry sectors has strongly influenced the healthcare sector, according to Research Analyst Rahul Philip Mampallil, in a report for the markets consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan (www.healthcare.frost.com).
Following international pilot studies, Intel Corporation and Motion Computing have released the Motion C5 - a mobile clinical assistant (MCA) for use by nurses.
During four days in March, 54,000 people visited the four huge exhibition halls that housed the 23rd Korean International Medical Equipment Show - KIMES 2007.
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.
Over many millennia people have supported healthcare in many forms - from the `Good Samaritan´ in the Bible, to the elderly lady who died five years ago in Birmingham and left $1.3 Million to a hospital for Cancer Research.
UK - According to new figures obtained from death certificates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) deaths involving Clostridium difficile rose by 69% to 3,800 in the 2004-05 period, whilst MRSA increased by 39% to 1,629. (In two hospitals in one city, C. difficile was linked to the deaths of 12 patients in just four weeks and, in another city, in one eight-month period, at least 49 people…
Once upon a time iSOFT was the software 'wunderkind', with sales hitting the billion-euro mark. Then disaster struck. Money and reputation vanished. But that was once upon a time today iSOFT is back - with fresh strategies aimed at a happy ending. Daniela Zimmermann, of European Hospital, met with Peter Herrmann (above), Managing Director of iSOFT Deutschland, to discuss old mistakes and new…
A High Court ruling recently backed the government´s changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in the UK. The changes regarding a new points system will make it more difficult for foreign employees to work in the UK. Doctors already working in the UK claiming the changes will force them to leave.
Gambling should be a recognized addiction that requires treatment on the NHS, so the demand of the BMA (British Medical Association) published in its hard-hitting report "Gambling addiction and its treatment within the NHS".
As MRSA affects about 300,000 patients and costs UK £1 billion annually, the country's public services union demands the return of in-house cleaners. Report: Peter Howieson
Apparently, 20 children are diagnosed each day in the UK with alcohol poisoning.
New ultrasound technologies detect foetal heart defects earlier.
The ethics committee of the UK' s National Health Service (NHS) has cleared the way for the world's first full face transplant.
Guidelines updated for high-risk women aged between 20-49 years.
Marc Winchester is new President, North America of Digital Healthcare Inc.
UK — Speaking at the first National Health Service (NHS) Security Management Professionals conference in November, Rosie Winterton, the country's Health Minister, said the number of NHS staff who were physically assaulted in England has reduced.
UK - Around 10 million people suffer from musculoskeletal ailments in England alone.
A recently published report reveals that hygiene standards in some hospital kitchens in the UK are far beyond common standards.
One of the largest renal programms startet at Leicester General Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
The UK Health Minister has set out key details of what patients and the public can expect from the NHS Care Records Service.
Fraud and corruption network protects 210 million citizens.
Nursing organisations have warned that about 70% of newly qualified nurses cannot find jobs in the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
The EHFG has developed into the leading health policy platform in the EU since its beginnings in 1998, attracting close to 600 high-level participants annually.
A Leicester-based registered charity is facing possible criminal prosecution because of supplying unused medicines to healthcare centres in African countries.
A joint venture by two Scotish Health Service groups and the University of Dundee, has resulted in a new Postgraduate Education Centre at Dundee Dental Hospital and School.
The author also outlines how far some EU countries have progressed today
Thousands of foreign medical professionals underpin the UK's National Health Service (NHS). In 2004, of the country's newly registered medics, two thirds of the doctors, and over 40% of the nurses, had come from other countries. In total, about 72,000 of the UK's 212,000 registered doctors are not British. That figure includes, for example, around 12,500 doctors from Africa and, from the EU,…
UK - Brunel University is to provide a new three-year course offering a Doctorate in Public Health. The doctorate course, which will commence in October this year, is unique because it is cross-disciplinary, involving internationally recognised academics in medical anthropology, biostatistics, health economics, epidemiology, environmental sciences, health promotion, health services research,…
As part of its national cancer program, the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) is currently investing in increased capacity for radiation treatment of cancer.
In 2002-2003 around 116,000 incidents of abuse were recorded in the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS).
Health organisations and governments should seek solutions beyond their own borders.
UK - Fire-fighters are being trained to assess possible cardiac patients in emergencies, and to use automatic defibrillators and oxygen therapy.
There is growing unrest in the nursing profession in the UK following announcements of planned job cuts in the NHS.
UK - Although the Department of Health (DoH) demanded a 50% reduction in MRSA cases in hospitals by 2008, a report at the end of 2005 suggested that some hospitals were making poor progress towards this goal.
UK - Patients who miss medical appointments cost the country's National Health Service (NHS) around £575 million annually.
The United Kingdom's Diabetes Retinal Screening Service
Security in hospitals is not easy. Thousands of patients, visitors, members of staff, as well as delivery and removal people, come and go, and with so many strangers inevitably on the scene, a perfect cover for opportunistic thieves is created, so the theft of small items is not uncommon.
Measuring hospital performance is a complex and essential activity.
Radiologists working abroad - the reality
Five years of therapy with the drug tamoxifen has become the norm for postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. However, this has several adverse side effects, and studies have continued to compare the effects of other drug therapies with tamoxifen.
Waiting lists, EU limits on working hours, doctor and nursing staff shortages, how could healthcare providers overcome all those hurdles let alone glimpse the winning post ahead?
Czech Republic - Health leaders from 20 countries will gather in Prague for three days (5-8 September) to explore trends and innovations effecting the development of new cross-border health services and insurance.
With increasing numbers of nurses specialising the care of lung cancer patients, The National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) was established in 1997 to offer them a network for information exchange and to support nurses working in 'isolation' due to their changing and different roles.
The UK - In the 1990s, the nationally co-ordinated NHS Breast Screening Programme was already saving lives - a 21% fall in breast cancer mortality over the last decade and, with the cervical screening programme, this was viewed as among the best cancer screening programmes in the world. However, in that period, the country's cancer services, as a whole did not match up to those of other European…
18-19 October 2004 -The first conference to focus on tackling fraud and corruption in EU healthcare is being organised by the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS), and partner organisations from five other EU countries, having secured funding from AGIS, an EU Commission programme to help EU member states co-operate in criminal matters.
TB causes three million deaths annually, ranking it higher than any other infectious disease. And TB has resurged in Europe. In August, the British Thoracic Society, British Lung Foundation and TB Alert highlighted its increase in over the last 15 years in the UK alone.
'Genetics offers prediction of risk, more precise diagnosis, more targeted and effective use of existing drugs, new gene-based drugs and therapies, and prevention and treatment regimes tailored to an individual's genetic profile.'
UK - Launching the “world's most advanced mobile operating theatre”, at the annual scientific meeting of the British Association of Day Surgery, Gary King, Managing Director of Vanguard Healthcare predicted that, as from January 2004, over 40,000 NHS operations will be carried out in mobile theatres.
The National Health Service launches one of the world's biggest IT projects this month (April) aiming to connect British healthcare providers in 28 strategic health trusts via NHSnet. In the future, the plan “Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS”: