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…
Surgeons in Hong Kong have successfully introduced robotic assistance into their spinal surgery portfolio. After the first 20 procedures with the new technique, they report on the benefits.
Aiming to shorten recovery times after a bone fracture, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group is focusing on plasma irradiation as a treatment method to speed up bone healing.
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.
New research finds little evidence that post-surgical patient mortality is lower when patient and surgeon are the same gender.
Spinal fusion is a highly invasive surgery where an implant is placed in the spine to prevent movement between bones. Currently, failure rate is high, but a new prototype device could change this.
Combining ultrasound and MRI technology can help detect prostate cancer at an earlier stage and potentially save lives, according to new University of Dundee research.
The specialty chemicals company Evonik and the Swiss plastics specialist Samaplast are combining their expertise in the development of an osteoconductive PEEK biomaterial for injection molding.
Spinal fusion—fusing two vertebrae together—can treat a wide variety of spinal disorders. A patient-specific 3D-printed smart metamaterial implant doubles as sensor to monitor spinal healing.
Fusion surgery has been the long-standing treatment for people with scoliosis. Now, other options have become available.
Alongside the worldwide increase in longevity, inevitably with chronic health conditions rising, cardiovascular procedures and OR utilisation have surged. Thus the efficient and safe performance of surgeries is even more important. The intraoperative use of mobile C-arms increases accuracy, improving clinical outcomes, which can significantly reduce revision rates and thus overall healthcare…
GreenBone Ortho, a company specialising in bone regeneration, announces that it has achieved its aim of recruiting 15 patients into the GreenBRIC study. GreenBRIC study is a prospective, open label, single-arm, First-in-Human clinical investigation, in male and female patients, aged between 18 and 70 years, undergoing surgery to correct bone defects using GreenBone Implant, specifically for iliac…
Cécile Geneviève is one of the few women who lead research and development (R&D) at a major company and her increasingly female team reflects women’s growing interest in the field. But while gender balance is an important criterion, it takes a broad palette of skills to innovate to alleviate pain for millions of patients, she explained in an interview with Healthcare in Europe.
Spinal fusion is frequently performed to restore spinal stability in patients with spinal diseases, such as spinal stenosis, vertebral fractures, progressive deformities, and instability. In the past two decades, there has been marked increase in the number of people over 65 years in age who have needed spinal fusion surgery.
At this year's virtual ECR congress, Ziehm Imaging showcases its portfolio of mobile C-arms and advanced imaging solutions. Highlights on display include two clinical packages for cardio and vascular interventions based on the fully motorized Ziehm Vision RFD Hybrid Edition, that provide clinical users with state-of-the-art imaging support and further workflow integration. The virtual booth,…
Italian neurosurgeon Professor Francesco Di Meco, explored the current and potential role of intra-operative ultrasound in neurosurgical oncology during the annual meeting of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) this October. The extent of resection is considered a prognostic factor in operative neuro oncology surgery and image-guided surgery is being regarded as one of the…
At this year's virtual RSNA congress, Ziehm Imaging showcases its leading portfolio of mobile C-arms and advanced imaging solutions. Highlights on display include the Ziehm Vision RFD Hybrid Edition in combination with Therenva’s EndoNaut solution for advanced endovascular 3D intraoperative navigation as well as the Ziehm Vision RFD 3D, one of the most successful 3D mobile imaging solutions in…
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…
MRI has developed rapidly over the past decade in Poland, where clinicians are combining MRI with PET and CT to highlight tumour growth or regression and perfusion. ‘The fact that MRI offers new software and programmes means we can diagnose pathologies more precisely and make a diagnosis faster than a few years ago,’ explained Poland’s national advisor on radiology and diagnostic imaging…
Hitachi’s Fusion imaging combining MRI and Real-time Virtual Sonography (RVS) showing a cervix lesion with color Doppler Fusion imaging techniques are being trialled to help advance the diagnosis of cervical cancer and endometrial cancer.
Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leader in diagnostic imaging, announced a strategic partnership with R.A.W. S.r.l. - an Italian company focused on Augmented Reality Guidance technology in Interventional Oncology procedures - to expand its portfolio of solutions for Interventional Oncology. One of the key challenges clinicians have to face during interventional procedures is the precise…
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…
Lars Schimmöller MD, associate professor of radiology at Düsseldorf University Hospital, tackled current diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and addressed tumour detection, staging, active surveillance and recurrence during the Medica Academy session on Imaging Update. He also highlighted how MRI helps improve biopsies and avoid unnecessary surgery in PCa.
‘Ultrasound imaging is an attractive non-ionising medical imaging tool. It’s safe, free of side effects and offers an unmatched real-time imaging capability,’ interventional radiologist Professor Giancarlo Bizzarri underlines during our EH interview.
A controversy regarding the benefit of early screening programmes for breast cancer continues. Germany, Austria and Switzerland have developed individual strategies. European Hospital asked three experts from these countries to outline each chosen system. Markus Hahn MD, senior consultant at the University Breast Centre in Tübingen, Martin Daniaux, MD, Head of Breast Diagnostics at the Breast…
There hasn't been a gold standard for how orthopedic spine surgeons promote new bone growth in patients, but now Northwestern University scientists have designed a bioactive nanomaterial that is so good at stimulating bone regeneration it could become the method surgeons prefer.
Clinicians and researchers in Southampton are leading a pioneering study into the use of computer-generated hand models to help improve the success of joint surgery for patients with arthritis.
Contrast enhanced ultrasound is part of clinical routine and makes a substantial contribution towards increasing the significance of tissue and organ diagnosis with ultrasound for difficult cases.
New research confirms that an innovative procedure combining MRI and ultrasound to create a 3D image of the prostate can more accurately locate suspicious areas and help diagnose whether it’s prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer patients may soon have a new option to treat their disease: laser heat. UCLA researchers have found that focal laser ablation – the precise application of heat via laser to a tumor – is both feasible and safe in men with intermediate risk prostate cancer.
Scoliosis – typically defined as the curvature of the spine— affects around 3 out of every 100 people. While most cases of scoliosis are mild, some children develop spine deformities that continue to get more severe as they grow. An especially severe spinal curve can reduce the amount of space within the chest, making it difficult for the lungs to function properly.
Esaote specialises in designing and manufacturing diagnostic ultrasound systems and probes, shaping solutions to answer demanding clinical needs in any application, as the firm outlines, from abdomen to vascular, passing through musculoskeletal, internal medicine, cardiology, emergency and physiotherapy.
Studies are underway to determine if a new modular partial wrist replacement will allow for better movement and last longer than traditional implants for people seeking relief from painful wrist arthritis. Although current options such as total wrist replacement and wrist fusion can alleviate pain, patients are often limited in performing certain activities after surgery.
Dirk-André Clevert MD, Associate Professor of Radiology at the Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Munich, Germany, describes a new diagnostic approach in abdominal ultrasound.
Some six million people in the U.S. suffer from scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine. These include approximately 2 to 3% of adolescents who are diagnosed each year with idiopathic scoliosis, which is usually identified during puberty and progresses until skeletal maturity. One in 500 children today require treatment using spine braces and 1 in 5,000 need spinal surgery. The typical spine…
Mammography scans with lower dose and higher contrast – that’s the declared goal of Dr Nik Hauser, Medical Director of the Women‘s Clinic and Director of the Interdisciplinary Breast Centre at Kantonsspital Baden, Switzerland, and Professor Marco Stampanoni of Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland.
Use of ultrasound for guidance is gaining ground, researchers explained during the 4th IPCAI, the International Conference on Information Processing in Computer-Assisted Interventions held during CARS 2013 in Heidelberg.
Last November, Barco, the medical visualization experts, showcased numerous highlights at their booth at Medica 2012.
Britain’s many new hospitals are more than brave architectural statements – they consistently win awards, inspire others and, above all, improve life for all who use them. Now another stunning creation is about to rise. Despite beginning life as a workhouse for the poor, and having to grow in bleak, outdated buildings, in its near 100- year history Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool…
Magnetic resonance imaging is a long-established, highquality and safe examination tool. Why, therefore, do German gynaecologists and radiologists question its value in breast cancer diagnoses? Indeed the question ‘Breast MRI - yes or no?’ has split the medical community. One ardent champion of breast MRI is Professor Christiane Kuhl MD, director of the diagnostic and interventional radiology…
Three radiologists, who focused on different clinical applications using different diagnostic techniques, have reached the same conclusion: the next-generation of ultrasound brings new capabilities for detection, differentiation and advanced diagnosis of disease, John Brosky reports.
A Hitachi symposium demonstrated new high-end capabilities for ultrasound and reinforced the role of the radiologist in ultrasound examinations. "We are here not only to demonstrate capabilities, but to deliver a message," said Carlo Faletti, MD, from Turin, the chair for a symposium at the European Congress of Radiology focused on ultrasound multimodal fusion.
Image guidance and information management are turning into essential components of operating theatre workflow. Integrating the operating theatre (OT) with the help of IT systems positively affects many aspects of surgery – including its safety.
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.
A new urine test can help aid early detection of and treatment decisions about prostate cancer, a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology finds.
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…
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.
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…
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…
Integrated PET/MRI systems will permit the simultaneous acquisition of molecular, functional and structural parameters. The combined strengths of PET (high sensitivity and specificity, but relatively low spatial resolution) and MRI (high resolution, but low sensitivity) is the most attractive feature of multimodal imaging with hybrid scanners. Their application could substantially contribute to…
This newly developed digital ultrasound system is fully software orientated and features the latest broadband beamforming technology and ultra high-speed processing capability together with single crystal transducer technology. Combined with advanced ergonomic design, the system blends exceptional levels of user friendliness with superior image quality to guarantee maximum diagnostic confidence…
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.
German scientist Harald zur Hausen showed that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier from France discovered HIV.
Combining the advantages of a traditional hospital light box with the features of computer workstations, BrainLAB has produced the Digital Lightbox - which is certainly unlike the usual light box.
Accuracy and precision are of the utmost importance in spinal surgery. At ComPaMED 2007, Micro Precision Systems AG (MPS) presented its SpineAssist - a bone-mounted system that accurately guides the surgeon when placing implants destined to stabilize spinal fusions in open and especially in minimally invasive surgery (MIS).
By Shahram Vaezy, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, and Vesna Zderic, Assistant Professor at Electronic and Computer Engineering Department at George Washington University, Washington DC.
Increased diagnostic possibilities for orthopaedic patients.