United Imaging showcased its full portfolio of AI-empowered products at the ECR 2024 in Vienna. The company highlighted its significant EU growth since establishing its regional HQ in 2019.
An interplanetary title for a quite down-to-earth topic: The symposium "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" at the EACVI congress (European Association of Cardiovascular imaging) launched into the differences between the hearts of men and women. While the speakers could firmly establish that both sexes share the same home world, variations in their cardiac anatomy warrant a more…
Combining a biological heart and a silicone robotic pump, researchers created a biorobotic heart that beats like a real one, with a focus on a valve on the left side of the heart.
Many children born with heart problems receive prosthetic valves, but the valves cannot grow with them. A prototype expanding artificial heart valve could greatly reduce the number of surgeries.
A team at Politecnico di Milano developed iHEART, a mathematical and computational model of the human heart designed for studying coronary artery disease.
Cardiologists in Zurich demonstrate that immediate revascularization of non-involved blood vessels offers better outcomes for patients after a heart attack than a delayed procedure.
In a pilot study of people who underwent heart surgery, researchers report that they have found microplastics in heart tissues, suggesting they were unexpectedly introduced during the procedures.
A new device could monitor and treat heart disease and dysfunction in the days, weeks or months following traumatic heart-related events — and harmlessly dissolve afterwards.
Surgical robots are becoming widespread in operating theatres, delivering accuracy and safety. An overview of the main systems, principal operators, the market and European initiatives in this field.
A new advanced form of CT imaging offers better cardiovascular imaging quality compared to dual-source CT (DSCT) in infants with suspected cardiac heart defects, according to a new study.
At the EACVI congress in Spain, medical imaging specialist Esaote unveiled, among other solutions, its new portable ultrasound system MyLabOmega eXP, which features advanced cardio tools and AI-powered automation.
A new review has shown how medical professionals in cardiology can help reduce healthcare's carbon footprint, by making small, low-cost changes in how they work.
Using an organ from a donor who underwent cardiac death, Stanford Medicine surgeons transplanted a heart while it was beating - the first time such a procedure has been achieved.
A new heart transplant technique, which allows surgeons to transplant donor hearts that have stopped beating after death, is reducing waiting lists for patients in Australia and potentially around the world.
A new US study indicates that the number of overlapping procedures managed by an anaesthesiologist increases the risk of death or complications after surgery.
Similar to the way exercise helps muscles adapt to workouts, short, repeated bouts of reduced circulation with a blood pressure cuff may help prevent the worst outcomes of heart attacks and strokes.
People who develop an abnormal heart rhythm after surgery have an increased risk of subsequently being admitted to hospital with heart failure, according to a study of over 3 million patients.
Wireless bioresorbable pacemaker bypasses need to extract non-biodegradable leads, eliminating additional risk to the patient.
Researchers are developing wearable devices to catch early signs and symptoms of diseases or monitor sick patients. We spoke to wearables and medical device expert Professor John Rogers about the benefits, challenges, trends and innovation within the sector.
Engineers developed a variable stiffness catheter made of nontoxic threads that can transition between soft and rigid states during surgery.
Reducing inflammatory mediators in the blood before surgical treatment of cardiac bacterial infection does not improve clinically relevant outcome, a new study shows.
US surgeons perform historic first successful transplant of porcine heart into adult auman with end-stage heart disease.
Interventional cardiology is entering a new era with the wider introduction of robotic procedures which bring significant benefits to the medical team and the patient. Two experts outlined the benefits at the ESC 2021 Digital Summit.
This year as every year, the very best in global HealthTech will be converging on Dusseldorf for the Medica trade fair. With more than 127 companies attending the event from November 15-18, France will have one of the largest contingents there. Grouped together under the brand umbrella of “French Healthcare”, the French MedTech companies will be presenting their many innovations to industry…
Considerable advances in point-of-care testing (POCT) devices are emerging from lab-on-a-chip platforms, innovations in smartphone-based technology and wearable technology. Cloud-based deep learning systems herald a future revolution.
Until recently, TAVI, the minimally invasive procedure in which a replacement valve is inserted inside a diseased valve has been mostly prescribed for patients too weak to face open heart surgery – largely involving those in the 80-plus age group. Today, due to greater longevity plus advancing skills that result in risks reduction, TAVI is increasingly prescribed for patients in their 70s and…
Artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change medicine and healthcare: Diagnostic patient data, e.g. from ECG, EEG or X-ray images, can be analyzed with the help of machine learning, so that diseases can be detected at a very early stage based on subtle changes. However, implanting AI within the human body is still a major technical challenge. TU Dresden scientists at the Chair of…
Researchers at the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg have developed an improved therapeutic approach to resuscitate people after cardiac arrest - often without neurological complications. Around 50,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrest in Germany every year. When occurring outside a hospital, the chances of survival are only ten percent. Survivors often suffer from severe permanent…
Research from Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E. has found a decrease in patient survival rates when treatment options – surgery, chemotherapy and radiation – are completed more than 38 weeks from the time of diagnosis. The observational study, which included more than 28,000 breast cancer patients registered in the American National Cancer Database, is…
Researchers at Northwestern and George Washington (GW) universities have developed the first-ever transient pacemaker — a wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacing device that disappears after it’s no longer needed. The thin, flexible, lightweight device could be used in patients who need temporary pacing after cardiac surgery or while waiting for a permanent pacemaker. All components…
For the first time, a prospective, international study has shown that chest pain caused by problems with the very small vessels supplying blood to the heart is an important health problem that increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death due to cardiovascular reasons. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal, recruited 686 patients from 14 institutions in seven…
A new photonics device currently in development aims to reduce unnecessary disabilities by improving the instant, real-time monitoring of newborn babies with harmless light particles.
With the first-in-man implantation of the Berlin Heart Venous Cannula at the LMU University Hospital Munich, Germany, Berlin Heart offers patients with a failing Fontan circulation a unique chance to survive the waiting time for a donor heart. These patients are in a life-threatening condition: their health has deteriorated so much that they desperately need a new heart, but because of their poor…
Cardiac surgery across Europe is being set back as a result of the ongoing coronavirus. Operations are being postponed, treatment delayed, and critical care staff have been redeployed to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on health services. However, gaining a clear picture of the Europe-wide situation, and the long-term effects coronavirus will have on heart surgery, is a challenge…
The most deadly global health crisis in a century has resulted in a substantial decline in overall heart surgery volume and an unexplained increase in deaths after coronary artery bypass grafting, according to late-breaking research presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
This July, Fujifilm Sonosite launched Sonosite PX, its newest ultrasound system, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Diku Mandavia, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Fujifilm Sonosite, sat down with sonographer and Sonosite’s Director of Marketing Development Jodi Miller to discuss how Sonosite’s newest ultrasound system can help frontline health care workers combat the pandemic and why…
For cardiology patients fitted with an implantable cardiac monitor, cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, home monitoring is a blessing. The system also has many advantages for medical staff, as Kristina Rauholt reports. The nurse and Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for Allied Professionals (CCDS) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, has worked with home monitoring…
Bringing a little bit of science fiction into an operating room, a team of engineers and physicians at Washington University in St. Louis has shown for the first time that using a holographic display improves physician accuracy when performing a procedure to treat irregular heartbeat. Jennifer N. Avari Silva, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, and Jonathan Silva,…
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…
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…
As radiologists worldwide continue to share their knowledge of COVID-19 to help fight the pandemic, two chest experts from France and Spain talked about their country perspectives and the practical experience at their hospital in a dedicated online session organized by the European Society of Radiology (ESR).
New research at the University of Leicester, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), could change the way people living with a debilitating heart condition are treated. The £2.7m clinical trial aims to identify the best time to operate on people living with severe aortic stenosis (AS). AS is a common condition that causes a narrowing of the heart valve, restricting blood flow out of the…
For decades now, the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP has been developing processes and systems for cleaning, sterilization, and surface modification. The newly in-house developed process, called SULEEI, makes it possible to sterilize (S) and preserve decellularized pericardial tissue by means of photo-initiated ultraviolet (U) crosslinking…
Patients with the rare Loeys-Dietz syndrome suffer from aortic enlargement which may result in sudden over-expansion and a fatal aortic tear. In order to prevent this from happening, an aortic prosthesis must be implanted. A team of vascular surgeons at the University Hospital of Zurich was one of the first in the world to risk undertaking this life-saving operation on a child as an emergency…
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…
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 remarkable number of studies and innovations were presented at the 30th anniversary of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in San Diego, California. TCT 2019 will take place in San Francisco, CA between 25-29-Sep-2019. On the clinical side, the long-expected results from COAPT trial studying MitraClip device in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation and heart failure…
Scientists at ETH Zürich and the South African company Strait Access Technologies are using 3D printing to produce custom-made artificial heart valves from silicone. This could help meet an ageing population’s growing demand for replacement heart valves. The human heart has four chambers, each equipped with a valve to ensure blood flow in one direction only. If any of the heart valves are…
Artificial intelligence clinics and rehab bikes, exoskeletons and stylish protections masks – healthcare in Taiwan has many faces and facets as the international medical & healthcare exhibition Medical Taiwan in Taipei will show from 27 to 30 June 2019. We visited participating companies and hospitals to give you a sneak preview of some of the highlights that might well create a buzz in…
The blood test used to diagnose a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction) in patients admitted to hospital can be misleading, warn researchers in a study published by The BMJ.
The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) was omnipresent at RSNA2018, the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. From the opening presidential address, throughout scientific sessions and educational presentations, to the vendors’ technical exhibition, around 53,000 attendees learned about pioneering new products, research, plus challenges and opportunities to implement…
Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have developed an innovative, low cost test for earlier diagnosis of sepsis which could save thousands of lives. The simple system for sensitive real-time measurement of the life threatening condition is much quicker than existing hospital tests, which can take up to 72 hours to process. Using a microelectrode, a biosensor device is used to detect if…
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.
A new device developed by Stanford University researchers could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery. The sensor, detailed in a paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, monitors the flow of blood through an artery. It is biodegradable, battery-free and wireless, so it is compact and doesn’t need to be removed and it can warn a patient’s doctor if…
Patients who undergo heart surgery do not experience major memory changes—either better or worse—when compared with those who have a much less invasive, catheter-based procedure, according to a study published online in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. “It was comforting to see that the differences in cognitive decline between the two heart procedures are small, even though one involves…
New 7-Tesla MR methods could potentially shed light on cardiomyopathies’ principles, according to a leading French radiologist who also stresses the importance of teamwork between radiologists, cardiologists, surgeons and anaesthesiologists. Morphologic and dynamic information of the myocardium is achieved with millimetric resolution (0.9x0.9 square mm). Strong intensity variations…
The term “Cardiology” means the division of science that converses functions, diseases and health activities related to heart. It is also connected with blood, arteries and veins, as blood is the vital component of human body, upon which the heart works and for it we survive. The world cardiology market includes cardiac biomarkers, interventional cardiology and cardiovascular devices. The…
Nanomedicine is set to play an increasingly important role in the future diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Understanding the importance of nanomedicine was enhanced by four experts who spoke at the British Cardiovascular Society conference held in June. The technology – dealing with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometres and especially the manipulation of…
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…
While the question is still debated as to whether MRI is the better CT, along comes a potential game changer – a new data based 3-D reconstruction method of heart anatomy and function that aims to replace diagnostic coronary angiography. In the near future not only adult patients with coronary heart disease could benefit from this new technique but also children with complex congenital heart…
Nanomedicine will play an increasingly important role in future diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, a subject explored in detail by four expert speakers at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester in June. The conference heard that the technology – dealing with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometres, especially the manipulation of individual…
“With Your Stories – lifetime healthcare support” is the future-driven approach combining the best of two worlds by using our insight and expertise in medical imaging systems and laboratory instrumentation to benefit patients through even better prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up and thus help them in the pursuit of a healthy life.
The Clinica Creu Blanca Diagnostic Group in Barcelona, Spain, is the first clinic in Europe to use Canon Medical System’s new Celesteion PET-CT Scanner. Dr. Xavier Alomar, Head of the Diagnostic Imaging Department at the Clinic, explains how the new system has opened up a large field of diagnostic possibilities for the Group in Metabolic Medicine in Oncology, Neurology, Cardiology and…
Geometry is often referenced for matters of the heart. Marriage has been described as “two parallel lines,” and others have compared love to an “irrational equation” or as unending as “pi.” But when it comes to the medical matters of the heart, geometry can be a lonely and dangerous affair. “The shape and size of a heart is not the same for every person, and a diseased heart, such…
New words are consistently spun out in the USA and frequently assimilated into ‘American English’. Take the term ‘hospitalist’ (little used in European English), which was coined by the renowned academic physician Robert M Wachter (University of California, San Francisco) and his colleague Lee Goldman, in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996. Lisa Chamoff…
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is announcing participation in the first-ever clinical trial using stem cells from umbilical cord blood to delay or even prevent heart failure in children born with a rare congenital heart defect that leaves them with half a heart. The Phase I study is part of a multi-center collaboration dedicated to employing innovative therapies to improve outcomes for children…
Donating blood is a tangible way to help people who are struggling with serious health conditions, yet many people may not think about it or make time for it. In January – which the American Red Cross has dubbed National Blood Donor Month – blood bank supplies are typically among the lowest of the year, as many people have been traveling or busy with the holidays. Inclement weather can also…
Time is of the essence in an emergency situation, and may be the difference between life and death. Ambulance crews on the front line must decide rapidly whether or not a patient is suffering from a life-threatening condition requiring specialist treatment, and point-of-care ultrasound can provide vital guidance. Geert-Jan Deddens, a nurse practitioner in emergency care with the Rotterdam…
‘Ultrasound plays a key role in diagnosis and monitoring of treatment in the A&E department,’ emphasises Professor Joseph Osterwalder, Medical Director of the Cantonal Hospital in Appenzell, Switzerland. ‘I cannot imagine emergency medicine without ultrasound.’
Providing insights into new cardiac testing methods, Professor Stefan Holdenrieder, Director of the Institute of Laboratory Medicine at Munich’s German Heart Centre, explained why biomarkers are a game changer in diagnostics.
Just two decades ago, even though promising, point-of-care testing (POCT) was only used in hospitals and surgeries by a small number of specialists. Today POCT is in use throughout healthcare.
Not long ago, POCT was a specialist diagnostic discipline used by only few laboratory staff. This has changed considerably over recent years. Initially, the main focus had been on determining electrolytes, blood gases, blood clotting and blood count, but further parameters, such as kidney function, cardiac enzymes, urine tests and testing for autoimmune diseases have now been added. Whilst the…
Useful IT tools are abundant in today’s laboratories – ranging from software to evaluate analyses to specialist software for quality control, and middleware linking different devices. However, all these tools generate data, the adequate utilisation of which is not an easy task, said Udo Margraff, CEO of Laboratoires Réunis in Luxembourg, during our European Hospital interview. Among other…
Researchers at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, UK, have developed a highly sensitive blood test that could be used before surgical operations to predict which patients are at risk of complications will survive in the long-term.
Acknowledging the need for faster ultrasound automation, Dr Alexander Weichert explained how automated procedures can assist in the early detection of cardiovascular disease and prenatal diagnostic testing, and why a detailed prenatal diagnosis can reduce mortality and morbidity.
Today, many congenital heart defects can be diagnosed in the unborn child – and even treated in utero. Monique Haak (46), gynaecologist-perinatologist and fetal surgeon at Leids University Medical Center (LUMC) in Leiden, The Netherlands, is an expert in the diagnosis and surgery of fetal heart defects.
Study shows a simplified examination can be performed routinely on low-risk populations during the first trimester of pregnancy.
A Spanish team has, for the first time, successfully placed a pulmonary valve using catheterisation through the hepatic vein in a paediatric patient. Specialists believe this type of intervention could become an interesting alternative when traditional access points are not available.
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.
A formerly bitter competition between cardiology and cardiac surgery is increasingly replaced by constructive cooperation. The Austrian Society of Cardiology (ÖKG) even held its annual congress along with the Austrian Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery this year.
Coronary angioplasty is arguably the most revolutionary breakthrough in the history of cardiology. While the technique is today performed on millions of patients worldwide, its origins can be traced back to Zurich, Switzerland, in the late 1970s.
With 4,500 accepted abstracts, 600 sessions and 30,000 expected attendees, ESC Congress 2017 is undoubtedly the world’s largest cardiovascular event. On healthcare-in-europe.com, Dr Stephan Achenbach, Congress Program Committee Chairperson, gives an overview of issues and events unfolding in Barcelona from August 26-30.
With MEDICA 2017 drawing ever nearer, Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, sets the stage with the following statement:
Professionals in the field of children’s cardiology will hold their world congress in FCB’s Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain from the 16th to the 21st of July 2017. As part of the congress and for the first time, a special symposium will unite leading experts in the field of sports cardiology to discuss the heart health of the sports stars of the future.
Ultrasound is often the first line of imaging used in the diagnostic pathway of a patient’s journey into hospital. Additionally, the increased prevalence of chronic conditions and changes in the demographics of the general population has led to an increased demand for ultrasound. Fast-growing advances in technology also shift ultrasound into a more prominent role in patient diagnosis and…
Cardiac surgeons are successfully performing more extensive surgical repairs of type A aortic dissection—one of the highest risk operations in cardiothoracic surgery. These new surgical techniques, along with improved postoperative care, are resulting in better long-term outcomes and lower rates of complications.
Anaesthetists working in perioperative medicine have increasingly taken a whole body approach to patient evaluation known as TUBE – Total Ultrasound Body Examination – thanks to the development of point-of-care ultrasound. Dr Christophe Aveline, Consultant Anaesthetist in critical care and surgery at the Sévigné Private hospital in Rennes, is an advocate of TUBE and works closely on its…
Laboratory medicine delivery, regulation and accreditation vary between countries, e.g. Norway, Serbia and France recently aired at FiLM 2017. Leading figures explained the shape, scope and funding of healthcare and lab services and roles played by different professionals and challenges they face.
It is a collaboration that could push vascular imaging to a new level.
In rare cases, a dangerous bacterial infection occurs following major cardiac surgery. A device which is used for the regulation of body temperature has been found to be responsible for this. Since this discovery was made, Bern University Hospital has been working on guidelines for infection prevention.
Ultrasound examinations are considered cost-efficient, fast and effective. The E-FAST (Extended-Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) is a standardised examination used in accident & emergency medicine worldwide. The procedure helps to diagnose internal bleeding and organ damage in severely injured patients in the resuscitation room and, in some regions, even during emergency…
Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer have been treated with intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) for over twenty years. Partly due to this type of radiation, survival rates in a group of patients considered to have inoperable cancer changed dramatically from five to 70 percent.
For the first time, fetal medicine experts have performed prenatal heart surgery to remove a life-threatening tumor, called intrapericardial teratoma. The patient, who underwent the operation at 24 weeks of gestation while in his mother’s womb, is now a healthy three-year-old preschooler. “We have shown that we can accurately diagnose and provide a prognosis for this rare condition in utero,…
Using the results from a computerized mathematical model, Johns Hopkins researchers investigated whether they could improve heart and lung transplantation procedures by transferring patients from low-volume to high-volume transplant centers.
Research by a team at John Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, USA highlights the patients who are most likely to face lethal arrhythmias. They have developed a personalised 3-D virtual heart that can help predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.
One of the first facilities to purchase a complete set of the 3-D TEE transducer, including the equipment, was the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at University Hospital Magdeburg, as Thomas Groscheck, specialist physician for internal medicine at the echocardiography lab explains. Since July 2015 he has worked with the new Siemens transducer – and is enthusiastic.
Coronary interventions often rely more on art than science as the decision to treat a patient tends to be based on what clinicians can see, a subjective interpretation of cardiac imaging. Two new techniques have emerged for cardiovascular diagnostics that are enabling software to help surgeons and cardiologists measure, and thereby better manage cardiac disease.
3-D print technology is expanding to cardiology surgery and interventional procedures. Research is scarce in Europe but a group of Spain-based cardiologists are currently developing 3-D print models to assess their value in the heart.
The hybrid operating room is one of the most innovative developments in the surgical sector. The combination of interventional and minimally invasive surgical procedures is exciting for many clinical disciplines. The room design, intraoperative imaging techniques as well as interdisciplinary collaboration play a pivotal role in this.
Jersey Shore University Medical Center, part of Meridian CardioVascular Network, is the first hospital in New Jersey to implant the Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) – the world’s smallest pacemaker – since the device gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in April 2016.
On March 3, Radiotherapy Group clinicians at Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei (Ede, the Netherlands) used their Esteya electronic brachytherapy system for the first time to treat a 73-year-old male patient with a nodular basal cell carcinoma on his nose. Esteya is a form of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy that applies high-precision radiotherapy directly to the cancer site, minimizing radiation to…
Bioengineers and physicians at the University of California, San Diego have developed a potential new therapy for critical limb ischemia, a condition that causes extremely poor circulation in the limbs and leads to an estimated 230,000 amputations every year in North America and Europe alone to prevent the spread of infection and tissue death. The new therapy could prevent or limit amputations…
The CSI Congress (Congenital, Structural and Valvular Interventions) is one of the major fixtures for catheter therapy of congenital and structural heart defects. Key moments in this high profile event are live broadcasts and the audience can not only to listen to but also interact with the teams in the cath labs involved.
Should video cameras record surgical procedures? Athletes and sports teams review videotapes of their performance to learn how to make improvements. Could surgeons and operating theatre teams use videotapes for quality improvement and to increase patient safety and clinical outcomes by identifying and reducing errors or bad practice? Or would this be an intrusion, a distraction for a surgical…
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…
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.
PET/MR has long been studied for oncology but the technique also holds promise in cardiovascular applications, according to a panel of experts at the recent International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT (ICNCT).
Cardiac surgeons have finally found what cardiologists had reported missing three years ago: evidence to support the use of the oldest mechanical circulatory assist devices: IABP. Nevertheless, the findings may have only limited impact.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology have released a set of clinical practice guidelines to address management of a patient's temperature during open heart surgery. The guidelines appear in the August issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and were published simultaneously in two other journals.
The precise number of adverse clinical events is difficult to ascertain. Several international studies estimate that medical errors happen in 3-5% of all hospital treatments and that around 30-50% of these could have been avoided. A hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is also considered a medical error. Report: Anja Behringer
Dr Sven Ballnus is Director of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at the Hospital Centre Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, and an active member of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Formerly a chief consultant in intensive care medicine at Westküstenkliniken in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, he oversaw the development of an ultrasound course focusing on the specific needs of…
In the future, TAVIs can only be carried out in German hospitals with cardiac surgery departments and cardiac wards, as decided by the German Government’s Expert Panel on Health (G-BA) last January. An interim arrangement in force until 2016 is anticipated for Heart Centres that currently carry out the TAVI procedure without cardiac surgery departments on site. The Federal Ministry of Health is…
Publicly insured Americans who undergo lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis fare markedly worse in the long run than both publicly insured patients in the United Kingdom and privately insured Americans, according to the results of a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and U.K. colleagues working in that nation’s government-funded National Health Service.
Blood transfusions are avital part of medical care and yet the subject raises questions. ‘Blood transfusion should be restricted’, according to Professor Anders Perner, from the Institute for Clinical Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen. ‘Blood transfusion could be more liberal’, says Dr Yasser Sakr, Senior Physician at University Hospital Jena. Debating their opposing views at the ISCEM…
The majority of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS NSQIP®) improve surgical outcomes over time, and improvement continues with each year that hospitals participate in the program.
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…
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
Another patient in the final stages of heart failure has received an artificial heart at Nantes UniversityHospital Centre, according to Carmat, the manufacturer of the device. Report: John Brosky
'In paediatric cardiology, echocardiography is the method of choice for preoperative diagnostic purposes,' explains Professor Dr Emanuela Valsangiacomo-Büchel, senior cardiologist and director of cardiovascular imaging at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Report: Axel Viola
Congenital heart defects are the most common congenital disorders found in newborns – around one in a hundred babies are affected. This type of heart defect can be reliably diagnosed with ultrasound, usually during the detailed foetal scan carried out halfway through the pregnancy. Report: Brigitte Dinkloh
ARIETTA V70 incorporates features that reduce stress and improve its ease-of-use. Detailed ergonomic design that meets recommended industry standards supports a comfortable working environment.
Given their quality, small size, portability and robustness, SonoSite point-of-care ultrasound systems play vital roles in hectic A&E and surgical departments, and also in monitoring patients in transit.
Is chlorhexidine still the best decolonisation method? For many decades decolonisation – be it selective intestinal, oral or skin decolonisation – has been the accepted procedure to prevent infections by endogenous bacteria. Report: Brigitte Dinkloh
New approaches, solutions and outlooks on biologised medical technology developed in the Berlin metropolitan region were presented at this year’s annual 'Medical technology meeting place' in Berlin, which presents the latest research, new product developments and best practice examples from the greater-Berlin area. report: Bettina Döbereiner
Radiotherapy is being proposed to treat heart diseases, specifically for hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF).
In uncomplicated stable angina cases no evidence suggests that angioplasty reduces heart attacks or death risks, Mark Nicholls reports
ECMO's role in a world's first cardiac procedure: Cardiac specialists in the UK have performed a world’s first operation on a 14-year-old boy suffering a severe heart condition. Mark Nicholls reports.
Imaging has progressed at vertiginous paces since X-rays were invented, not only as a diagnostic tool but also as an invaluable partner in the realm of non-invasive medical intervention.
A cardiac surgeon, Wolfgang Goetz MD once stitched together custom aortic valves in the operating room. Today he is CEO of Transcatheter Technologies in Regensburg.
A hospital with a reputation for trailblazing heart surgery has taken transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) onto the next step in the UK.
A recent study from the Heidelberg-based company Sciomics, a spin-off from scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), has presented an advanced method to predict the recurrence of bladder cancer after surgery. The method, which can help avoid frequent cystoscopy examinations in a majority of patients, is based on an analysis of the protein composition of cancer tissue obtained…
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.
Medicine as a profession has held a superior aloofness for many centuries, wary of losing its unique distinctiveness and esteem if ‘tainted’ with other professions.
A hybrid operating theatre is considered ideal for TAVI because cardiologists and cardiac surgeons can work hand in hand. Here, in the hybrid theatre at Kerckhoff Heart Centre, Bad Nauheim, a transcatheter aortic valve implant with transfemoral access is being performed. The clean air room features cardiac cath lab equipment and an X-ray system.
Hybrid operating theatres that combine conventional surgical tools with image-guided diagnostic tools, allow cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery (MIS).
The number of patients treated with implants – from cardiac pacemakers, heart valves and vascular implants to artificial hips and knees – is rising worldwide.
Since minimally invasive surgery (MIS) entered cardiac surgery in the mid-1990s it became unthinkable not to use this medical specialty. However, MIS procedures do not always result in the best outcome for patients.
Football authorities across the world have been urged to adopt a universal standard of emergency care to help cut the potential for serious injury or death during matches.
At October’s annual congress of trauma and orthopaedic surgeons in Berlin, the session Ultrasound beyond trauma and orthopaedic surgery – What can we learn from neighbouring disciplines? exposed the unexploited potential of ultrasound for trauma and orthopaedic surgery, EH correspondent Bettina Döbereiner reports.
Grandly announced, the da Vinci became the must-have of any self-respecting cardiac surgeon, only to sink into obscurity as quickly as it had risen to stardom. Once the wunderkind of robotic surgery, today this surgical system is merely collecting dust on many a hospital cupboard. A whole slew of methods and technologies were launched with varied fanfares over the past ten years. European…
Since cardiac surgeon Adrian Kantrowitz, of the Maimonides Medical Centre, Brooklyn, first introduced intra-aortic balloon pulsation (IABP) into clinical practice in 1967 (Surg Clin North Am. 1969 Jun; 49 (3) :505 -11), the technique has been considered the method of choice for short-term mechanical cardiac support following a heart attack.
The C-Pulse, manufactured by Australian-American company Sunshine Heart, Inc. is neither a pulsatile artificial heart nor one of the well-known non-pulsatile left heart support systems
Computed tomography (CT) is the modality of choice for many diagnostic issues. Whilst currently its major strength is the visualisation of anatomical detail, future technological improvements may also reduce radiation exposure.
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.
People with cheerful temperaments are significantly less likely to suffer a coronary event such as a heart attack or sudden cardiac death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
The 2013 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy¹ developed in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), have created a new classification system for bradyarrhythmias according to mechanisms rather than aetiology.
CARMAT, the designer and developer of the world’s most advanced project of total artificial heart, announces today that it has obtained the approval of four renowned international cardiac surgery centers in Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Slovenia to proceed with the first clinical implantations of its bioprosthetic total artificial heart.
This May it will be exactly 60 years since the first extracorporeal circulation device to temporarily replace heart/ lung function was successfully used in a clinical setting.
A large survey for leading German health insurers has resulted in a hospital evaluation portal thatenables patients to compare and choose a doctor and treatment or care centre very quickly
In the highly competitive US market for interventional radiology, Siemens introduced a ground-breaking new imaging chain for the Artis line that sets a new standard for image quality.
Artificial hearts, originally designed to bridge the time on the waiting list for a heart transplant, in recent years have increasingly become an independent treatment option for patients with chronic heart failure (HF).
Initially limited to the aortic valve, interventions are becoming routine for the mitral valve. Thus the only available product has enjoyed huge commercial success – until now. Report: Holger Zorn
The biggest cause of death for most adult women in industrialised nations is coronary heart disease (CHD). Why the disease affects the genders differently is still not fully understood. European Hospital Editor Brigitte Dinkloh asked Professor Rafaelle Bugiardini MD FESC, from the Department of Internal Medicine Department, University of Bologna, whether he could explain the reasons and what…
John Brosky reports on a ground-breaking trial and how CT-FFR may change the practice of invasive cardiology and cardiac surgery.
The case-based approach holds considerable promise for medical science. In a way, it’s a return to the roots, since this approach was common at the dawn of modern medicine. A case serves as a narrative that can be explored interactively in order to draw a conclusion, determine a course of action, or debate issues in a realistic context. Spanish cardiac imaging consultant Dr Rafael Vidal Perez,…
One heart – One Team, the motto for this year’s German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Congress emphasises that cardiac surgeons and cardiologists must now work more in tandem for their mutual patients. This is not just a short-lived three-day slogan, but a daily reality at the University Heart Centre Hamburg, as EH correspondent Holger Zorn reports
Cardiologists are increasingly concerned about patients with persistent hypertension demanding a new technique, in the absence of clinical proof of its long-term benefit. As more related devices are launched, John Brosky reports on the procedure, drawbacks, and a potential €2 billion market.
Radiation dose reduction in CT angiography can be achieved by reducing the kV settings, reducing the tube voltage, the tube current and by using iterative reconstruction algorithms.
The European operating room solutions market, comprising surgical lights, surgical tables and pendants, is primarily a replacement market. Although tightening budgets are hindering market prospects, the need for state-of-the-art operating rooms are creating lucrative growth opportunities.
Anja Behringer reports on a neglected risk factor. With an aging population multimorbidity is increasingly a major challenge for hospital care. Diabetes is one of the medical conditions frequently encountered in multimorbid patients since cardiac and vascular diseases are often accompanied by dysfunctions of the blood sugar metabolism.
Among the area’s top cardiac and vascular disease specialist hospitals, Arizona Heart has invested in several technological advancements over the past year, including Ziehm Imaging’s digital flat panel C-arms for its three advanced technology suites.
Philips and MAQUET mark milestone with 50th shipment of Philips’ hybrid operating room (OR) with MAQUET’s surgical table to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Cohort A and B Results. Aortic stenosis is characterised by the hardening and narrowing of the aortic valve that pumps blood into the body’s main artery. It affects nearly 5% of those over 75 in Europe, with an estimated 16,000 Britons suffering from severe aortic stenosis.
A €35,000 DRG reimbursement for TAVI has put Germany in the lead for this procedure – and prompted sharp competition and disputes between cardiologists and cardio-surgeons, Holger Zorn reports.
Heidelberg’s doctor/nurse equal partnership concept raises staff/patient satisfaction. For the past decade the surgery and anaesthesiology departments at Heidelberg’s 340-bed University Hospital have encouraged cooperation between doctors and nurses that has set the standard for other hospitals within its remit.
When scanning seizures, Dr Walter Kucharczyk, director of MRI at Toronto General Hospital, believes that MRI still remains the best imaging test to discover if there is an anatomic or structural abnormality that might account for a seizure.
The German Paediatric Heart Centre (DKHZ) is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Over 25 years the centre has treated big and small patients with congenital heart defects, very now and then being faced with rare, individual cases that present very particular challenges. In any one year, consultant paediatric cardiologist Professor Martin Schneider MD encounters perhaps five such non-…
Much has changed for medical device manufacturers. Take scanner development; whereas the aim has long been to increase multi-slices, produce higher field strengths and sharper images, optimise the ergonomics and then launch the new product at a specific group of customers, in recent years this approach became insufficient.
With transcatheder aortic valve implants (TAVI) forming some 20% of all heart valve replacement procedures today, and the technology constantly developing, the 'real art' to the intervention's success lies in precise patient selection and procedure performance carried out by a multi-disciplinary and effective team, according to Simon Redwood, Professor of the interventional cardiology at King's…
Surgical simulations can save lives, Anja Behringer reports Medical errors occur more frequently than traffic accidents and clearly better systems are needed to improve patient safety. Thus the importance of medical training using human simulation models is increasingly emphasised in Germany.
Health-promoting laughter… As our year ends amid depressing global economic uncertainty, budget and staff cutbacks, threats to healthcare workers’ pensions and much else, some events shine brightly through, writes EH Editor Brenda Marsh. ‘These confirm that vision, courage and laughter can indeed cure many ills’
Amid increased scrutiny over medical imaging scans and the use of radiation, a new survey reveals that awareness and familiarity with medical imaging tests lead to clearer decisions for U.S. adults about their healthcare. The survey, released by the Siemens Radiation Reduction Alliance (SIERRA) – an expert panel established to advance the cause of dose reduction in medical imaging – evaluated…
Participants at European Health Forum Gastein 2011 (EHFG) agreed: the tendency in Germany and Austria is to operate far too soon (particularly for hip, knee and disc surgery), and many surgical interventions are unnecessary, posing a particular and increasingly urgent problem especially in industrialised countries. Hans-Christian Pruszinsky reports
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
Devices to treat chronic cardiac disease are winning credibility with new evidence from large-scale patient registries, John Brosky reports
Results of an observational study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Paris demonstrate that the percutaneous catheter-based MitraClip treatment improves symptoms and promotes reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), who do not respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
A hefty debate on controversial issues in cardiology is the definite intent of Congress President Professor Michel Komajda and the ESC 2011 congress organisers. To that end, he plans to open the event with a focus on disagreements among cardiologists over treatment methods. This is not the only promise of a lively meeting for congress participants, as Prof Komajda explained in conversation with…
Although transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is increasingly the most used surgical procedure in Germany, only two products have been approved for routine use. Although this has prompted other medical device manufacturers to go into action, according to Professor Justus Strauch, head of cardiac surgery at the Klinikum Bergmannsheil, Bochum, no one has yet taken the lead in this…
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,…
France – Re-opening clogged arteries with metal stents has proved a life-saver for a majority of patients with coronary disease. Yet the high rates of complications and mortality for patients with diabetes following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) continue to baffle cardiologists. Report: John Brosky
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Evaluation of the axillary lymph nodes is essential to insure complete cancer removal. Fluorescence imaging instead of radioisotopes is an innovative method for sentinel lymph node detection.
Bypass surgery figures declined again in 2010. Reason: Most coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are being treated by removal of the obstruction followed by stent implantation -- a situation criticised by Professor Jochen Cremer, first Vice President of the DGTHG (German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery).
Initially meant to bridge the gap before a heart transplant is performed, today ventricular assist devices (VADs) are increasingly considered ‘a lasting therapy option’, according to Professor Heinrich Schima, Head of the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Technology at the Medical University of Vienna.
Morbid obesity is a chronic, lifelong, multifactorial, constitutional disease with negative medical, psychological, physical, social and economic side-effects. Obesity-related secondary diseases are Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or sleep apnoea. Report: Holger Zorn
Innovative mobile C-arm solutions by Nuremberg-based Ziehm Imaging are quickly conquering interventional radiology. At this year‘s European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Martin Herzmann, Director of Global Marketing at Ziehm Imaging, met with EH correspondent Karoline Laarmann to discuss developments.
Stroke, breast cancer detection, sports medicine – the clinical programme is an impressive illustration of this year’s congress theme: Radiology is diversity. Florian Schneider asked the joint congress Presidents, Professor Bernd Hamm (Berlin) and Professor Walter Hruby (Vienna) to highlight the major topics at this, the largest medical imaging event (attendance around 7,000) in the…
Adults with congenital heart failure (CHD) are a growing special subset of patients with specific needs; most need lifelong care, but in adulthood many fail to receive it. By Holger Zorn
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.
Doctors who used a free iPhone application provided by the UK Resuscitation Council performed significantly better in a simulated medical emergency than those who did not, according to a study in the April issue of Anaesthesia.
Cold is not only a winter topic. Cold is also applied medicine: Moderate to deep hypothermia made cardiac surgery possible and mild therapeutic hypothermia improves survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. By Holger Zorn
Computed tomography (CT) is emerging as an imaging modality set to play an important role in cardiac intervention or surgery. Not only can it be used to plan complex revascularisation procedures and assess the outcome for the patient, but also might help to identify the more dangerous lesions -- so-called ‘culprits’ -- in the future.
Often a life-saving intervention, mechanical ventilation also has some serious drawbacks: the need for sedation, the risk of ventilator associated pneumonia, intubation or tracheostomy related complications. In 1972, Donald Hill from Pacific Medical Centre, Los Angeles, reported the first successful long-term mechanical lung assist device with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
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.
Bedside testing of parameters has been introduced in clinical practice much earlier than laboratory testing: In past centuries, not only were temperature or pulse rate taken at the point of care (POC), but also qualitative blood or urine analysis were performed right next to a patient’s bed
Every year thousands of patients with less than one year to live are denied a heart valve replacement because they are too frail to undergo surgery. These patients tend to be over 75 years of age and suffering from multiple health problems, such as respiratory conditions that preclude general anaesthesia, end-stage failure of liver or kidneys, or a history of coronary surgery. Two years ago they…
In technical terms ‘hybrid’ is a system that connects two technologies so they may benefit from each other. This also applies to the newest generation of operating theatre*: hybrid OTs combine diagnostic and surgical facilities that are usually found in separate locations. Thus procedures can be carried out in less time and involve less discomfort and risk for the patient.
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…
Today in most countries of the world almost 50 % of patients in hospital for a cardiac condition began their treatment as emergency cases: chest pain at home . . . a cardiac arrest in the street. Thus, according to Dr Peter Clemmensen, of the 22 million hospital admissions in Europe each year for acute cardiac events, more than 10 million of them would have begun as an emergency and without…
Dr Susan S Braithwaite, a visiting clinical professor in endocrinology at the Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, specialises in the management of hyperglycaemia among hospitalised patients. Hyperglycaemia, the presence of an abnormally high concentration of glucose in the blood, is a common occurrence in adults who are hospital in-patients, especially among diabetic…
Surgeon Alain Carpentier is ready to remove a patient’s heart and replace it with a mechanical device he spent 15 years developing. By 2013 the procedure will be performed on 50 European patients as part of a clinical trial to win CE approval for the world’s first fully implantable artificial heart.
Drug-eluting stents to treat narrowed coronary vessels met with sensational success, and then things became rather quiet. Now, two new developments from Cordis and Biotronik are being tested at Essen University Hospital, Germany. We asked Professor Holger Eggebrecht, head of the hospital’s cardiac catheter lab, why these new models look important.
No white lab coats anywhere; instead men in hard hats, equipped with hammers and drills. The Düsseldorf University Hospital’s Cardiology Pneumology and Angiology Clinic is a construction site, but once the workmen have packed up their tools and removed the scaffolding the view to the human heart will be unobstructed and clearer than ever before. Here, innovative patient care and a highly…
New imaging technologies are opening a new chapter in interventional cardiology by offering something this widely practiced procedure has been missing -- vivid clinical evidence to assess effectiveness. Interventional cardiology has moved rapidly from opening blocked arteries by crushing plaque with inflatable balloons to reinforcing the walls of the re-opened arteries with flexible metal stents…
When in 1992 Dr Luigi Marzio Biasucci, head of the Sub-intensive Care Unit at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy, published with his team the first paper on C-reactive protein (CRP) in unstable angina, few people believed in the diagnostic power of biochemical features to measure the effects or progress of disease, illness, or a condition. Today, biomarker tests are part…
Not only is heart failure one of the single biggest causes of morbidity and mortality in man, but the incidence of the condition is steadily increasing. Rising to this challenge, innovative medical diagnostic techniques with ever greater performance are constantly being introduced so that early, unambiguous detection of the underlying condition is now possible, enabling the prompt initiation of…
The landmark achievements in interventional cardiology that are rapidly advancing minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) on a beating heart were demonstrated during a Paris course on revascularisation (EuroPCR), the annual meeting of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI).
The normal regulation of the core body temperature of a healthy, resting adult human (around 37°C) is affected during surgery, which can lead to an increased rate of wound infections, bleeding and cardiac complications. The manufacturer of MoeckWarming System reusable blankets reports that these provide comprehensive temperature management to ensure patients remain normothermic.
If patients suffering acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia are admitted to hospitals that frequently treat these illnesses they are less likely to die, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Post-operative wound infection occurs after an estimated 17% of surgical operations – sometimes with devastating consequences for the patient. The list of preventive measures is manifold and long. However, one strategy is increasingly moving into the spotlight: the use of antibacterial coated sutures. Ethicon Products is at the cutting edge in this field. Sandra Rasche, head of this Business…
Surgical planning is complex. Today’s surgeons can utilise information from various sources – including CT and MRI images, as well as f-MRI, PET or electro-physiological signals. For minimally invasive surgery (MIS) these additional imaging data are of particular importance, in that they enable precise navigation within the body.
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.
Basically, a hybrid operating theatre (OT) is a combined operating room containing large imaging equipment, such as MRT and CT, which enables intra-operative diagnostics. If provided for in the hygiene and theatre concept, the hybrid OT can also be used purely as a diagnostics room, or as a classic operating room.
For a patient with heart failure, checking whether the heart could benefit from bypass surgery or a stent is critical to ensuring survival. One imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET) with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), may provide doctors with the information they need to make more informed treatment decisions, according to research published in the April issue of The…
GE Healthcare is highlighting advanced solutions that drive the efficiency of diagnostic imaging at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), 2010. Complementing the company’s ‘healthymagination’ initiative of reducing healthcare costs through timely care, GE Healthcare is highlighting a range of Computed Tomography (CT) imaging solutions including Adaptive Statistical Iterative…
He literally wrote the book on the subject, so when Jean-Louis Sablayrolles MD, states that low dose computed tomography angiography (CTa) represents a ‘great revolution in cardiac imaging,’ his words carry the weight of deep clinical experience.
Innovate Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a conceptual and operational development. It is comprehensive, modern and multifaceted, to understand the risks and find solutions for indoor air. It goes beyond the sick building concept to define healthy environments and beyond the idea of indoor air being the only contaminant source.
Bypass or stent? In Germany alone, every year 370.000 patients have to decide which kind of surgery they will undergo. The Syntax study (Synergy between PCI with taxus and cardiac surgery), presented in September, looked at 1.720 patients and aims to provide help to answer this crucial question.
At RSNA 2009, GE Healthcare is presenting a big basket filled with trends and innovations for the radiology department:
Two members of the Heart Center at the University of Leipzig teamed up during Medica for a tour de force presentation on Future Trends in Cardiac Surgery. "The aim of the game is opening the chest through little keyholes to operate in the most minimally invasive way possible and avoid sternotomy," said Prof. Friedrich Mohr, Program Director at the Leipzig Heart Center, who review new surgical…
Pain is the most common symptom of any illness thus having an alerting function to evoke protective responses. If tissue damage has happened as a consequence of surgery, obstruction, injuries, or cancer a cascade of changes in the peripheral and central nervous system occurs leading to physical inactivation, an increase of morbidity thus delaying hospital stay and treatment costs.
When we organised the first Diagnostic Week in Karlsruhe, in 1969, no one could have known that this event would one day turn into the annual highlight in the world of medicine, reflected Dr Wolfgang Albath, laboratory medicine pioneer and one of the founding fathers of MEDICA the world`s largest medical trade show. Initially planned as a moving exhibition, the show has been based in…
Today, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) represents an effective therapeutic alternative to conventional aortic valve replacement for patients who are at high risk or with contraindications to surgery, and the combination of the transfemoral and transapical approaches further increases the number of patients who can be treated.
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.
Since its foundation by Michael Friebe PhD in 2003, and on the basis of 10 years of business activity in radiology, Tomovation has become an established provider of high-end services for tomography applications, such as MRI, CT, and PET-CT.
During a gathering of clinicians, scientists and economists at this year's Medical Technology Congress (Treffpunkt für Medizintechnik) held in Berlin's Charité Hospital, all 17 lectures focused on cancer treatments. Bettina Döbereiner reports
Previewing technologies that may be in use in about a decade, Philips Healthcare recently introduced us to researchers who discussed their many current and ongoing projects.
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,…
Open MRI not only provides good clinical images for musculoskeletal diagnoses, but also makes it easier to accommodate big-bodied sportsmen.
Echocardiography is the work horse of non-invasive cardiovascular diagnostics. Has this developed?
EuroPCR 2009 is focused on minimally invasive cardiac surgery, but narrowing the broad field of cardiology does not make this conference any less complex.
In April, the 75th annual congress of the German Cardiac Society (DGK) was considered a great success, drawing in some 7,900 specialists.
Last year a special cardiac surgery department was opened in the Filatov Children's Hospital in Moscow. Until then, the only one in all of Russia was at the Children's Hospital #1, in Saint-Petersburg, where cardiac surgeon Vadim Lubomudrov has led the field in this delicate work.
Genetic differences can explain why some patients undergoing heart surgery later experience shock and kidney complications, according to a study by German and Australian researchers. The results indicate that performing a genetic test on patients before they have surgery can help guide treatment after they leave the operating room.
Evalve, Inc., the leader in the development of devices for the percutaneous repair of cardiac valves, announced the first enrollment in the ACCESS-Europe study, a post-market observational study of the MitraClip therapy in Europe. The system is the first commercially available treatment option for non-surgical mitral valve repair for patients suffering from the effects of functional and…
Patients with coronary artery disease -- blockages of the vessels that feed the heart -- can be treated in a number of ways. With their doctor, they decide on the best course of action: surgery, stent placement or medication. Sometimes, a combination of these is the best approach.
Reforming the Viennese hospital structure
The role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the effect of therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction was demonstrated in a series of papers during the 12th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), held in Orlando, Fla. USA (29 Jan - 1 Feb).
The hugely increasing numbers of diabetics is a medical and financial burden worldwide. Diabetics can, for example, suffer eye and kidney problems and more - five percent of them develop vascular diseases, leading to lower limb and feet ulcerations, which frequently result in amputations if not treated in time. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) can heal ulcers and, because it is…
Participation in the Hospital Manager Symposium, which is organized by EUROPEAN HOSPITAL in cooperation with the European Congress of Radiology and which is part of the congress, has increased continuously since its introduction six years ago. Last year about 250 attendees listened to the lectures and discussions.
During the MCC Hospital World 2008 congress, held in Berlin this September, speakers from international firms and hospital chains discussed the demands and necessities for future healthcare.
The vast majority of the radiologist's work is now either made possible, or assisted, by computer technology. However, the full significance of that role is to be explored by leading radiologists and computer experts at the ECR Congress 2009.
'I was very surprised!' said cardiologist Dr Maria Prokudina, of the Almazof Federal Centre of Heart, Blood and Endocrinology, when invited by Professor John Elefteriades MD, head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital (University School of Medicine) to lecture about Stress Echocardiography in Clinical Practice.
Investigating the appropriate use of procedures to open narrowed coronary arteries, e.g. angioplasty and stenting, researchers at UCSF (University of California, USA) found that less than 50% of Medicare patients had documented non-invasive stress testing prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI (clinical name for these procedures).
Maquet has launched Cardiohelp, the world's smallest, lightest heart-lung machine, that can not only provide a total therapy solution for heart surgery, cardiology, intensive and emergency care, but also, due to its suitcase size and 10 kg weigh, the device can be carried by just one person onto a helicopter or ambulance for mobile use.
Progress in cardiac imaging diagnostics has made cardiac catheterisation less common. What may sound like 'fishing in foreign territory' is in reality the chance for interventional cardiologists to concentrate on, and specialise in, more innovative invasive procedures.
In 2007, Professor Andreas Franke, of Aachen University Medical Center, Germany, was the first cardiologist in Europe to perform minimally invasive cardiac catheterisation procedures under live 3-D ultrasound guidance.
Cardiovascular risk in obese patients can be reduced up to 79% in those who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass after other treatments have failed, compared with those who do not have this procedure, according to a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology (1/10/08).
While Western Europe's hospitals only carry out drills for possible terrorist events — Israel's medics face the real thing. During the recent Congress of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine in Berlin, internist Dr Michael Kafka, head of emergency medicine at the Bnai Zion Medical Centre in Haifa, described strategies to cope with mass casualty events.
In October, the office of the Federal President announced that Professor Haverich, with his Hanover research team, has been nominated for the 'German Future Prize' for the development and successful use of adaptable biological heart valves
Maquet has launched Cardiohelp, the world's smallest, lightest heart-lung machine, that can not only provide a total therapy solution for heart surgery, cardiology, intensive and emergency care, but also, due to its suitcase size and 10 kg weigh, the device can be carried by just one person onto a helicopter or ambulance for mo-bile use.
The Swiss charity EurAsia Heart, founded in 2006 by cardiac surgeon Professor Paul Vogt MD, at Zurich University Hospital, emerged from numerous contacts being made with Asian heart surgeons at the beginning of 2000, and consequent invitations to perform surgery and lecture tours in China.
In line of the MCC Hospital World 2008, the International Congress for Decision Makers in the Hospital Market, that took place in September in Berlin, Germany, several highly regarded speakers from international companies and hospital chains draw a picture of the demands and necessities of the future healthcare environment.
Philips and Steris join forces to provide hybrid surgical rooms: a flexible environment for optimal imaging during open and minimally invasive cardiovasculare procedures that will optimise workflow and streamline room planning.
During the Congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) the research work of Hermann Heinze from the Clinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine of the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital was honoured with the first "Bernhard Dräger Award for Advanced Treatment of Acute Respiratory Failure".
Between June 2004 and April 2008 the Dutch DECREASE III Study observed patients treated with Fluvastatin. The results show that Fluvastatin XL therapy can be associated with improved postoperative cardiac outcome in high-risk patients undergoing elective vascular surgery.
"Surgery should be performed using as often as possible surgical mitral valve repair, as this treatment has shown safety, efficacy and good long-term results," says French Prof Alec Vahanian on Monday, the third ESC day.
Almost 25 years ago Michael Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) operated on the bladder of an unborn child. Almost eight years later, surgery was carried out on the diaphragm of an unborn child. His approach was controversial: a paediatric surgeon opened the abdomen and uterus of the pregnant woman, lifted out the foetus, performed the surgery and returned the foetus to…
St. Jude Medical, Inc. has received European CE Mark approval and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its Epicor LP cardiac ablation system, a second generation technology that uses HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue to disrupt abnormal cardiac electrical impulses.
Stefan G Ruehm, Kambiz Nael, Derek Lohan and Henrik J Michaely* describe impressive images that benefit patient treatment
Countries vary widely in their capacity to manage hypertension, but globally the majority of diagnosed hypertensives is inadequately controlled. Not treated it can cause cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction and stroke. According to the WHO, hypertension is estimated to cause 4.5% of the current global disease burden and is as prevalent in many developing countries as in the…
Royal Philips Electronics is to lead `euHeart´, the new European Union (EU) funded research project that aims to improve CVD diagnosis, therapy planning and treatment.
Treadmill exercise testing is a common tool to detect of cardiovascular diseases. But clear images of the working heart are hard to obtain. Now researchers designed MRI equipment to provide high-resolution images of the heart at critical stages.
The Cardiomobile developed by the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at Queensland University, Australia, contains a Mini ECG and a GPS system linked to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. That way heart patients can do rehabilitation exercises any place and any time they want to.
A research team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch and RWTH Aachen University in Germany has developed a new classification system devised to guide physicians treating patients with symptomatic myocardial bridging, published in the online edition of Cardiology.
The USA's National Institutes of Health aims to review blood transfusion safety
The Department for Paediatric Cardiology at the University Medical Centre, at Johannes Gutenberg University, in Mainz, has extended its range of services for lower impact treatment According to the birth register in Mainz, an annual 1.26% of newborns are diagnosed with congenital heart defects, making these the most common malformation.
Arrythmogenic remodelling of the left atrium is a common complication of atrial fibrillation, leading to severe haemodynamic disturbances.
The Czech Republic's first cardiac transplant took place in 1984; now about 40 take place annually. The country's first lung transplants began ten years ago; to date around a hundred have been performed by Professor Pavel Pafko and colleagues at the Motol Faculty Hospital, in Prague.
Only few imaging modalities lend themselves to imaging of the lungs. Conventional chest radiography is the most commonly used tool in the investigation of pulmonary pathology but yields the perhaps most difficult, plain radiographs to interpret.
Hospitals are urged to tighten up on blood transfusions, following a growing number of reports on unrecognised risks from blood transfusions - and these are not the generally-known infection risks, such as HIV.
'How do you treat the HIV-positive, diabetic, schizophrenic patient presenting with chest pain? By making the necessary information available for personalised medicine'
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…
The Visage Thin Client product range on show at the ECR provides a fully-integrated system with advanced tools for 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D image review and interpretation, post-processing, data management, and image distribution.
Czech Republic - The second successful hemicorporectomy (translumbar amputation) was carried out several months ago by surgeon Frantisek Antos and team at the Bulovka Faculty Hospital, Prague.
The theatre is spectacular. Its immaculate cornflower blue glass walls surround space age technology — the EndoALPHA system. Even that name suggests something that surpasses what existed before; it's `the be all and end all´.
In the heart of Paris, the Necker children's hospital, the oldest in the world dedicated to paediatrics, was suffocating inside a completely inward-looking enclave. The challenge was to achieve a vast upheaval to overcome the hospital's lack of relationship with its surroundings and open it onto the city, while also carrying out an in-depth metamorphosis to adapt it to new requirements.
Vienna is facing comprehensive restructuring of its hospital landscape in order to accommodate the demographic changes in the Austrian capital city. Currently, in northern Vienna approximately three beds are available per 1,000 inhabitants, in western Vienna there are nine. It is planned to provide six beds per 1,000 inhabitants in Vienna by 2012/2013.
Lifebridge is the first portable heart-lung machine which promises a great success for the clinlical use.
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.
Where are the most high-tech start-ups? That`s an easy one: Silicon Valley. But who comes in a close second? Surprisingly: Israel. Further: Israel ranks Number 1 in terms of availability of scientists and engineers and Number 2 in quality of higher education. The result of this impressive track record is a wide range of successful enterprises and products, particularly related to the life…
The Acuson P10 - barely bigger than your BlackBerry and weighing just 500 grams.
The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…
Visage PACS/CS, a scalable PACS solution based on web and thin client technology with fully integrated clinical applications, is to be demonstrated at this year's RSNA in Chicago, along with a comprehensive portfolio of life sciences products and services from Visage Imaging, a subsidiary of Mercury Computer Systems Inc.
The Lifebridge B2T (bridge-to-transport) is the first, fully portable emergency life support system for patients suffering cardiogenic shock, or those showing signs of imminent cardiogenic shock.
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.
Cardiac CT angiography (CTA) performed after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery can reveal a high prevalence of unsuspected cardiac and significant non-cardiac findings that might otherwise be overlooked, according to a study by researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, Baltimore ('Cardiac CT Angiography after Coronary Bypass Surgery: Prevalence of Incidental Findings', Pub:…
The eleganza XC, launched at MEDICA 2006, is the most recent addition to the `eleganza´ range produced by Wissner-Bosserhoff.
By Kaj Blomqvist MSc (E.E.), electronic engineer for the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), and currently in charge of the `Picis CareSuite Project´, which aims to automate all HUS acute care departments.
Like any other congress, the 88th German Radiology Congress will present the latest research, workshops and refresher courses.
'Supersuite' describes a valuable service provided by Berchtold, specialist manufacturer of operating theatre lights (e.g. Chromophare), camera systems, monitor arms, surgical tables (Operon) and equipment management systems (surgical and anaesthesia booms, but not the device control units).
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, boasts the country's third-largest hospital. East-Tallinn Central Hospital (ETCH) has 587 beds, 26,000 inpatients and last year recorded 425,000 outpatient visits. It dates from 1785 when the former Tallinn Central began to operate as a town hospital. However, in 2001, four hospitals and two polyclinics were merged to form ETCH.
New pulsatile heart pumps (ventricular assist devices - VAD) can remain in the body as a permanent heart support.
With ever-improving stents, cardiologists can deal with ever more complex cases. Will bypass surgery soon be a thing of the past?
Among the research articles published in this issue, are some ...
To learn more about the presence of Philips in healthcare - and particularly cardiology - our Netherlands correspondent visited the company in Amsterdam.
'Positive action is needed to more and more raise awareness of gender differences and cardiac disease - even among cardiologists.'
Nurse-surgeon training in the UK is lively discussed for other European countries doing the same to address their lack of qualified surgeons.
USA - Using positron emission tomography (PET) scanning rather than other types of imaging as the first tool to diagnose heart-vessel blockages is more accurate, less invasive and saves money, according to researchers reporting at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in March.
By Professor Gustav Steinhoff MD, director of the Department for Cardiac Surgery, and Christof Stamm MD, co-ordinator of clinical studies, at Rostock University, Germany
Experts call for screening of surgical and medical patients, and thromboprophylaxis for those at risk.
IMPAX Enterprise - a single image and data management system that draws together radiology, cardiology, orthopaedics, and women's care.
During an EH interview, Professor Stefan Osswald MD described this complex system and its future potential
Berlin became the venue for the German Congress of Radiology this May, for the second time. 118 exhibitors showcased products on 4,900 square metres, and the event attracted 7,000 radiologists, and 970 medical-technological radiology assistants (MTRA) to convene simultaneously, leading some to suggest the city will be the future home of the Congress.
A connection has been discovered between raised levels of the liver enzyme Gamma-Glutamyl-Transferase (GGT) and the probability of death from diseases of the cardiovascular system or strokes.
The question of who should manage intensive care was hotly debated at the 35th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (GSTCVS); not always essentially, frequently aggressively, sometimes even insulting says EH Correspondent Holger Zorn
When heart valves need replacing mechanical or biological heart valves are usually used. Both have disadvantages: Mechanical prostheses promote the development of blood clots so that patients need anticoagulant treatment for their lifetime.
Measuring hospital performance is a complex and essential activity.
An intensive care unit (ICU) is a ward staffed by medical support who have been specially trained in the high levels of care required by each pathological state.
Ventricular assist devices (VAD) have been used since the 1980s, primarily to provide support after cardiac surgery for several days during recovery, or more often to keep patients alive until later heart transplantation (HTx).
Fifty years ago Henry Gibbon introduced a vital tool for cardiac surgery - the heart-lung machine. While pioneering efforts were made in the first half of the 20th century, this equipment enabled reproducible operations for either congenital or acquired heart disease in many patients.
Cardiac assist devices (CAD) are blood pumps that support the circulatory functions of severely ill cardiac patients.
Vienna - Toshiba Medical Systems Austria presented a top panel of experts at the ECR to introduce the latest developments in cardiac CT-scanning and dynamic flat-panel technology - the new benchmarks in digital angiography. A further session covered the scientific platform for new uses in ultrasound scanning.