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Search for: "cardiac surgery" - 250 articles found

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Article • Complexities of doctor-patient communication

“Very rarely a chance of heart attack or death” – Wait, what?

Hospitalists frequently discuss the risks associated with tests, treatments, and/or surgical procedures with their patients. But is everyone in the clear on what a “slight risk of complications” actually means? A session on the meaning of risk to patients and how to effectively communicate risk was discussed at SHM Converge 2025, the annual meeting of the Society of Hospitalist Medicine held…

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Article • Respiratory health

Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy: diagnostic pathways under scrutiny

Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. At the French Thoracic Society Spring Days in May, Dr Aurélie Dehaene, radiologist at European Hospital in Marseille, France, reviewed diagnostic strategies for suspected PE during pregnancy, with a focus on clinical algorithms and optimized imaging protocols.

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Article • Imaging modalities for quantifying myocardial blood flow

Nuclear cardiology – a nuclear perspective on matters of the heart

Nuclear cardiology is a specialised field in nuclear medicine that evaluates the heart function to help diagnosing conditions such as coronary artery disease and to assess treatment efficacy, whilst minimising invasive procedures like biopsies. More recently, clinicians have increasingly opted for nuclear imaging over endomyocardial biopsy to diagnose cardiac amyloidosis, allowing for earlier…

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Sponsored • Diagnostic technology

New 640-slice CT delivered to the heart of Italy

United Imaging are excited to share that, in partnership with Fora S.p.A., an industry leader with over 50 years of expertise in delivering advanced diagnostic technologies to the Italian market, Policlinico Casilino Hospital will join the company's global network. Demonstrating its commitment to innovation and growth, the hospital has selected the industry-leading 640-slice CT scanner to…

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Article • Company showcase: Medical Taiwan 2024

Manufacturers from Taiwan present innovative products

Handheld point-of-care diagnostics, magnetic endoscopy, AI-enhanced robotic surgery, smart patient information management, wireless minimally invasive surgery systems, and much more: At the Medical Taiwan Health & Care Expo in Taipei this summer, visitors had the opportunity to see innovative medical products and solutions across a wide range of specialties. We took a closer look at selected…

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Article • Men are from Mars, women are from Venus

Sex differences in imaging cardiovascular disease

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…

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Sponsored • Trade fair presence

A myriad of French innovations at Medica 2021

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…

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Sponsored • Transcatheter aortic valve implants

TAVI: from short-term effects to lifetime management

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…

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News • Early detection and treatment of illnesses

Researchers develop implantable AI system

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…

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Video • Automated whole-body reperfusion

New technique to increase survival after cardiac arrest

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…

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News • Mammacarcinoma study

Breast cancer: finishing treatment soon after diagnosis increases survival

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…

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News • Transient implant

A pacemaker that dissolves when it's no longer needed

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…

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News • Disease of smallest heart blood vessels

Microvascular angina: the global health problem you've never heard of

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…

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News • Venous cannula system

New circulation implant to bridge the waiting time for donor heart

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…

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Article • Covid-19 collaterals

Coronavirus impacts heart surgery across Europe

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…

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Sponsored • Ready to face the pandemic

Sonosite PX launches in a moment of crisis

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…

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Sponsored • Distant experts observe adverse signs

Remote cardiac monitoring

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…

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News • Irregular heartbeat treatment

Holograms help physicians during cardiac procedures

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,…

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News • Congenital defect reconstruction

Pectus Excavatum: First-in-human trial of novel reconstruction scaffold

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…

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News • Durable implant

New heart valve could transform open heart surgery

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…

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News • Open surgery or TAVI?

New ways to treat severe aortic stenosis

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…

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News • Multi-component procedure

SULEEI: extending the functional lives of biological heart valve prostheses

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…

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News • Vascular surgery

New lease of life thanks to new aorta

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…

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News • Fat radiomic profile

Using AI to predict heart attacks

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…

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Article • High tissue contrast, spatial detail, complete tissue characterisation

MRI shows cardiac diagnostic value

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.

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Article • Highlights from the 30th TCT Meeting

Advancing transcatheter cardiovascular therapies

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…

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Video • Tailor-made

Artificial heart valves from silicone

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…

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Article • Preview Medical Taiwan 2019

Healthcare exhibition showcases technology from Taiwan

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…

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Article • Overheard at RSNA

Radiologists optimistic about AI

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…

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News • Biosensor

New rapid test for sepsis could save thousands of lives

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…

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Article • Under pressure

Physician burnout cases are rising

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.

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News • Blockage detection

This blood flow sensor wraps around the blood vessel

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…

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News • Brain health after surgery

Post-operative cognitive decline: mostly a myth, says study

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…

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Article • Teamwork <3

7-Tesla: Multidisciplinary care is key to cardiac disease management

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…

Article • 31st Annual Cardiologists Conference

Every heart beat counts

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…

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    Article • Cardiovascular care

    Manipulating atoms and molecules with nanomedicine

    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…

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    Article • A challenger arrives

    AI – just a tool or the future of healthcare?

    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…

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    Article • Heard at the British Cardiovascular Society conference

    The role of nanomedicine in CV diagnosis

    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…

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    Article • 3D & CHD

    The changing face of imaging in cardiology

    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…

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    Sponsored • World-class technologies

    New cutting-edge products and clinical applications

    “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.

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    Article • Celesteion PET-CT

    Making a difference with Dual Modality Imaging

    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…

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    News • A map to the heart

    The meaning of heart geometry in surgery

    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…

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    Article • Profession

    The growing role of a hospitalist

    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…

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    News • Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)

    Stem cells might be the key to treating rare cardiac defect

    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…

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    News • Blood Donor Month

    Things you should know about blood donation

    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…

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    Video • Emergency care

    Point-of-care ultrasound helps save time and lives

    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…

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    Article • Emergency medicine

    Ultrasound can save lives

    ‘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.’

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    Article • Laboratory adoption

    POCT – a critical review and perspective

    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…

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    Article • IT solutions

    Big data: Utilising potential where it presents itself

    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…

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    Article • ESC Congress 2017

    Entering the future of cardiology

    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.

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    Article • Professional standards

    The role of sonographers: future professionals across Europe?

    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…

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    Sponsored • Point-of-care

    The TUBE approach to perioperative point-of-care ultrasound

    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…

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    Article • Emergency

    Resuscitation: E-FAST or CT?

    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…

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    News • Connected to Heart

    Fetal surgery successfully removes life-threatening tumor

    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,…

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    Article • Computer & computed tomography

    The virtual-heart arrhythmia risk predictor

    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.

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    Article • Transducers

    3-D transducers prove their mettle in cardiology

    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.

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    Article • Predicting plaques

    Exposing the secrets of the heart

    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.

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    Article • Intervention

    Hybrid ORs: not equally beneficial for all facilities

    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.

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    News • Micra TPS

    The world’s smallest pacemaker

    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.

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    News • Skin Cancer

    The Netherlands' first user of Elekta's Esteya Electronic Brachytherapy

    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…

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    News • Peripheral artery disease

    Treating poor blood circulation with injectable gel

    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…

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    Article • CSI

    3-D printed hearts

    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.

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    Article • Documentation & QC

    Breakthrough law to insist on video cameras

    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…

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    Article • Revolution

    3-D printed muscles

    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…

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    Article • Tissue definition

    PET/MR is promising

    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).

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    Article • Counter-pulsation

    Evidence at last

    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.

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    Article • Clinical practice guidelines

    Temperature management during heart surgery

    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.

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    Article • Thoracic surgery

    Stringent medical risk management

    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

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    Sponsored • First hand experience

    Improving point-of-care ultrasound training in intensive care medicine

    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…

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    Article • Cardiology III

    Restrictive ruling on cardiac procedure

    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…

    News • Study

    British lung transplant patients fare better than Americans

    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.

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    Article • Blood transfusion

    Standing on the weighting scales

    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…

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      Article • Surgery

      Recycling blood lost during major surgery

      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…

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      Article • Paediatric imaging

      MRI in paediatric cardiology

      '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

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      Seeking congenital cardiac defects

      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

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      Endogenous bacteria

      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

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      Biologised medical technology

      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

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      Protein test instead of cystoscopy

      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…

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      The fall and rise of cardiac surgery innovations

      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…

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      Intra-aortic balloon pump pros & cons

      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.

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      Teamwork works well in Hamburg

      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

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      Learning from the deceased

      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,…

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      A women's heart too often kills her

      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…

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      Diabetes and CAD

      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.

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      Seeing eye to eye

      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.

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      Article • Focus on TAVI

      Transcatheder aortic valve implants

      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…

      For U.S. Adults, Medical Imaging Awareness Brings Clarity to Critical Healthcare Decision-Making

      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…

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      EHFG 2011 - ‘There are too many unnecessary operations!’

      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

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      MitraClip Therapy Demonstrates Benefits

      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).

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      Papworth Hospital: A constant continuing success

      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,…

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      A time to tackle controversies face-to-face

      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…

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      Transcatheter aortic valve implants

      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…

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      Catheter-based valve surgery

      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.

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      CT is set for a vital role in cardiology

      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.

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      Partnership delivers improvements in pathology services

      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.

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      Easy breathe - new tools for prolonged lung support

      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).

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      POCT brings values

      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

      Transcatheter aortic valve implants bear risks

      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…

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      Hybrid operating theatres

      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.

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      MPR 3-D echocardiography

      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…

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      Fighting acute coronary syndrome

      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…

      Standardised algorithms and protocols for diabetic in-patients

      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…

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      Heart in hand

      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.

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      Aortic valve replacement in the third dimension

      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…

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      Arteries seen in a new light

      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…

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      Cardiac Biomarkers

      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…

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      Getting to the heart of things

      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…

      Intelligent temperature management

      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.

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      Surgical site infections

      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…

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      The Surgical Planning Unit

      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.

      What´s hot in cardiology?

      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.

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      Hybrid operating theatres

      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.

      Imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

      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…

      New approach to reduce dose

      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…

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      Safer indoor air

      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.

      Imaging and computing power leading to breakthroughs for cardiac surgery

      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…

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      40 years of MEDICA

      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…

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      Mitral regurgitation

      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.

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      Barco advance the frontiers of telemedicine

      MultiSense Communications, a medical conferencing solutions provider based in High Wycombe, UK, in conjunction with medical imaging specialist Barco, recently demonstrated the clinical benefits of today's telemedicine systems. During a live open heart surgery operation at the Imperial College Hospital in Hammersmith, UK, an entire heart valve repair procedure was captured and transmitted to a…

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      Leading UK hospital orders 50 NCR MediKiosks

      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,…

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