Clostridioides difficile does not cause symptoms in infants – but that does not mean the bacteria are harmless: research links colonization to serious long-term consequences for the developing gut.
For infants, contracting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can be particularly serious and may cause severe breathing difficulties. A study shows that vaccination of mothers greatly reduces the risk.
Much of the equipment used in MRI comes in sizes suited to adult bodies. A new way to create custom, 3D-printed MRI sensors could help give clearer views of small organs in infants and children.
Wildfires and heatwaves strain the heart and lungs, and can also affect mental health. An environmental health expert explains who is most at risk and how public health systems can prepare.
Breastfeeding is recognized for its role in supporting a child's growth and immune system development. However, new research paints a more nuanced picture on its effect on childhood allergy.
When the spinal cord is damaged, the resulting paralysis is usually considered permanent. Now, a new research approach using lab-grown organoid models suggests that it actually might be reversed.
As women age, their breast tissue goes through major changes, with the most dramatic changes at menopause, but also during pregnancy and childbirth. A map reveals the impact on breast cancer.
Combining stem cell therapy with standard fetal surgery before birth is a safe and promising approach to treat myelomeningocele, a severe form of spina bifida, a new study has shown.
A new study shows that analyzing bacteria from vaginal swab samples taken at delivery could help predict the risk of neonatal sepsis.
Northwestern University researchers have developed the first device that can continuously track a fetus’s vital signs while still in the uterus — a feat that previously has not been possible.
Gene-editing technologies show great promise for medical treatments and research, with the potential to cure thousands of genetic diseases. At the 2025 World Medical Innovation Forum in Boston, leading experts explored the possibilities and challenges of these rapidly advancing tools. The case of Baby KJ Muldoon – an infant treated with a personalised CRISPR therapy developed in just seven…
Introducing mobile iCTG dramatically improves the detection of fetal heart rate abnormalities and strengthens perinatal outcomes - even in resource-constrained environments, a new study shows.
Developmental dysplasia of the hip occurs in 2-4% of infants, but screening via ultrasound is notoriously hard to master. An AI-assisted application could prevent many unnecessary hospital referrals.
The bigger the baby, the bigger the risk: A new study shows that the birthweight of a preterm infant is linked to its mother's risk of getting cardiovascular disease later in life.
Breastfeeding women often choose not to take their medications because they worry about their baby; or stop breastfeeding because of their medicines. However, new research suggests that this is often unnecessary.
Covid-19 has intensified domestic violence rates worldwide, with children among the most vulnerable victims. At the ECR 2025 radiology congress in Vienna, Dr Rick R. Van Rijn presented compelling insights into how radiologists can identify non-accidental trauma (NAT) in children through systematic imaging approaches. From comprehensive skeletal surveys to specific neurological imaging protocols,…
What do the brains of newborns and patients with Alzheimer's disease have in common? Researchers have discovered a surprising shared trait - which might provide new insights into the disease.
Maternal contractions during childbirth put considerable stress on a baby's heart. Using a new ultrasound technique, researchers were able to predict complications necessitating C-section.
Childhood cancer diagnosis times span from immediate to delays of several years, according to a new study. Young bone tumor patients are among the most affected by these delays.
Newborns, especially those born prematurely, are vulnerable to conditions such as sepsis. A new device profiles an infant’s immune function from a single drop of blood to improve neonatal care.
An Australian research team has developed a blood-based method of analysing thousands of proteins in a single, untargeted test. This potentially enables rapid diagnosis of many rare genetic diseases.
In an NICU, it is critically important to accurately assess a baby's pain level. A new review finds that none of the current clinical rating scales are backed by evidence in terms of validity and reliability.
A new rapid diagnostic test can identify pregnant women at elevated risk of transmitting hepatitis B to their babies. This could help prevent mother-to-child transmission during childbirth.
A pacemaker designed for babies could fill an unmet need for newborns with congenital heart defects and other heart conditions, finds a new study.
New study results could help detect whether a newborn baby with fever has sepsis or another serious bacterial infection, without the need for invasive testing.
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…
Women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes often have difficulty getting pregnant, due to complications from the disease, being obese or seriously underweight, or having conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome. Once pregnant, they face challenges of having a safe pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. Recent advances in diabetes technology, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and most…
To diagnose neuroblastoma in children, lengthy scans and anaesthesia are often required. A new PET/CT imaging technique could deliver faster results without sedation for the paediatric patients.
Surgeons have performed an unprecedented procedure on a two-year-old child diagnosed with scimitar syndrome. This marks the world’s first successful application of the “Double-decker Technique”.
Unlike most tumours, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid (AT/RT) tumours develop very quickly. Now, researchers explored the mechanisms of these aggressive brain tumours that mainly affect young children.
Medical Taiwan, the premier international expo for medical, health, and care industries organized by TAITRA, is scheduled to be held at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2 (TaiNex2) from June 20th to 22nd, 2024.
At the beginning of 2022, the Vienna General Hospital introduced DeepUnity, the next generation of PACS, which is used in clinics around the world today, taking the next step in image data management.
A new study found that the antibody response of infants and young children against Sars-CoV-2 deviates from that of adults in a small, but very significant way.
Plastics are a part of everyday life, and an increasingly concerning factor of global environmental pollution. They also have infiltrated our bodies as microparticles (MPs) and nanoparticles (NPs), found even in placentas supporting foetal life. And they are in our blood. Now, researchers in Spain have developed a new method to detect and measure nanoparticles in human peripheral blood that is…
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.
Premature infants, especially very low birthweight babies, are at risk for intraventricular hemorrhage. A frequent complication of these brain bleeds is hydrocephalus that can gravely disrupt brain development.
In a nationwide Swedish study of 207 births to women with an earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), researchers found an increased risk of both maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes.
The neonatology team at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) has conducted the world's first study of children receiving ECMO therapy using a mobile MRI scanner.
A new study from Finland and Norway shows that babies born preterm are more likely to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, in adulthood.
Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are important influences on health globally, but have so far been overlooked by health researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, finds new research.
Eunsin Bae, M.D. specializes in laboratory medicine and leads the Institute of Clinical Research at Seegene Inc. Her research focuses on microbiology, molecular biology, and hematology. Dr. Bae is currently working toward implementing a global clinical study and establishing an international network of clinical investigations.
Physicians use AI-powered technology for faster and earlier detection of diseases. At ECR Overture, Dr Steven Schalekamp, PhD, discussed the application of AI for chest radiography in paediatrics.
New wearable technology creates new possibilities for assessing the neurological development of young children.
A wireless, bioelectronic pacifier could eliminate the need for invasive, twice-daily blood draws to monitor babies’ electrolytes in Newborn Intensive Care Units or NICUs.
Nowhere does the birthplace of a preterm baby determine life or death more than in Africa. A concerted effort is made to reduce the continent’s dramatically high neonatal mortality rates.
US surgeons perform historic first successful transplant of porcine heart into adult auman with end-stage heart disease.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was previously considered largely untreatable. A research team at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) led by Professor Michael Gotthardt has now succeeded for the first time in improving cardiac function with the help of a synthetic nucleic acid, as the researchers report in the journal Science…
Since its introduction around 60 years ago, the screening of newborn babies for immune, hormone and metabolic disorders has prevented many people from experiencing severe disease progression. The scope of systematic early testing has been significantly enhanced through mass spectrometry (MS). In our interview, Professor Uta Ceglarek, one of the driving forces behind the introduction of MS…
“An artificial uterus – the incubator 2.0 – will become a reality within 10 years,” says Jasmijn Kok, one of the founders of Juno, a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands. Together with researchers from the department of Industrial Design from the University, including her twin sister Lyla Kok, she wants to bring a technology that increases the chances of…
A study found that women who contract Covid-19 during pregnancy are at significantly higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia. In their study, researchers said their systematic review shows that women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy had 62% higher odds of developing preeclampsia than those without the infection during pregnancy.
Extremely premature infants are at a high risk for brain damage. Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now found possible targets for the early treatment of such damage outside the brain: Bacteria in the gut of premature infants may play a key role.
A major UK clinical trial led by Queen’s University Belfast has shown how a new approach to reduce the use of mechanical ventilation can greatly improve outcomes for critically ill infants and children. The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Programme, found that a greater involvement of nurses, minimising sedation use and increasing daily…
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.
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have found the new mRNA Covid-19 vaccines to be highly effective in producing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pregnant and lactating women. They also demonstrated the vaccines confer protective immunity to newborns…
More human twins are being born than ever before, according to the first comprehensive, global overview published in Human Reproduction, one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Since the 1980s the twinning rate has increased by a third from 9 to 12 per 1000 deliveries, meaning that about 1.6 million twins are born each year worldwide and one in every 42 children born is a…
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart rate while measuring the wearer’s levels of glucose as well as lactate, alcohol or caffeine. It is the first wearable device that monitors cardiovascular signals and multiple biochemical levels in the human body at the same…
Clinical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter announced the launch of the DxH 560 AL, a tabletop analyzer geared to reduce the time and resource constraints faced by small to mid-sized laboratories. With the analyzer’s Auto-Loading functionality, closed tube aspiration and walkaway capabilities, users can continually add up to 50 samples, provide safety against blood-borne pathogens and spend…
With Covid-19 dominating medical science and human concern, chemists at the University of Sydney have developed a method to quickly and safely synthesise protein vaccines for respiratory diseases for pre-clinical tests. Their approach can be used to test vaccine strategies against novel pandemic pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Scientists at Heriot-Watt University have developed a technique that monitors a patient’s vital signs completely touch free. By using a continuous wave radar-based system to sense tiny chest movements, the new method can accurately measure an individual’s heart rate and respiratory rate without the need for wires, probes, wearable technology or other skin attachments. It could also identify…
Professor Omolola Mojisola Atalabi, head of the radiology department and pediatric radiology unit at the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria, will receive the Honorary Membership from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) during the society’s annual meeting. In an exclusive interview, she told HiE how she hopes this award will reflect on her younger peers and how she copes…
Re-starting the global economy for billions of people will depend on successfully overcoming logistical challenges in the ‘last mile’ of a COVID-19 vaccine’s journey to immunisation stations, according to a new report.
Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as mask wearing and social distancing are a key tool in combatting the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These actions also have greatly reduced incidence of many other diseases, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
A team of researchers in the US and Australia have developed a way of testing potential drugs for children’s cancers so as to take account of the wide genetic diversity of these diseases. In new research to be presented at the 32th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, Professor Peter Houghton, director of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (San…
An up-and-coming gene therapy for blood disorders. A new class of medications for cystic fibrosis. Increased access to telemedicine. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic. In conjunction with the 2020 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland Clinic…
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected children with direct impacts of the infection as well as on them leading normal lives. Schooling, play and vaccinations are among issues that can affect children’s health. Delay in taking paediatric patients to the emergency room (ER) has also had a negative impact, for example late treatment of acute appendicitis. Two experts from Spain tackled these topics…
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have demonstrated the promise of applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the efficacy of using human neural stem cells to treat a brain injury—a first-ever “biomarker” for regenerative medicine that could help personalize stem cell treatments for neurological disorders and improve…
Medication prescribed for a certain type of epilepsy may offer a new method for treating malignant infantile brain tumours. A specific mTOR inhibitor has the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier to both reach and attack the tumour at source. This has been demonstrated by researchers from Uppsala University, in collaboration with US and UK colleagues, whose research has now been published in…
Adding vitamin D to wheat flour would prevent 10 million new cases of vitamin D deficiency in England and Wales over the next 90 years, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. The researchers say overhauling existing public health policy to introduce the mandatory fortification of vitamin D in wheat flour would not only be cost saving but would significantly reduce the burden on the NHS…
New research has found that antibiotic-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen that can cause respiratory and bloodstream infections, are spreading through hospitals in Europe. Certain strains are resistant to the carbapenem antibiotics that represent the last line of defence in treating infections and are therefore regarded as extremely drug resistant (XDR).
A team of specialists at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have performed UPMC's first in-utero surgery to close an open neural tube defect in a baby months before her birth.
Two millions: this is, worldwide, the number of babies which suffer suffocation during birth every year. A resuscitation procedure is sometimes the key to avert irreparable damages for the baby. And, for successful outcomes, promptness of action and preparation are vital. Researcher Mark Thielen (Industrial Design) from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) developed a 3D printed baby…
Sixty-two percent of Germans fear antibiotic resistance, according to a survey recently conducted by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. ‘Patients colonised by multi-resistant pathogens are particularly scared. But many of these fears are rooted in misunderstandings,’ explained Professor Mathias Pletz at the Congress for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (KIT).
A joint team from Hokkaido University and Keio University has identified a gut protein essential for neonatal mice to fight infections, according to research published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The insight could help understand how infants develop their own intestinal immune systems after weaning. The gut is constantly exposed to potentially harmful bacteria that come with food and…
Babies born with congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) are at risk of suffering from permanent brain damage and life-long disability. Yet some will go on to suffer more severely than others as a result of their disease profile, report the researchers in an article published in Frontiers in Endocrinology. The research team have found that it is possible to predict when and how the disease may affect…
Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine used MRI brain scans and machine learning techniques at birth to predict cognitive development at age 2 years with 95 percent accuracy. “This prediction could help identify children at risk for poor cognitive development shortly after birth with high accuracy,” said senior author John H. Gilmore, MD, Thad and Alice Eure…
Shahid Umar, PhD, researcher with The University of Kansas Cancer Center, has dedicated two decades of his scientific exploration to better grasp the connection between colon cancer and the human microbiome. Called the “forgotten organ,” the microbiome comprises trillions and trillions of microbes, including bacteria, fungi and viruses, in our body.
The first total-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) that can acquire a 3D image of the human body in a single position received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2019. Its forthcoming commercial availability for clinical use in the United States later this year is the milestone achievement of a multi-institutional consortium…
When infants are playing with objects, their early attempts to pay attention to things are accompanied by bursts of high-frequency activity in their brain. But what happens when parents play together with them? New research, published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, by Dr Sam Wass of the University of East London in collaboration with Dr Victoria Leong (Cambridge University and Nanyang…
New research from the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Research Institute supports the need for dietary and lifestyle interventions before overweight and obese women become pregnant. The researchers have reported the results of a large study of birth outcomes in more than 500 overweight or obese women from three public maternity units in Adelaide, Australia.
United Kingdom manufacturer Paraid is demonstrating its latest version of the IBEX ambulance chair, used by ambulances throughout the UK. This easy-to-use patient transport chair is designed for use across all terrains including restricted, spiral and narrow staircases, the manufacturer reports. ‘The innovative product features a plastic seat and backrest with harness, which allows patients to…
Evidence of tiny particles of carbon, typically created by burning fossil fuels, has been found in placentas for the first time, in new research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. Previous research has indicated links between pregnant mothers’ exposure to air pollution and premature birth, low birth weight, infant mortality and childhood respiratory problems.
A recent study, performed in Chicago and Rabat, Morocco, found that a novel finger-prick test for infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy — and many other potential applications — is 100 percent sensitive and 100 percent specific for detecting the presence of this life-damaging microorganism.
Medicines given to household pets to kill fleas and ticks might be effective for preventing outbreaks of malaria, Zika fever and other dangerous insect-borne diseases that infect millions of people worldwide, according to a new study led by scientists at Calibr, a non-profit drug discovery institute closely affiliated with Scripps Research and TropIQ Health Sciences, a Dutch social enterprise.
Early whole genome sequencing might bring hope for children who are born severely ill or who develop serious illness in the first few weeks of their life. Because these children are often difficult to diagnose, detection of diseases has considerable implications for their short and longer-term care. At the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) in Milan, Italy, the…
Measuring RNA fragments in a pregnant woman’s blood gives a reliable estimate of the baby’s due date and can predict if the baby will arrive prematurely, a Stanford-led team has shown.
More than a million neonatal deaths worldwide each year are estimated to be due to sepsis. In the UK there are approximately 90,000 admissions to neonatal intensive care units per year. Nearly all these patients receive antibiotic therapy during their hospital stay, but babies with a specific genetic change can suffer irreversible hearing loss as a result. Now, in a collaboration between…
Health chiefs are failing to investigate a clear pattern of rising death rates and worsening health outcomes in England and Wales, argue experts in The BMJ today. Lucinda Hiam at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Danny Dorling at the University of Oxford say weekly mortality figures show 10,375 additional deaths (a rise of 12.4%) in England and Wales in the first seven…
‘With Your Stories – lifetime healthcare support’: this future-driven approach combines the best of two worlds, using Shimadzu’s insights and expertise in medical imaging systems and laboratory instrumentation to benefit patients through ever improving prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
Researchers have identified mechanisms that drive about 10 percent of high-risk neuroblastoma cases and have used a new approach to show how the cancer genome “hijacks” DNA that regulates other genes. The resulting insights may help scientists develop more effective therapies, including precision medicines. The research involved investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital;…
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…
Using molecular scissors wrapped in a greasy delivery package, researchers have disrupted a gene variant that leads to deafness in mice. A single treatment involving injection of a genome editing cocktail prevented progressive hearing loss in young animals that would have otherwise gone deaf, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator David Liu and colleagues report in the journal…
Findings published in Oncotarget offer new hope for children with highly aggressive brain tumors like atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) and medulloblastoma. Previously, the authors of the study have shown that an experimental drug that inhibits polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4) stopped pediatric brain tumor growth in vitro. Now, they have demonstrated its success in an animal model – the drug…
Children at one year old who have eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) and are sensitized to an allergen are seven times more likely than other infants to develop asthma, and significantly more likely to have a food allergy by age three. This new finding from the Canadian CHILD Study will help doctors better predict which children will develop asthma and allergies, according to a paper published by…
Heart surgery significantly decreases in-hospital mortality among infants with either of two genetic disorders that cause severe physical and intellectual disabilities, according to a new study by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Trisomy 13 and 18, which result from having extra chromosomes, often…
A new study found that increased utilization of split liver transplantation could decrease the number of children who die awaiting liver transplantation without decreasing liver transplantation access for adult patients. “Among children listed for liver transplant in the United States, more than one in 10 infants and one in 20 older children die while waiting for a liver,” says Emily Perito,…
Duke researchers now have evidence to suggest the fever itself, not its root source, could interfere with the development of the heart and jaw during the first three to eight weeks of pregnancy. Researchers have known for decades that fevers in the first trimester of pregnancy increase risk for some heart defects and facial deformities such as cleft lip or palate. Exactly how this happens is…
Results of a University of Nebraska Medical Center study found if the standard supplementation of 400 IUs of vitamin D is increased to 800 IUs daily there are reductions in the number of premature and preterm babies with extremely low bone density. Physicians have been prescribing vitamin D in premature and preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to prevent rickets, a disease…
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.
Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a company in the diagnostic imaging business, announced today that its contrast agent SonoVue (sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles) is the first ultrasound contrast agent to obtain approval in the European Union for its use in ultrasonography of the urinary tract for the evaluation of suspected or known vesicoureteral reflux in pediatric patients.
A unique womb-like environment designed by pediatric researchers could transform care for extremely premature babies, by mimicking the prenatal fluid-filled environment to give the tiniest newborns a precious few weeks to develop their lungs and other organs.
Andrew Su, a professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), was sitting in an exam room with his newborn son when the idea for a new scientific study hit him.
ECR 2017 Guest Lecturer Maria de Fatima Vasco Aragao, a radiologist from Pernambuco state, Brazil, has been tracking the Zika virus ever since it broke out in her country in 2015. She will highlight how CT and MRI can help reach diagnosis, especially in the absence of microcephaly. In an exclusive interview with European Hospital correspondent Mélisande Rouger, the radiologist warned there might…
After nearly two decades of unsuccessful attempts, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have created the first mouse model for the most common form of infant leukemia. Their discovery could hasten development and testing of new drug therapies.
NIBIB-funded researchers at the University of Washington have pioneered an approach to image functional activity in the brains of individual fetuses, allowing a better look at how functional networks within the brain develop. The work addresses a common problem of functional MRI; if the subject moves during the scanning, the images get distorted.
New, screen-printed, flexible MRI coils may be able to reduce the amount of time it takes to get an MRI scan. Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have developed light and flexible MRI coils that produce high quality MRI images and in the future could lead to shorter MRI scan time periods.
Drexel University scientists have discovered an unusual mechanism for how two new antimalarial drugs operate: They give the parasite’s skin a boost in cholesterol, making it unable to traverse the narrow labyrinths of the human bloodstream. The drugs also seem to trick the parasite into reproducing prematurely.
Around the world, especially in developing nations, counterfeit medicines are a real problem. Until now, in many countries there hasn't been a standard protocol to conduct investigations and pursue prosecution. New research, led by Michigan State University, is providing the foundation to apply criminology theory to preventing the production and sale of fake and substandard medicines.
Since the recent link to severe neurological defects in infants born to mothers infected during pregnancy, Zika virus (ZIKV) has become a public health and research priority. A study reports details from the 2015 Zika outbreak in Rio de Janeiro - the first with a high proportion of cases confirmed by molecular diagnosis - and proposes changes to the current diagnostic criteria for ZIKV disease.
From the beginning the accusation somehow beggared belief. A ‘mild’ virus was blamed for causing hideous malformations in babies’ heads. Brazil, a country suffering its worst recession since the 1930s, as well as political upheaval, became the focus of a worldwide healthcare scare.
While most Down syndrome research has focused on the brain, a new report by Johns Hopkins University biologists uncovers how the disorder hampers a separate part of the nervous system that plays a key role in health and longevity.
With the aim of producing high-quality X-rays with minimal radiation exposure, particularly in children, researchers have developed a new approach to imaging patients. Surprisingly, the new technology isn’t a high-tech, high-dollar piece of machinery. Rather, it’s based on the Xbox gaming system.
A new 3D computer modeling system may significantly improve a surgeon's ability to select the best sized donor heart for children receiving heart transplants, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.
First-of-its-kind study by the University of Iowa shows kids with hearing loss benefit from early intervention.
Half a million square feet. More than 350 beds. And tomorrow, they clean it all over again. Every day, Environmental Services (EVS) staff members work to disinfect every surface in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preventing infections and keeping patients safe. Now, on top of scrubbing, spraying, mopping and wiping, they can add another action –…
Bacteria aren’t the only nonhuman invaders to colonize the gut shortly after a baby’s birth. Viruses also set up house there, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. All together, these invisible residents are thought to play important roles in human health.
The survival rate of premature babies born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation is improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal have revealed in a new study.
Premature births are intimately linked with inflammation of the uterine tissue, a biological response which induces contractions and preterm labor. In their search for a mean to prevent this phenomenon and complications related to deliveries occurring before 37 weeks of gestation, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and University of Montreal discovered an agent that shows efficacy in inhibiting…
Ultrasound is finding relatively new applications across various clinical specialties and points of care, from image-guiding interventions, biopsies and non-invasive diagnosis to imaging in war and sports fields. Cost effectiveness, safety, high accessibility and clinical value in preliminary diagnosis are strengthening the technology’s value proposition. It is seen as the definitive diagnostic…
Fetuses with enlarged ventricles--the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain--may be less likely than their counterparts to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
A new protocol to treat babies born in withdrawal from drugs can be used widely to improve outcomes for these babies, says Eric Hall, a researcher in the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's and lead author of the study.
Vaccination remains one of the most efficient strategies against infectious diseases, often being the best protection against infections such as hepatitis B, or influenza. European Hospital reports on expert reviews of vaccines in the pipeline and the potential of nanomedicine given during the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) annual meeting in…
Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden have discovered a new explanation for severe early infant epilepsy. Mutations in the gene encoding the protein KCC2 can cause the disease, hereby confirming an earlier theory. The findings are being published in the journal Nature Communications.
Hospital-based pathologists may soon gain a new diagnostic assay that could prove effective in detecting hospital-acquired infections more quickly and more accurately than with existing rapid molecular diagnostic tests
They call him Mr Clean Hand. Professor Didier Pittet MD, Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève and Head of the Clean Care is Safer Care programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO), is known as the ‘Father of Modern Hand Hygiene’. Report: Michael Krassnitzer
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.
A new extracorporeal nanotech device addresses the root cause of sepsis by removing pathogens and endotoxins simultaneously from blood even before their identification – this genetically engineered mannose-binding lectin protein can also latch on to the Ebola virus... Report: Cynthia E Keen
Albit was designed as an easy-to-use and practical ultrasound device both for general diagnostic applications such as obs/gyn, paediatric, small subsurface organ examinations and specific diagnostic applications such as proctology, TRUS, anaesthesia, vascular surgery or orthopaedics.
Doctor Véronique Mondain from Nice explains the ambitious project she and colleagues have put in place to help combat the rise of these resistant pathogens.
‘Better hygiene’ is the frequently and loudly recommended panacea in the intensifying struggle against hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). However there are currently no evidence-based studies that evaluate the efficacy of additional hygiene measures.
Infants exposed to rodent and pet dander, roach allergens and a wide variety of household bacteria in the first year of life appear less likely to suffer from allergies, wheezing and asthma, according to results of a study conducted by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and other institutions.
In a study that began in a pair of infant siblings with a rare heart defect, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a key molecular switch that regulates heart cell division and normally turns the process off around the time of birth. Their research, they report, could advance efforts to turn the process back on and regenerate heart tissue damaged by heart attacks or disease.
MUSICA software introduced automated, exam-independent digital image processing using contrast enhancement founded on multi-scale mathematics.
While the benefits of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a temporary respiratory support for adult patients are still debated, it is undisputed that for many infants ECMO is the only chance to survive, because it provides them with time to strengthen their lungs
There is little evidence on respiratory support with extracorporeal systems – enough of an argument for most of those doubting the procedure not to use it, or even make it available.
‘This is a dramatic demonstration that medical genomics is no longer a technology of the future – it is a technology of the here and now' Report: Mark Nicholls
When country doctor Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand, little did he know that he had started a long lasting revolution in preventive medicine.
Paediatric radiologists are facing very special challenges. For their small patients they have to be able to precisely assess the advantages and risks of the different imaging modalities and procedures.
GE Healthcare yesterday announced the availability of the Giraffe® Stand-Alone Infant Resuscitation (STAR) System, which integrates critical capabilities to enhance effective resuscitation of newborns.
The number of premature births increases continuously in all European countries – with the exception of Sweden. Every year around 500,000 children – every 10th baby – in Europe are premature, i.e. born before the end of the 37th week of pregnancy and with a birth weight below 2,500g.
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
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.
Volume-targeted ventilated premature babies have a higher survival rate and suffer less ventilation-related lung damage – this is the result of a survey amongst international neonatologists.
In 2012, Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital will be in transition, with a change of name as well as location, when its top class technology, physicians, scientists, staff and patients transfer to a new state-of-the-art complex three miles away.
Comprehensive additional training is necessary in Germany, to specialise in paediatric radiology, and only seven among the country’s 35 university hospitals provide paediatric radiology professorships. Thus, there are only about 80 specialists in this field and very few work in private practice
In terms of health politics, no hospital-related subject is more explosive than hygiene. However, although this reaction is common across Europe, approaches towards tackling nosocomial infections varies among our EU countries. Karoline Laarmann reports from Germany and Jane MacDougall from France…
It turns out to be difficult to find out exactly how much a child who cannot yet speak suffers after a surgical operation. Researchers at the University Hospital of La Paz, in Madrid, have validated the 'Llanto' scale, the first, and only, tool in Spanish which measures infant pain rapidly and simply.
This is the claim made by Dr Paula Meier during event discussions in the lead up to Medela’s 6th International Breastfeeding and Lactation Symposium (Amsterdam, 15-16 April 2011). Although the benefits of human milk for infants in neonatal intensive care units is widely accepted, there has been a lack of focus on how to encourage and support mothers of preterm infants to stimulate and…
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).
While Contec’s broad range covers 13 product categories, the accent over the past year has been on enhancing patient-centred devices with fresh features developed by the firm’s research & development team. For example, while the typical screen size for patient monitors is 12-inches, Contec recently introduce models that both increase and reduce that size in response to customer demand.
No one would think of roaming through unknown territory at night without a torch. Yet, anaesthetists have been doing just that when navigating through peripheral nerve blocks and vessels with a needle. Ultrasound has long been a useful imaging tool in this process. However, so far, this has been a case of the steeper the angle of the needle, the more difficult the ultrasound visualisation.
GE Healthcare has introduced to the European market the Giraffe® Shuttle transportable power source for its Giraffe and Panda families of incubators and warmers. By transforming these healing environments into transport devices, the Giraffe Shuttle eliminates the need for transferring premature and sick babies to and from transport incubators.
If the level of participation at a trade show is taken as an indication of the development of that country's industry, then we have to admit, with great sadness, that Russia can not be very proud of the number of exhibitors at Medica 2009. Yet Russian entrepreneurs are hardy and optimistic because they have a growing confidence of winning a greater share of the international market.
The new seca 874, a highly mobile electronic flat scaless is ideal for weighing infants, children and adults, the manufacturer reports. Healthcare consultants and development aid workers in particular will appreciate the reliable scaless's performance in on-site mass screenings. The double display of the measured weight was especially designed to satisfy their requirements.
The new Isolette 8000 is the latest model in Dräger’s respected Isolette series of infant incubators that introduced innovations such as the patented Dual Air Curtain, known from the Isolette C2000. ‘This thermal management capability, which is also part of the Isolette 8000, reduces radiant heat loss from the infant and contributes to a cocoon-like environment, where the neonate can…
Bettina Döbereiner reports on theories, policy strategies and current projects aired in the Berlin conference Reducing Health Inequalities. What do we really know about successful strategies?
In 2006, 4.3 million children were born in US hospitals; of these, 158,000 mothers and infants (3.5%) sustained injuries that could have been avoided. For comparison purposes, newly published US statistics could prove interesting for European hospital administrators, says Dot M McSherry of i.t. Communications
In almost all of the industrialised countries, the general health status - as indicated for example by infant mortality, prevalence of disease, subjective health and life expectancy - has improved during the last four decades. At the same time, however, there is a proven close correlation between good and poor health and high and low socioeconomic status.
British girl Hannah Clark who was given an extra heart as a toddler has become the world's first heart transplant patient to make a full recovery after having her donor organ removed and function restored to her original heart. The case highlights that in some cases of cardiomyopathy, it is possible for the patient's own heart to make a full recovery if it is given adequate support to do so.
Healthcare services often do not reach the target groups because socio-cultural preferences and values of patients and their relatives are not properly considered.
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.
In the 60 years since Britain's National Health Service (NHS) was born, investment and innovation in this service has transformed healthcare delivery, placing the NHS in the top league for groundbreaking science - from the first test tube baby to the regular NHS organ transplants today.
KM Medical, an innovative medical technology company based in Auckland, New Zealand, will unveil, for the first time in Europe, the Next Step in Neonatal Resuscitation and Transport Ventilation.
What is the nutritional status of the populace? In particular, how healthy are our children? These issues and similar ones constitute the current work focus of numerous scientists, who are in the process of developing preventative health programmes based on the current results of research. Documenting the nutritional status of the participants is crucial in such studies.
AquilionONE is the first CT scanner capable of imaging whole organ regions up to a width of 16 cm in one rotation and within a split second. Based on the raw volume data, rapid dynamic processes within an entire organ (e. g. heart, pancreas, kidney or brain) may be diagnosed with a time interval of 50 ms, i.e. with a rate of 20 volumes per second.
Christian Pruszinsky reports from the 11th European Health Forum Gastein in Austria: `Achieving the level of healthcare of the older EU member states will remain a long-term project for new members´ .
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.
Britain is a primarily Christian country. It is also home to people with various religious beliefs who have migrated here from many parts of the world, or are British born. In a 2001 census, 72% of the population identified itself as Christian.
USA - A new tuberculosis vaccine successfully tested at the University of North Carolina (UNC) is easier to administer and store and just as effective as one commonly used worldwide, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For the past eight years, Russia has been implementing a nationwide infrastructure update of its healthcare facilities. In addition to building new specialized medical centers and equipping them with state-of-technology medical equipment, it is implementing a new model for healthcare payment and scrambling to train all levels of healthcare professionals.
A research carried out at six hospitals in the West Midlands, UK, is evaluating the use of pulse oximetry as a screening tool for congenital heart disease in newborn babies. Approximately three percent of infant deaths are caused by these significant heart defects and at the moment only less than half of the affected babies are identified by clinical examination, the current screening technique.
The Newport e360 Ventilator incorporates Newport Medical's Intelligent Control System (ICS). ICS is a combination of four features designed to improve total breath synchrony (Automatic Slope/Rise, FlexCycle (automatic Expiratory Threshold), Dual Modes VTPC and VTPS and Automatic Leak Compensation.)
The Hamburg-based company seca has specialized in the manufacture of weighing and height measuring scales for over 165 years. Today, the firm has locations in Switzerland, the UK, France, Japan, China, Mexico and the USA, and manufactures products in Germany, the Czech Republic and China, and exports its range of products - which include infant, column and flat scales, with height measuring…
The newest member of the Fabius family of Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG, was designed especially for the requirements in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The system is also suitable for other applications involving magnetic fields such as a cardiac catheterisation laboratory or proton therapy.
IVAM is an international association of companies and institutes that specialise in microtechnology, nanotechnology and advanced materials.
A presentation for the 31st tri-national DEGUM, ÖGUM, and SGUM conference in Leipzig, Germany, by Axel Feldkamp MD (below), Chairman of the DEGUM paediatrics division, and Director of the paediatrics department at Duisburg Hospital.
Children with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bulosa (RDEB) lack a protein that binds the skin to the body, resulting in fragile skin that sloughs off with little movement or friction.
Every young mother wants to be as close as possible to her newborn baby. The "Leipiziger Wanne", the "Leipzig tub", developed by German engineering company NEL, can fulfil this wish even more easily: The c-shaped bed consists of a transparent tub which can be moved across the mother's bed allowing her eye contact with the baby at any time.
Grupo Hospitalario Quirón and José de Mello Saúde are sharing a joint venture that aims to create a reference private healthcare group in the Iberic Market.
San Diego, California - 20,000 international physicians, scientists and other visitors travelled to the Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in July, and 750 exhibitors emphasised the increasing importance of this gathering
An International Health Partnership: Richer countries urged to fast-track Millennium Development Goals for healthcare
Multiple-breath washout (MBW) is a new and sensitive lung function test qualified for use on very young children. In their study Asthma UK and the Institute of Child Health at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London use MBW among other tests to investigate how asthma affects the growing airways of babies and infants.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given 510(K) clearance to Maquet Critical Care of Solna, Sweden, to market its Servo-i ventilator with the NAVA (Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist) option. Sales of the system, which aims to treat and monitor neonatal, infant and adult patients, should begin this year. In addition, current Servo-i users can upgrade their system with NAVA.
The 'revolutionary' Activion16 Multislice CT system will be launched at the ECR 2007 congress Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation reports.
Among ventilation advances demonstrated at this year's European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Congress, held in Barcelona, the combination of the SERVO-i ventilator with Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) provoked considerable interest because the system allows ventilation to be controlled by the patient's own respiratory centre in the brain. During a discussion with Daniela…
It kills more children than any other illness. According to UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) that includes AIDS, malaria and measles combined - yet pneumonia remains a forgotten disease. A report published by the two organisations aims to provoke action to reduce child mortality from pneumonia.
Infants born very prematurely have a high probability of experiencing behavioural and neuro-cognitive impairments during childhood and adolescence.
Bad marks for Lithuanian healthcare system, best value for money in Slovenia and Estonia.
A medical failure or biological necessity?
From burden to therapy. By Andrea Rossi MD, Director of the Respiratory Division at Bergamo General Hospital Bergamo, Italy, and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Respiratory Society
In August last year, Hurricane Katrina smashed into the USA's Gulf Coast. Within 36 hours a swathe of Louisiana had become a disaster zone.
Although parents are allowed in neonate ICU units, family members and friends are barred. To meet this need, Innsbruck Medical University recently launched the project 'Babywatch' in its neonatology ICU.
An extensive international study, presented at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in New Orleans, concludes that baby foods contain worrying levels of disease-causing microbes, including Enterobacter sakazakii (linked to some fatal outbreaks of meningitis at children's hospitals in Europe and the USA*).
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.
Iris recognition is thought to be the highest-accuracy, single-factor biometric identification in the world, and could have many uses.
