Findings from the largest UK study of patients hospitalised with Sars-CoV-2 infection show that long Covid leads to ongoing inflammation which can be detected in the blood.
Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent malignant bone tumor. Now, researchers have developed a machine-learning model to predict the density of viable tumor cells after surgery and chemotherapy treatment.
Patients suffering from cartilage defects in the knee may benefit from a new method in development: Using cartilage from the nose, researchers grow a tailor-made implant.
A new guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of cryptococcosis is designed to support medical staff in handling invasive fungal infections and provide guidance and support in decision-making.
Bone fractures caused by osteoporosis are a common major global health risk. The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) reports that one in three women over the age of 50 will sustain a potentially life-threatening fragility fracture in their remaining lifetimes. Early diagnosis and proactive treatment to keep bones healthy, including prescription medication and lifestyle changes, has the…
Certain genetic features are crucial for treatment decisions for AML leukaemia. A team from Münster shows how an AI-based method can predict these features from images of bone marrow smears.
It's an important milestone for gene editing technology: a novel treatment for sickle cell disease utilizing CRISPR-Cas9, has now received FDA approval – a first for this type of therapy.
White blood cells found in breast tumors can both help and hinder the spread of cancer cells to other organs, a new study from Karolinska Institutet shows.
Bone scans have been found to overstage prostate cancer at initial staging compared to prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET, according to new research.
A multinational study confirms a strong and clear association between exposure to radiation from CT scans in young people and an increased risk of blood cancers.
A mechanism that led some patients to experience cases of deadly clotting following some types of Covid-19 vaccination has been identified in new research.
When a woman becomes pregnant, sometimes her pre-existing rheumatoid arthritis will 'magically' go away. In others, the condition becomes even worse. Now, US researchers may have found an explanation.
AI can use data from low-dose CT scans of the lungs to improve risk prediction for death from lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and other causes, a new study finds.
A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital demonstrates the potential for restoring fertility when the ovaries have stopped working.
Post-pandemic problems, ageing societies, the impact of climate change on human health: To find solutions for new and ongoing healthcare challenges, thinking outside the box is crucial. This year’s Medical Taiwan Health & Care Expo took this approach to heart: True to its motto “beyond healthcare”, the event showcased a wide range of innovative products, promising start-up presentations…
New research shows how AI can be used to fuse images from clinical X-ray CT and MRI scans to allow a clearer and more clinically useful interpretation of the images.
US researchers evaluated AI techniques for cleaning medical images based on performance in clinical tasks. Some algorithms make the scans look better, but actually decrease image quality.
AI could find critical biomarkers that predict non-response to conventional treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) more quickly, researchers in Singapore find.
Shortages of health workers such as doctors, nurses and midwifery staff are strongly associated with higher death rates, finds a new analysis published by The BMJ.
New research has identified a potential therapeutic target and developed a unique delivery system to treat osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
New research has debunked the idea of an “obesity paradox”, whereby overweight or obese patients with heart failure are less likely to end up in hospital or die than people of normal weight.
A new real-time imaging technique that uses a type of infrared light has, for the first time, been used during surgery to differentiate between cancerous tumours and healthy tissue.
A team of scientists has successfully generated genetically defined mouse models for two subtypes of multiple myeloma. This will contribute to a better understanding of how the disease develops in humans.
Radiology practitioners have highlighted the benefits of cone beam CT in delivering high resolution at a low dose. Delegates at ECR 2023 in Vienna heard how cone beam CT (CBCT) could replace multidetector CT (MDCT) in some areas and is already showing cost-effectiveness benefits.
Caregivers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, have developed a programme designed to facilitate recovery by geriatric patients following hip fracture surgery. The Returning Seniors to Orthopedic Excellence (RESTORE) programme is designed to provide stellar comprehensive collaborative co-managed care for older adults with orthopaedic injuries.
Arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures has seen enormous progress in recent years, but complications due to infections are still a major problem. With good preparation and the right technique, however, orthopaedic surgeons can take away much of the horror of this scenario.
Evidence that radioembolization, a trans-arterial therapy, is safe and stops disease progression in metastatic breast cancer is increasing, a prominent American interventional radiologist showed at the Spectrum conference in Miami.
It was previously assumed that bones lacked lymphatic vessels.Now, new research not only locates them within bone tissue, but demonstrates their role in bone and blood cell regeneration.
Researchers generated human mini bones in the lab which mirror the composition and function of human bone - a step toward the development of future patient-tailored models of bone cancers and tumors.
Scientists have discovered a way to train healthy immune cells to acquire the skills of some tumor cells for a good purpose: to accelerate diabetic wound healing.
Researchers use AI to develop personalized 3D-printed joint implants so that these delicate finger parts can be replaced when necessary (e.g. after illness or injury).
Periprosthetic infections and revisions are on the rise in Germany and worldwide, with significant consequences for affected patients as well as for the healthcare systems. Precisely because the number of patients at higher risk of infection in arthroplasty continues to rise, attention is increasingly focused on how this dreaded complication can be avoided.
Some leukemias evade treatment by changing their appearance and identity through changing the read-out of their DNA, a new study has found.
To put a spotlight on the growing issue of osteoporosis in Europe, a new interactive online map presents key data from each of the EU member states, Switzerland and the UK.
Recent advances in CT have focused mainly on software, yet new technology could push the modality much further, experts showed at ECR 2022.
A new device for diagnosing bone fragility invented by the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has been approved for marketing in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The device is based on a new approach to assessing bone quality via blood sampling.
New CT technology paired with artificial intelligence-based noise reduction offers superior detection of bone disease associated with multiple myeloma at lower radiation doses than conventional CT.
Arthroplasty treatment of fragile patients is a major challenge faced by orthopaedic surgeons. The patients, often geriatric, come with a variety of risk factors and comorbidities that can negatively impact the success of an arthroplasty procedure.
The main goal of arthroplasty is to relieve pain, improve and restore joint function and recover quality of life. Periprosthetic joint infection remains a complication that has to be taken seriously.
Dark-field radiography uses a part of X-rays that has hardly been considered so far to expand the spectrum of diagnostic imaging. At the ECR Overture, Theresa Urban presented the new method.
Latest developments in computational protein design enable the simulation of sequence and structural changes in proteins for creating novel agents in human medicine.
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.
Recently, a Korean research team has developed a 3D foot imaging technique that vividly captures peripheral blood vessels, even thinner than 1 mm. It combines photoacoustic and ultrasound images.
A major advance demonstrates first multi-organ chip made of engineered human tissues linked by vascular flow for improved modeling of systemic diseases like cancer.
The motion capture technology called Precise Marker-less could aid doctors and physiotherapists in their consultations and diagnoses for patients in need of rehabilitation.
A new study has found that women’s health research remains disproportionately focused on the reproductive years, with few articles on the major causes of illness and death in women.
New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Quadram Institute reveals how our immune system can be triggered to attack cancer cells.
Pre-transplant chemotherapy facilitates the replacement of the brain's innate immune cells, by other immune cells derived from the transplanted stem cells.
Researchers pinpoint a sound-sensitive mammalian protein that lets them activate brain, heart or other cells with ultrasound.
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be an enormous challenge for orthopaedists and trauma surgeons. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement is an important element in a prevention strategy.
A mutation in the gene that causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) doesn’t just cause extra bone growth but is tied to a problem in generating new muscle tissue after injury.
A new study has found that AI can help physicians in interpreting x-rays after an injury and suspected fracture. This has the potential to improve diagnostic performance and efficiency.
In multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, relapse almost always occurs after treatment. Initially, most patients respond well to therapy. However, as the disease progresses, resistant cancer cells spread in the bone marrow, with fatal consequences for the patients. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the National Center for…
PET/MRI is offering new imaging opportunities for cancer patients at various points along the care pathway with its ability to assess different biological processes and its increased specificity.
Virtual insights, telehealth devices portable imaging solutions and innovative approaches to endoscopy - at this year's Medica, Taiwanese companies again showcased their latest products. Even with a slightly reduced attendance due to the pandemic, the exhibitors found ingenious ways to promote their merchandise and attract the attention of potential business partners.
For nuclear medicine specialists, 2021 may be heralded as a banner year validating the use of theranostic technology to treat cancer. Long-awaited results from the international phase 3 clinical VISION trial spark confidence in many experts.
Researchers from the University of Johannesburg find that shining a near-infrared laser on adult stem cells derived from human body fat, makes the stem cells replicate 54% faster.
When it comes to getting healthy and reducing mortality risk, increasing physical activity and improving fitness appear to be superior to weight loss.
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.
Cartilage cells from the nasal septum can not only help repair cartilage injuries in the knee, they can also withstand the chronic inflammatory tissue environment in osteoarthritis and even counteract the inflammation – according to researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel.
Molecular imaging, guided by novel tracers, is emerging as an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in cardiovascular medicine. Delegates at ICNC-CT, the online International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT, also heard that cardiology can learn from fields such as oncology and neurology that have already made important advances in this area. Professor Frank Bengel, who is…
A solid diagnosis has always been the first step on any patient’s journey to health. However, diagnostic categories are necessarily oversimplifications. In the last decades, medical professionals and scientists have begun to uncover the true variability in patients’ physiological and biochemical make-up that is the principal cause for individual variations in the way diseases present…
New studies demonstrate benefits of dual antibiotic-loaded bone cement (COPAL G+C) to reduce periprosthetic joint infections in risk for infection patients.
Months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19, people still have immune cells in their body pumping out antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Such cells could persist for a lifetime, churning out antibodies all the while.
Before the huge potential of tiny nanocarriers for highly targeted drug delivery and environmental clean-up can be realized, scientists first need to be able to see them. Currently researchers have to rely on attaching fluorescent dyes or heavy metals to label parts of organic nanocarrier structures for investigation, often changing them in the process. A new technique using chemically-sensitive…
Spinal fusion is frequently performed to restore spinal stability in patients with spinal diseases, such as spinal stenosis, vertebral fractures, progressive deformities, and instability. In the past two decades, there has been marked increase in the number of people over 65 years in age who have needed spinal fusion surgery.
CT scanning used to uncover remnants of malignancy hidden inside medieval bones provides new insight into cancer prevalence in a pre-industrial world. The first study to use x-rays and CT scans to detect evidence of cancer among the skeletal remains of a pre-industrial population suggests that between 9-14% of adults in medieval Britain had the disease at the time of their death. This puts cancer…
Body composition information derived from routine chest CTs can provide important information on the overall health of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including their risk of all-cause mortality. This is the result of a new study, published in Radiology. COPD is a group of chronic, progressive lung diseases that affect about 30 million people in the United States alone.…
Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are an immune cell type that reduces excessive immune responses and protects the body against autoimmune diseases. A new study shows that Treg cells in human tissues acquire tissue-regenerative features and describes a method to generate these cells in the laboratory.
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) can detect prostate cancer and inform about treatment response and disease progression earlier and better than other imaging modalities. A Belgian expert will delve into the latest and future developments of the technique for prostate cancer and distant metastases imaging in a dedicated session at ECR. WB‐MRI and nuclear medicine -…
Hybrid PET/CT imaging can fully play to its strengths and steer treatment towards more effective procedures for diagnosing prostate cancer. The examination of the specific antigen PSMA with hybrid PET imaging enables treatment monitoring with significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than conventional imaging and therefore, Professor Clemens Cyran believes, will soon become the standard diagnostic…
Blood draws are no fun. They hurt. Veins can burst, or even roll — like they’re trying to avoid the needle, too. Oftentimes, doctors use blood samples to check for biomarkers of disease: antibodies that signal a viral or bacterial infection, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, or cytokines indicative of inflammation seen in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and…
B-cell lymphocytosis, a condition in which individuals have increased levels of particular white blood cells, in some cases leads to blood cancer. As an international team of researchers now shows in samples from patients, both diseases exhibit similar epigenetic signatures that are forming very early during the course of the disease. Chronic leukemias often start insidiously. White blood cells…
There is currently no cure for osteoarthritis, but a group of scientists believe they’ve discovered a method through which a simple knee injection could potentially stop the disease’s effects. These researchers showed that they could target a specific protein pathway in mice, put it into overdrive and halt cartilage degeneration over time. Building on that finding, they were able to show that…
Italian neurosurgeon Professor Francesco Di Meco, explored the current and potential role of intra-operative ultrasound in neurosurgical oncology during the annual meeting of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) this October. The extent of resection is considered a prognostic factor in operative neuro oncology surgery and image-guided surgery is being regarded as one of the…
Specialists from the Department of Fundamental Medicine of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) with Russian and Japanese colleagues have probed into mechanisms of COVID-19 inside-the-body distribution linked to erythrocytes damaging.
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation (FUS) has published its 2020 State of the Field Report, a 63-page annual update detailing new potential indications, laboratory research, clinical trials, treatments and growth in worldwide procedures performed in 2019.
Leukemia frequently originates from the so-called leukemic stem cell, which resides in a tumor promoting and protecting niche within the bone marrow. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, have found a new way to make these cells vulnerable by specifically dislodging these cells from their niches.
Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified the mechanism behind bone marrow failure developing in children that suffer from Fanconi anaemia. The findings will help to develop new therapies for the disorder.
The anatomical pathologist faces a crisis. Public and private labs suffer increasing caseloads, whilst pathologist numbers diminish for various reasons, including greater cancer prevalence associated with aging populations as well as improved cancer screening programs. Precision medicine typically involves more genetic testing and extensive use of immunohistochemistry to classify cancer and…
On the occasion of this year's World Sepsis Day, we spoke with Elena Sukhacheva, Ph.D., director of medical and scientific affairs at Beckman Coulter, about the status quo and outlook on sepsis diagnostics. With the severity of sepsis symptoms, it’s easy to comprehend why it is invaluable to diagnose this disease properly and in a timely manner. Dr Sukhacheva takes an in-depth look at…
A bioactive polymer-ceramic composite for fixing implants and restoring bone defects in the skull was developed by an international group of materials scientists from the Russian National University of Science and Technology (NUST) MISIS Center for Composite Materials. An innovative composition of the material based on eggshell-derived bioceramic provides increased strength and biointegration of…
Using highly complex analytical techniques, a group of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin were able to observe in detail how different metals are released from joint implants and accumulate in the surrounding bone tissue. Findings showed a steady release of metals from various implant components. In contrast to previous assumptions, this was not related to the degree of…
A collaboration led by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and McMaster University has led to the discovery and diagnosis of an aggressive malignant bone cancer — an osteosarcoma — for the first time ever in a dinosaur. Examples of malignant cancers are very rare in the fossil record. The paper was published in the journal The Lancet Oncology. The cancerous bone in question is the fibula (lower…
Medtech company BellaSeno announced the initiation of a first-in-human trial of its novel, absorbable soft tissue reconstruction scaffold (Senella). A patient with Pectus Excavatum congenital defect has undergone surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, earlier this month. The procedure was performed by Dr. Michael Wagels, Principal Investigator of the trial and Plastic and…
Luis Martí-Bonmatí, Director of the Medical Imaging Department at La Fe Hospital in Valencia, highlighted the need to assess utility when developing AI tools during ECR 2020. Artificial intelligence (AI) can impact and improve many aspects of clinical practice. But current expectations are too great and need to be toned down by looking at opportunities.
A tuberculosis vaccine developed 100 years ago also makes vaccinated persons less susceptible to other infections. While this effect has been recognized for a long time, it is not known what causes it. Together with colleagues from Australia and Denmark, researchers from Radboud university medical center the universities of Nijmegen and Bonn have now presented a possible answer to this question.
An algorithm that analyses MRI images and automatically detects small changes in knee joints over time could be used in the development of new treatments for arthritis. A team of engineers, radiologists and physicians, led by the University of Cambridge, developed the algorithm, which builds a three-dimensional model of an individual’s knee joint in order to map where arthritis is affecting the…
The organ of balance in the inner ear is surrounded by the hardest bone in the body. Using synchrotron X-rays, researchers at Uppsala University have discovered a drainage system that may be assumed to play a major role in the onset of Ménière's disease, a common and troublesome disorder. These results are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Ménière's disease is manifested in sudden…
Heraeus Medical, makers of the market-leading PALACOS bone cement, has enhanced its online HeraeusCare orthopedic care coordination solution to a new digital health platform that connects healthcare authorities and providers with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The coronavirus crisis is putting enormous strain on healthcare organizations, with worried patients filling emergency rooms…
BellaSeno GmbH, a company developing absorbable scaffolds using additive manufacturing technologies, announced a collaboration with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin under the recently established SyMBoD consortium. Under the agreement, BellaSeno will design and manufacture personalized, 3D-printed, absorbable implants suitable for the treatment of diabetes patients with bone defects. The…
As coronavirus disease COVID-19 continues to jet and alight invisibly around the globe, scientists now report that the virus has mutated to become two strains: the older ‘S-type’ appears milder and less infectious, while the later-emerging ‘L-type’, is more aggressive, spreads more quickly, and currently accounts for about 70 per cent of cases. Worldwide, medical researchers are exploring…
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is on the increase internationally. In Germany, for example, around 14,500 cases of PJI in hip and knee replacements occur annually. 5,100 of those are caused by multidrug resistant pathogens. ‘Eighty-seven percent of those affected die within five years,’ orthopaedic surgeon Professor Rudolf Ascherl MD pointed out during the Heraeus Symposium held at the…
Due to the scientific and technical developments in recombinant DNA technology and protein engineering since the early 1980s, therapeutic proteins have emerged as one of the most important classes of new pharmaceuticals. Currently, more than 200 protein and peptide based drugs have gained approval by the USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many more are under preclinical or clinical…
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) is championed as offering significant benefits, such as improving disease evaluation for prostate cancer patients. During an intense session in genito-urinary cancer at ECR 2019, three key speakers focused on the advantages over conventional imaging modalities as well as discussing new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) tracers.
Medication prescribed for a certain type of epilepsy may offer a new method for treating malignant infantile brain tumours. A specific mTOR inhibitor has the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier to both reach and attack the tumour at source. This has been demonstrated by researchers from Uppsala University, in collaboration with US and UK colleagues, whose research has now been published in…
Although some people foresee artificial intelligence (AI) easing medical workloads, many challenges arise before that dream can begin. Dr Felix Nensa and Dr Bram Stieltjes described such hurdles in a session held during a SITEM School Symposium in Bern, Switzerland. Whilst AI has potential, actually delivering that asset in to routine medical practice remains a major challenge.
Measles infections are not harmless – they can cause disease courses that may be of fatal outcome. Researchers of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) in co-operation with researchers from the UK and the Netherlands have now found out that measles viruses erase part of the immunological memory over several years. Affected persons are thus more susceptible to infections with other pathogens beyond…
Is it possible to repair the rachis without having to open the abdomen or the back? A team of French surgeons has done just that. Thanks to minimally invasive robotic surgery, exposing the patient to risky spine interventions may soon be avoidable, a leading surgeon explained. The team of neurosurgeons and vascular surgeons has, for the first time, successfully repaired the lumbar spine with the…
Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) can send radiologists on a frustrating scavenger hunt: metastases were detected but the primary cancer is nowhere to be seen. Professor Alwin Krämer, Head of the Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Haematology/Oncology at University Hospital Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center, explains strategies for dealing with CUP.
A study led by the University of Birmingham provides strong support for current recommendations on treating patients with an underactive thyroid and validates latest UK and US guidelines, say researchers. The retrospective cohort study, published in The BMJ, analysed anonymous GP records of over 162,000 patients who have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism – a highly prevalent condition more…
Uwe Joseph Schoepf, Professor for Radiology, Cardiology and Paediatrics and Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina, discusses areas of application for AI-based radiology. The cardiothoracic imaging expert and his team were largely involved in the development and early clinical trials of the Siemens AI-Rad Companion Chest CT, a software…
A study of nearly half a million people has found for the first time that those with heart or blood vessel problems benefit more from having a physically active lifestyle than do healthy people without cardiovascular disease (CVD). Increased physical activity reduced the risk of dying during a six-year follow-up period for people with and without CVD, but the researchers found the greatest…
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have investigated the link between osteoarthritis and mortality in an epidemiological study. It was shown that the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was higher for people with osteoarthritis than for the rest of the population. Using population registers, the researchers studied approximately 469 000 people living in Skåne, Sweden, who in 2003…
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) Consultant Radiologist Tom Turmezei has been awarded the prestigious Royal College of Radiologists’ Roentgen Professorship for 2020, a role created to encourage trainee radiologists across the UK to participate in research. “Research is absolutely key to making discoveries that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the…
New results of a 65-year follow-up study of nearly 7,000 Norwegian patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) suggest that patients may have a greater overall risk of developing cancer than the general population, with an especially high risk of cancer in respiratory organs, urinary organs and the central nervous system. Presented at the 5th European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Oslo,…
Help for patients with sickle cell disease may soon come from gene editing to fix the mutation that causes the disease and boost the patient's own protective fetal hemoglobin.
A proof-of-principle study shows that gold nanoparticles loaded with CRISPR and other gene-editing tools safely and effectively edited blood stem cells.
Stem cells are surrounded and protected by the stem-cell niche – the microenvironment – of the tissue in which they are found. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped the stem-cell niche in the bone marrow of mice and studied how it is influenced by developing leukemia. Their results, which are published in the journal Cell, show that the bone-marrow microenvironment is more complex…
Beckman Coulter is launching the ClearLLab 10C System for the clinical flow cytometry lab. The new system is the first 10-color IVD panel of immunophenotyping reagents cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both lymphoid and myeloid lineages. The four dry pre-mixed antibody tubes use the company’s DURA Innovations technology, eliminating the need to pipette antibodies, improving…
Advancing technology is allowing scientists increasingly to search for tiny signs of cancer and other health issues in samples of patients’ blood and urine. These “liquid biopsies” are less invasive than a traditional biopsy, and can provide information about what’s happening throughout the body instead of just at a single site. Now researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer…
In the past, we repeatedly focused our attention on developments in the clinical application of mass spectrometry-based methods in patient care. Various aspects became significant. Today, the use of Liquid Chromatography Triple Quad Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) can be considered today’s standard, although classically applied immunoassays continue to be…
Early detection and confirmation of carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are essential when choosing the appropriate antimicrobial therapy and to implement infection control measures. Here, a leading Spanish microbiologist reviews an arsenal of tools currently available to clinicians. Resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in enterobacteriaceae (EBc) is due to one or more of these…
Chordomas are rare bone tumors for which only few options of treatment exist. Scientists and doctors from the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have discovered a particular genetic trait of chordomas in advanced stages after conducting gene analysis. Their findings, published in the journal Nature…
Hackers can access a patient's 3-D medical scans to add or remove images of malignant tumors, thus placing patients at risk of misdiagnoses. The new study, published by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev cybersecurity researchers, showed that the altered scans successfully deceived both radiologists and artificial intelligence algorithms used to aid diagnosis. A 3-D CT (computerized…
It’s undeniable: the bulk of our population is growing older. Yet, this demographic change has not altered laboratory medicine: the reference values for many analyses are still based on data of a younger cohort. Inevitably this could lead to serious errors in the interpretation of older patients’ test results.
Molecular imaging is an exciting field for scientists who are willing to explore and innovate, prominent Spanish physicist José María Benlloch pointed out when he reviewed some of the most impacting and recent innovations in his portfolio during a meeting in Valencia. ‘Our mission is to develop innovative sensitive and harmless medical imaging instruments for early detection of diseases and…
Radiologist Alexis Kelekis, Associate Professor of Interventional and Musculoskeletal Radiology at Attikon University Hospital, Athens, speaks about his work and developments in merging scans and techniques to gain greater accuracy in diagnosis and planning. The benefits of fusion imaging are widely acknowledged. Favoured in clinical practice by radiologist Alexis Kelekis, he explained: ‘The…
The first report from a phase II, multi-center clinical trial indicates that a newer, more aggressive form of radiation therapy — stereotactic radiation — can extend long-term survival for some patients with stage-IV cancers while maintaining their quality of life. The study is published in the January issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal),…
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the stem cell institute HI-STEM* have succeeded for the first time in directly reprogramming human blood cells into a previously unknown type of neural stem cell. These induced stem cells are similar to those that occur during the early embryonic development of the central nervous system. They can be modified and multiplied indefinitely…
Professor Christoph M Friedrich researches the interface between man and molecule. Born in Westphalia, Germany, the professor for biomedical computer science at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences recently took up an additional role at the Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometrics and Epidemiology (IMIBE) in Essen University Hospital. In 2013, the cooperation between the two institutions…
Flow cytometry has proved an invaluable diagnostic tool for leukaemia and lymphoma for almost three decades. Now, however, this is evolving in applications to seek out residual disease in cases and in fusion with molecular testing to advance its diagnostic potential. However, although recognised as fast, flexible and accurate, flow cytometry suffers from a lack of standardisation, according to…
Growth! New hardware, new software, richer imaging, enhanced communication and image transfer plus artificial intelligence (AI) are all pushing the pace that medical organisations, radiologists and device manufacturers must run to keep up. We spoke with Dr Erik Ranschaert, President of EuSOMII, about today’s changing face of radiology.
The CRISPR genome editing technique promises to be a "transformative leap" in genetic engineering and therapy, affecting almost every area of medicine. That includes plastic surgery, with potential advances ranging from prevention of craniofacial malformations, to therapeutic skin grafts, to new types of rejection-free transplants, according to a paper in the November issue of Plastic…
When delegates from around 150 countries converge on Munich for ESC Congress 2018 they will no doubt reflect on what they themselves eat. Yes, nutrition is up for debate, questioning, for example, whether weight loss therapies can also prevent heart attacks and strokes. Results from the CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 trial of 12,000 overweight individuals with established cardiovascular disease or diabetes…
A pioneering study into myeloma, a rare cancer, could lead to General Practicianer (GPs) using simple blood tests to improve early diagnosis. The study investigated the best combination of blood tests that could be used to diagnose myeloma in GP practices.
Glioblastoma brain tumors can have an unusual effect on the body's immune system, often causing a dramatic drop in the number of circulating T-cells that help drive the body's defenses. Where the T-cells go has been unclear, even as immunotherapies are increasingly employed to stimulate the body's natural ability to fight invasive tumors. Now researchers have tracked the missing T-cells in…
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) technology platform that could potentially change the way drug combinations are being designed, hence enabling doctors to determine the most effective drug combination for a patient quickly. Applying the platform towards drug resistant multiple myeloma, a type of…
Scientists have developed a new bone engineering technique called Segmental Additive Tissue Engineering (SATE). The technique allows researchers to combine segments of bone engineered from stem cells to create large scale, personalized grafts that will enhance treatment for those suffering from bone disease or injury through regenerative medicine.
For the first time, a team of international researchers have mapped the family trees of cancer cells in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) to understand how this blood cancer responds to a new drug, enasidenib. The work also explains what happens when a patient stops responding to the treatment, providing important clues about how to combine enasidenib with other anti-cancer drugs to produce…
Green blood is one of the most unusual characteristics in the animal kingdom, but it's the hallmark of a group of lizards in New Guinea. Prasinohaema are green-blooded skinks, or a type of lizard. The muscles, bones and tongues of these lizards appear bright, lime-green due to high levels of biliverdin, or a green bile pigment, which is toxic and causes jaundice. Surprisingly, these lizards…
Weak, easily broken bones are an epidemic in the United States. They’re often tied to osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to degenerate over time. This makes them less flexible, more brittle, and easier to break. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, more than 44 million Americans aged 50 and older either have or face the threat of developing osteoporosis due to low bone…
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the School of Engineering & Applied Science is redefining the notion of a wisdom tooth. The team is developing a smart-tooth technology that could someday be used to detect early signs of certain diseases in high-risk patients by analyzing saliva or gingival crevicular fluid.…
High levels of vitamin D may be linked to a lower risk of developing cancer, including liver cancer, concludes a large study of Japanese adults published by The BMJ today. The researchers say their findings support the theory that vitamin D might help protect against some cancers. Vitamin D is made by the skin in response to sunlight. It helps to maintain calcium levels in the body to keep bones,…
Immunotherapy is taking center stage in imaging, but patient follow-up with CT is no cookie and may fall short in the peripheral limbs, brain and bone marrow. MRI offers specific benefits in these situations, and, combined with PET, it may bring even more results. Research must be carried out on quantitative techniques and tracers developed to fully exploit that potential, Prof. Dow-Mu Koh…
Macrophage cells routinely remove dead or dying cells to maintain the body homeostasis. Such removal becomes crucial after serious injury, especially the repair of dead heart muscle after a heart attack. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have preliminary data, with cultured cells or diabetic hearts, that diabetes impairs this removal of dead heart-muscle cells. They believe this…
Engineers at the University of Connecticut (UConn) have created a biodegradable pressure sensor that could help doctors monitor chronic lung disease, swelling of the brain, and other medical conditions before dissolving harmlessly in a patient’s body. The UConn research is featured in the current online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The small, flexible sensor is…
T cells play a key role in the body’s immune response against pathogens. As a new class of therapeutic approaches, T cells are being harnessed to fight cancer, promising more precise, longer-lasting mitigation than traditional, chemical-based approaches. These “living drugs” are poised to transform medicine, with a growing number of cellular therapies receiving FDA-approval. A current…
A team of scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is looking to some deep sea dwellers to create a better way to develop cancer-fighting therapies. Harnessing the power of the enzymes that give these marine animals the ability to glow, the team created a test that makes it easy for researchers to see whether a therapy is having its intended effect — killing cancer cells. The results of…
Lars Schimmöller MD, associate professor of radiology at Düsseldorf University Hospital, tackled current diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and addressed tumour detection, staging, active surveillance and recurrence during the Medica Academy session on Imaging Update. He also highlighted how MRI helps improve biopsies and avoid unnecessary surgery in PCa.
Using light-emitting nanoparticles, Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists have invented a highly effective method to detect tiny tumors and track their spread, potentially leading to earlier cancer detection and more precise treatment. The technology could improve patient cure rates and survival times. “We’ve always had this dream that we can track the progression of cancer in real…
Loyola University Medical Center is the only Chicago center that participated in the pivotal clinical trial of a groundbreaking cancer treatment that genetically engineers a patient's immune system to attack cancer cells. Patrick Stiff, MD, director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, is a co-author of the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The treatment used in…
Combining molecular information and high contrast resolution may well improve current performance in colorectal cancer (CRC) cases, according to Vicky Goh, who presented the latest results on PET/MRI during the last European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in Madrid PET/MRI brings the best of both modalities together: high contrast to noise and high spatial resolution combined with…
Results of a University of Nebraska Medical Center study found if the standard supplementation of 400 IUs of vitamin D is increased to 800 IUs daily there are reductions in the number of premature and preterm babies with extremely low bone density. Physicians have been prescribing vitamin D in premature and preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to prevent rickets, a disease…
For years, medical investigators have tried and failed to develop vaccines for a type of staph bacteria associated with the deadly superbug MRSA. But a new study by Cedars-Sinai investigators shows how staph cells evade the body’s immune system, offering a clearer picture of how a successful vaccine would work.
Scientists are honing in on a potential treatment for osteoporosis, after performing the largest ever genetic study of the common age-related bone-thinning disease.
Researchers in Germany have demonstrated that hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants can be improved by treatments that temporarily prevent the stem cells from dying.
Could a new weapon in the fight against arthritis be found somewhere beyond the sea? New research from Switzerland encourages this idea.
A research team found that in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a special cell population called innate lymphoid cells are in a state of hibernation which is why these patients suffer from persistent inflammation.
As the demand for imaging studies booms and digital pathology takes off, it is becoming necessary to look at the interactions between radiology and pathology in telemedicine, an expert explained during the Radiology Triangle Madrid meeting early this year.
Scientists from the University of Würzburg give fascinating 3D-insights into the bone marrow, and successfully elucidated new details about the process of thrombocyte generation.
A major 20-year study provides further evidence that prostate cancer surgery offers negligible benefits to many men with early-stage disease. In such men, who account for most cases of newly diagnosed prostate cancer, surgery did not prolong life and often caused serious complications such as infection, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Scientists from the University of Würzburg successfully elucidated new details about a circuit regulating platelet biogenesis. These important findings could contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism leading to bleeding disorders.
Language recognition on the smartphone, spam filters in the e-mail programme, personalised product recommendations by Amazon or Netflix – all share one feature: they are based on an algorithm that recognises patterns in a set of data. This artificial generation of knowledge is called machine learning.
Gadolinium-based contrast agents are an essential component of MRI exams, but are challenged by findings of residual depositions of gadolinium in the body, even though the clinical relevance remains unknown. Three clinicians described how changes to MRI protocols and dose levels for contrast media can optimise the balance between benefit and risk for patients and radiologists.
At the 2017 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), June 10-14 at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, Siemens Healthineers debuts Symbia Intevo Bold, a system that combines the company’s proven single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) technologies with new, high-performance CT capabilities to enable a wide range of clinical applications.
Using computed tomography (CT) to evaluate muscle health may help identify optimal treatments for older patients who fall and break their hips, a new study led by radiologists from UC Davis and Wake Forest Baptist medical centers has found.
A novel treatment offers kidney failure and kidney transplant patients with a rare disorder new hope. The treatment allows targeted elimination of plasma cell clones producing abnormal proteins that deposits in the kidneys and leads to kidney failure, according to new research.
Over the next few years, in a research project funded by the EU, an international consortium is developing a new technology for a better treatment of multiple sclerosis. The idea of the innovative “Nose2Brain” approach is to transport a special active substance directly through the nose into the central nervous system.
Mathematical model shows injections of peptide could raise density of bones badly degraded by osteoporosis back to healthy levels.
Short men may have an increased risk of becoming bald prematurely. An international genetic study under the leadership of the University of Bonn at least points in this direction. During the study, the scientists investigated the genetic material of more than 20,000 men. Their data show that premature hair loss is linked to a range of various physical characteristics and illnesses. The work has…
Focused ultrasound can effectively destroy tumor cells. Until now, this method has only been used for organs such as the prostate and uterus. At the European Congress of Radiology, Fraunhofer researchers will present a method, developed as part of the TRANS-FUSIMO EU project, that enables focused ultrasound treatment of the liver, an organ that moves while breathing. In the future, this could…
A team of UCLA bioengineers has demonstrated that its technology may go a long way toward overcoming the challenges of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, among the most common types of cancer in children, and has the potential to help doctors personalize drug doses.
The implantation of knee and hip joints is considered one of the success stories of recent years. But periprosthetic joints infections (PJI) are one of the severe complications, with an infection rate of 2%. The probability of revision surgery increases with concomitant diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, with fracture prosthesis or after previous surgery.
An international group of researchers report success in mice of a method of using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to track, in real time, an antibody targeting a hormone receptor pathway specifically involved in prostate cancer.
Good news for World Antibiotics Day on November 18th. As local substances carriers, antibiotic-loaded bone cements from Heraeus help in the battle against implant-associated infections in orthopaedics and trauma surgery to prevent infection. This is demonstrated by a new randomised study from Great Britain in which the use of double-loaded antibiotic bone cement following femoral head fracture…
Starting immediately, Sectra and private care provider Unilabs will offer preventive bone health testing for individuals with risk factors for osteoporosis, thereby enabling measures to be taken to reduce the risk of fractures. The analysis technology to be used by Unilabs will be provided by Sectra. One in two women in Sweden will suffer from a fracture due to osteoporosis, making osteoporosis…
When Ferdinando Draghi, M.D. speaks, the world of ultrasound listens carefully. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ultrasound, the author of 90 publications that have been cited in other peer-reviewed publications hundreds of times, Dr. Draghi is widely known for his authoritative knowledge in diseases affecting the musculoskeletal (MSK) system.
Researchers at The University of Manchester have unlocked the potential of a new test which could revolutionise the way doctors diagnose and monitor a common childhood Leukaemia. Dr Suzanne Johnson says that cancerous acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells produce and release special structures that can be traced in the blood. The discovery could have major implications on the diagnosis, monitoring,…
There are a couple strains of herpes so common that researchers estimate 90% of the human population have them. These strains, human herpes 6 and human herpes 7, usually do not cause severe symptoms when people acquire them. But researchers know that under certain circumstances, dormant herpes viruses in the body can unexpectedly come roaring back and cause complications not typically associated…
As men appear to have higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women of a similar age – with vascular calcification a strong predictor of mortality and morbidity from CVD – a team from the University of Edinburgh hopes that exploration of a link between gender and calcification could help unlock the pathway to new therapies. The researchers have been looking at whether sex hormones…
With a unique approach that draws on 3-D printing technologies, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers is developing new tools for understanding how ovarian cancer develops in women.
A new technique developed by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, the Mikati Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia Engineering and professor of medical sciences (in Medicine) at Columbia University, repairs large bone defects in the head and face by using lab-grown living bone, tailored to the patient and the defect being treated. This is the first time researchers have grown living…
Since launching Somatom Definition in 2005, Siemens has continued to develop Dual Source technology in order to overcome the remaining challenges in computed tomography. This significant development has made it possible to produce diagnostic images of a patient’s beating heart and coronary vessels without having to artificially lower their heart rate, for example. Scanning speeds that were…
In spectral imaging, x-ray images are formed in the customary grey scale imaging procedure. However different photon energies are used, generating images in different colors. Aside from the acquisition of anatomical information, this measurement makes it possible to show different tissue compositions.
As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease – Leishmaniasis – from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.
A research team led by University of Arkansas chemist Jingyi Chen and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences microbiologist Mark Smeltzer has developed an alternative therapeutic approach to fighting antibiotic-resistant infections.
A research team headed by scientists at the Institute of Neuroimmunology and the Institute for Multiple Sclerosis Research (IMSF), University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), has gained new insights into the immune function of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). They used real-time microscopy to film the lively trafficking of immune cells between the CSF and the nervous tissue. Here the meninges play the…
Mom’s eyes and dad’s tumor? Cancer is due to genetic defects, some of which can be hereditary. The gene variant rs351855, for example, occurs in one in two cancer patients. A team headed by Axel Ullrich from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried identified the gene variant a decade ago. Now, they succeeded for the first time in showing that the variation exposes an otherwise…
Findings demonstrate that testosterone is a metabolic hormone as well as a sex hormone, University at Buffalo researchers say.
The joint practice of Drs. Ulrike and Dieter von der Burg in Münster, Germany, decided on the GU60 digital X-ray system by Samsung Health Medical Equipment (HME) and is very pleased with the image quality and workflow. The strong Samsung support and comprehensive expanded training program which allows the exploitation of the full potential was also a factor in choosing Samsung HME.
Impacting on clinical decisions. Accelerating clinical routine. Following the release of its new Version 6 software upgrade for the Aplio Platinum Series ultrasound system, Toshiba has received high marks for the enhanced functions and performance from practitioners, each offering specific insights into how they are applying the technology.
Studies are underway to determine if a new modular partial wrist replacement will allow for better movement and last longer than traditional implants for people seeking relief from painful wrist arthritis. Although current options such as total wrist replacement and wrist fusion can alleviate pain, patients are often limited in performing certain activities after surgery.
Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at Tufts University and their collaborators have successfully developed a 3-dimensional (3D) tissue-engineered model of bone marrow that can produce functional human platelets outside the body (ex vivo).
People often talk about how important it is to stay in shape, something humans usually can accomplish with exercise and a healthy diet, and other habits. But chances are, few of us ever think about the shape of our individual cells.
In a small pilot study, researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a rapid, simple way to generate large numbers of lung stem cells for use in disease treatment. This method of harvesting and growing a patient’s own lung stem cells shows promise in mice for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and could one day provide human IPF sufferers with an effective, less…
MRSA is bad news. If you've never heard of it, here's what you need to know: It's pronounced MER-suh, it's a nasty bacterial infection and it can cause serious disease and death. Senior molecular biology major Jacob Hatch knows MRSA as the infection that took his dad's leg.
Diabetes, which now affects almost 30 million Americans, can cause serious health complications, including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower-extremity amputations. A lesser-known but equally grave complication is the effect of diabetes on bone health.“Clinical trials have revealed a startling elevation in fracture risk in diabetic patients,” says Liyun Wang, associate…
For patients with an often-deadly form of leukemia, new research suggests that lingering cancer-related mutations – detected after initial treatment with chemotherapy – are associated with an increased risk of relapse and poor survival.
At Europe’s largest meeting for clinical laboratories, Beckman Coulter stepped forward to welcome a new class of customers looking for familiar and reliable instruments. Report: John Brosky
Adults who are worried or terrified sometimes curl up into a fetal position. Likewise, adult cells that are injured, including genetic injury leading to cancer, initiate a process that was present during embryonic development.
Looking at measurements of the vertebrae – the series of small bones that make up the spinal column – in newborn children, investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles found that differences between the sexes are present at birth. Results of the study in the August issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, suggest that this difference is evolutionary, allowing the female spine to adapt to the…
During the past 15 years, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has evolved into a vital technology used to perform routine tests in many clinical laboratories. Historically, LC-MS/MS had been used primarily by research, pharmaceutical, or commercial laboratories; however, advances in the technology, decreasing costs for basic systems, intelligible software, an increased…
40 years after the launch of its first series model, Siretom, Siemens Healthcare is looking back on the successful development of its computed tomography division. With innovations such as Spiral, Multislice, and most recently Dual Source technology, Siemens has been driving the CT market and clinical diagnostics for decades. Today, three patients are scanned with a Siemens CT system every…
Shimadzu, worldwide leading manufacturer of diagnostic imaging equipment, has released the new digital radiography system RADspeed Pro EDGE in 2015 – the year of Shimadzu’s 140th anniversary. The system provides a wide range of functionalities: from tomosynthesis via dual-energy subtraction to modern auto-stitching to support diagnostics in clinical applications.
“I am very concerned about the impact that Angelina Jolie has on the media,” Walter Rocca, professor of epidemiology and neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, stated. He wasn’t hinting to Jolie’s acting choices or waifish silhouette, but to the confusion surrounding her decision to remove her ovaries to prevent ovarian cancer. By Mélisande Rouger
For all the advances being made in this discipline, postoperative infections remain a great challenge for orthopaedists and trauma surgeons. More than 7,000 experts from around the globe are gathering in Prague for the 16th EFORT Congress to consult on ways to optimise prevention and therapy for these dreaded complications.
Women over the age of 50 are not only at higher risk of developing breast cancer but also osteoporosis. Would it not be practical to use the same method to detect both diseases early on? Definitely, decided Sectra, the Swedish company specialising in PACS and mammography systems.
Findings of a recent study say that environmental stress is a major factor for DNA damage and therefore the reason for accelerated tissue aging and probably cancer. Good sleep prevents this DNA damage.
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and from the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University treated mice with a combination of a low-dose metronomic chemotherapy and an antibody against Ang-2, a regulatory protein of the blood vessel lining cells. The treated animals had significantly less metastases.
Early diagnosis and effective therapy of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) remain a challenge for many physicians due to the complexity and heterogeneity of clinical symptoms. As individual solutions are needed, opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas are welcome, as clearly shown during the satellite symposium on the diagnosis and treatment of periprosthetic knee infections held at this…
Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) are the most frequent complication in orthopaedic implant patients and may occur any time: weeks, months, or even years after an implantation. Report: Ludger Weß
Researchers are using computed tomography (CT) and 3-D printing technology to recreate life-size models of patients' heads to assist in face transplantation surgery.
What's the ideal solution for vulnerable plaque imaging? 'A non-invasive imaging procedure with high spatial and temporal resolution, and without radiation exposure, and which provides information on coronary plaque composition precisely and in series.' Report: Axel Viola
In many practices and hospitals the X-ray systems need to be modernised. Increasingly, physicians opt for digital radiography (DR) systems, as did Dr Joachim Münch and Dr Dennis Völker who run an orthopaedic and surgical practice in Winsen an der Luhe, Germany.
Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced it has joined the European Prosthetic Joint Infection Cohort Study (EPJIC).
Two years ago, following John Dalli’s resignation as Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs, Tonio Borg was appointed to that role by the Council of the European Commission.
Most clinical laboratories use immunoassays routinely to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OH D) in serum. The metabolites of vitamin D are important in the regulation of calcium and bone metabolism.
Postoperative infections after knee or hip joint replacements are among the most feared complications in orthopaedic surgery. At the EFORT Congress in London current research was presented that provides new insights in this field: Fracture patients are especially vulnerable to infection. New biomarkers should improve early diagnosis of risky infections.
There is a wealth of information in every radiology exam, but even a phalanx of super-computers at the National Security Agency (NSA) could not extract it.
How does spectral – or dual energy – imaging work? Very similar to red and green light used in black-and-white photography. A black-and-white camera provides information on the colours of the photographed objects: an object that is black under red light is actually green.
‘The disease “cancer” is increasingly classified into sub-groups. Today, we are already dealing with a number of orphan diseases,’ says Professor Richard Greil MD, head of LIMCR at University Hospital Salzburg.
Curie-Cancer, the body which leads the Institut Curie's industry partner research activity, and Servier, today announce that they have renewed their partnership with the aim of identifying therapeutic targets for treating ‘triple negative’ breast cancers. The partnership will continue for a further three years.
The insight that psychological, social and environmental conditions affect a person’s health is insufficiently considered in medical training and in the every-day diagnosis and treatment of patients.
The number of patients treated with implants – from cardiac pacemakers, heart valves and vascular implants to artificial hips and knees – is rising worldwide.
Although traditionally exporting timber and machinery, today Finland has established itself as a producer of high-tech products. This includes innovative medical technology.
Nothing new has been invented in heart failure in the last 15 years, according to Christian Homsy, CEO of Belgian-based Cardio3 Biosciences. This explains the excitement surrounding an emerging treatment among cardiologists, patients and investors.
Mass spectrometry has been applied in advanced clinical research and drug discovery and development. Continual innovations have created capabilities to address complex analytical challenges qualitatively and quantitatively with unparalleled speed, sensitivity and accuracy
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.
Countries vary considerably in the number of cases in which artificial knee joints are employed, according to researchers from the Medical University of Graz (Austria) reporting at the EFORT Congress in Istanbul.
In the meantime, the Compamed Spring forum has become as much a part of the furniture as the Compamed in Düsseldorf - the leading international specialist trade fair for suppliers to the medical technology industry which has been held every year in November since 1992.
Loading high performance functions on highly portable ultrasound systems puts life-saving tools in the hands of trauma physicians, John Brosky reports.
In a Special Focus Session, experts addressed the necessity to perform palliative interventional techniques in cancer treatment and they insisted that interventional radiologists should become more than just technicians.
Simultaneous surgical successes open new perspectives for multiple transplants
Forty years ago an article was published that would change medical practice. In the British Journal of Radiology, English electrical engineer Godfrey N Hounsfield described how he had made a patient’s brain visible non-invasively by evaluating a large number of X-ray images of the skull taken from different directions.
‘The disease “cancer” is increasingly classified into sub-groups. Today, we are already dealing with a number of orphan diseases,’ says Professor Richard Greil MD, head of LIMCR at University Hospital Salzburg.
Germany hopes for better research conditions as revision of the EU Clinical Trials Directive is nigh
Dr Peter Choyke, Chief of the Molecular Imaging Programme at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, USA, believes that new tracers will have an evolving role to play and represent an exciting development in the imaging of cancers.
Although most nuclear medical examinations using SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) take place beyond hospitals, two to three times more SPECT exams than PET-CT exams are carried out within hospitals.
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
Virtual FDG-PET/CT bronchoscopy has been found to be a technically feasible tool for the detection of lymph node metastases in non-small cell lung cancer patients with good diagnostic accuracy, according to researchers at the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Dusseldorf and Essen.
Susanne Werner reports on the views and revelations of international researchers gathered to deliberate the future potential of reprogrammed human adult stem cells and personalised medical treatments
Comprehensive additional training is necessary in Germany, to specialise in paediatric radiology, and only seven among the country’s 35 university hospitals provide paediatric radiology professorships. Thus, there are only about 80 specialists in this field and very few work in private practice
World of Ultrasound met Prof. Ioan Sporea, Prof. Gebhard Mathis and Prof. Byung Ihn Choi to ask them three questions.
Research into new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP).
Researchers from London's Kingston University have developed a new highly-accurate blood test which can detect how much a patient's diet could be responsible for a lack of the so-called "sunshine vitamin". Vitamin D deficiencies can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of cancer and osteoporosis.
Bacteria are highly flexible when it comes to choosing a vehicle to enter a human body. During orthopaedic surgery, they may well settle on a prosthetic joint and cause immediate or delayed infections.
Preliminary research presented at SNM’s 58th Annual Meeting is breaking new ground for the development of a brand new hybrid molecular imaging system. Simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is providing important diagnostic information about soft tissues and physiological functions throughout the body. Scans focused on screening suspicious lesions…
The 12th EFORT Congress, celebrating the 20th year of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, aims to update knowledge of any specialty or subspecialty involving the diagnosis and management of bone and joint problems. The event will draw experts from over 30 European countries, and also benefit from specific contributions from Nordic countries.
Pushing the power of scanners creates new world for imaging, but whilst high-field magnets bring new capabilities they also pose new challenges for clinicians. John Brosky reports
This April the 77th Annual Meeting of the German Cardiac Society (DGK) presented over 300 events with 1,800 speakers, covering the entire spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, from fundamental research to clinical routine. Professor Gerd Hasenfuss, Director of the Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology and Chair of the Heart Research Centre in Gottingen, particularly requested a focus on …
Transcatheter valve implants (TAVI) have encouraged a new group of patients. Previously inoperable, they may now receive adequate treatment. Some centres report a success rate close to the conventional open surgical procedure. Naturally, the long-term outcome is still unclear. Holger Zorn reports.
Vienna - For the 23rd time, the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) is opening its doors to welcome 19,000 participants from over 90 countries. The scientific exchange of knowledge and the presentation of the latest developments in the field of radiology will again be presented right in the heart of Europea. In an inaugural press conference on March 3rd, the hot topics of the congress were…
Breast cancer can develop very differently in different women. Researchers in Norway are improving breast cancer diagnostics and treatment by identifying the various tumour types. The objective is to find out as much as possible about the various tumour types so that each patient can receive precisely the right treatment at the right time.
Different tests bring different results, and results of the same types of test vary from laboratory to laboratory. "In the case of test procedures for autoimmune diseases there are incredible discrepancies," confirmed Professor Manfred Herold, head of the Laboratory for Rheumatism at the University Clinic for Internal Medicine One, Innsbruck. The reason: "There are no standards for…
Norwegian studies indicate that people with osteoporosis have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and vice versa. Now researchers believe they have found a biological system that may influence both disease processes.
Even more precise diagnoses, even better process controls -- the future of MR-PET technology has dawned. The first commercial, full-body hybrid scanners are either waiting in the wings or already installed. But what does the introduction of the MR-PET really mean for clinical practice? Professor Heinz-Peter Schlemmer MD, Head of the Radiology Department at the German Cancer Research Centre in…
Malignant diseases rank second in mortality rates in Germany. These patients thus receive a major proportion of ambulant and hospital care, with apparent socioeconomic consequences. To optimise treatment planning, for all solid tumour entities it is mandatory to delineate or stage the primary extent of tumour invasion and spread prior to therapy as precisely as possible.
Looking ahead to MEDICA 2010 (17 to 20 November) the signs are good. The high number of registrations is a sign of optimism in the medical technology industry and the number of exhibitors has already seen a significant increase in comparison to last year. With six months left to go until the fair begins, some 115,000 square metres of exhibition space had already been booked.