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Search for: "spectroscopy" - 136 articles found

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Article • Exploring imaging advances and their impact on radiographers

‘The future of breast MRI is bright’

Breast MRI has emerged as a powerful diagnostic tool, particularly for women with dense breast tissue where traditional mammography faces limitations. In her presentation at ECR 2025, radiographer Hanna Kalliomäki highlighted several technological advances transforming breast cancer detection and diagnosis. From time-saving abbreviated protocols and AI-assisted analysis to contrast-free…

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Article • Promising, but in need of further validation

Implementation challenges of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease

Blood-based biomarker (BBB) tests may represent the best weapon to combat the soaring rates of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) throughout the world. Existing clinically validated tests are currently deployed to facilitate diagnosis, to monitor disease and effectiveness of treatments, to quantify progression, and to determine if a patient is appropriate for treatment or participation in a clinical…

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Article • Infection control

The strain typing technologies of tomorrow

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit hospital and medical research institution in Los Angeles, is setting new standards for quality and innovation in patient care by successfully introducing typing of Candida auris species – a procedure that could prove crucial in protecting patients from infection outbreaks caused by these microbes in healthcare settings.

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Article • Sustainability

The challenge of "greening" medical technologies

Under the impulse of the European Commission, the in vitro diagnostic industry is developing emerging technologies to implement sustainable practices in medical laboratories. As sustainability has been a growing priority of the European Union (EU) in the last decade, ‘the medical technology sector, particularly the IVD sector, must comply with European legislation in this field like all other…

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News • Donor organ analysis

New laser technique could improve liver transplant process

Handheld laser devices that help surgeons quickly spot liver damage could transform transplant procedures, research suggests. The non-invasive technique could provide medical staff with instant data on the health of donor livers and help them to identify which organs are suitable for transplant. If widely adopted, the light-based tool could allow more livers to be transplanted safely and…

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News • Coronavirus diagnostics

Rapid Covid-19 test delivers results within 4 minutes with 90 percent accuracy

A low-cost, rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19 developed by Penn Medicine provides Covid-19 results within four minutes with 90 percent accuracy. A paper published this week in Matter details the fast and inexpensive diagnostic test, called RAPID 1.0 (Real-time Accurate Portable Impedimetric Detection prototype 1.0). Compared to existing methods for Covid-19 detection, RAPID is inexpensive and…

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News • Innovative protein analysis

Cooking an egg in an X-ray beam

A team of scientists has been using the X-ray source PETRA III at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) to analyse the structural changes that take place in an egg when you cook it. The work reveals how the proteins in the white of a chicken egg unfold and cross-link with each other to form a solid structure when heated. Their innovative method can be of interest to the food industry as well as…

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News • Analysing molecular composition

Infrared light is key in novel blood test

A new study carried out by a team of laser physicists, molecular biologists and physicians based at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics has confirmed the temporal stability of the molecular composition of blood in a population of healthy individuals. The data provide a basis for a new method of monitoring the constituents of blood and detecting alterations that reveal…

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News • Potential for rapid, accurate glycan sequencing

Enormous boost for sequencing key molecules

Using a nanopore, researchers have demonstrated the potential to reduce the time required for sequencing a glycosaminoglycan — a class of long chain-linked sugar molecules as important to our biology as DNA — from years to minutes. Research to be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shows that machine-learning and image recognition software could be…

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News • CARS & multiphoton microscopy

Multimodal imaging to detect cancerous cells faster and more accurately

Improving the detection of cancerous cells during surgery – this is the goal of the European research project CARMEN. The research institutes Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) from Germany and Multitel asbl from Belgium work together with companies from both countries, JenLab GmbH, Deltatec, and LaserSpec, to develop a novel, compact and multimodal imaging system. This could even allow the…

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News • Delicious research

Can drinking cocoa make you smarter?

Increased consumption of flavanols – a group of molecules which occur naturally in fruit and vegetables – can increase your mental agility, according to new research. A team at the University of Birmingham has found that people given a cocoa drink containing high levels of flavanols were able to complete certain cognitive tasks more efficiently than when drinking a non-flavanol enriched-drink.

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News • Coronavirus genome folding

Researchers prepare for “SARS-CoV-3”

For the first time, an international research alliance has observed the RNA folding structures of the SARS-CoV2 genome with which the virus controls the infection process. This could not only lay the foundation for the targeted development of novel drugs for treating Covid-19, but also for occurrences of infection with new corona viruses that may develop in the future.

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Article • Tissue analysis

Infrared spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool

New techniques of infrared-based technology are showing strong potential for cost-effective tissue analysis. Peter Gardner, Professor of Analytical and Biomedical Spectroscopy at the University of Manchester, outlined how hyperspectral imaging coupled with sophisticated computer algorithms can identify and grade cancerous tissue, as well as offer an indication of prognosis. The technique, he…

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Article • Neuro-oncology

Challenges in brain tumour segmentation

Neuroradiologist Dr Sofie Van Cauter described the challenges to brain tumour image segmentation during the European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics (EuSoMII) annual meeting in Valencia. She also outlined how, when clinically validated, AI could help tackle such problems. The WHO classification of brain tumours has come a long way since first introduced in 1979. The 2016 classification was…

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Article • Breath analysis to aid diagnoses

Breathomics: far more than hot air

In diagnostics, it sometimes makes sense to follow your nose. During the Labmed Forum at Medica, Dr Beniam Ghebremedhin and Dr Simona Cristescu discussed the diagnostic potential of breathomics – the analysis of a patient’s exhaled air for disease indicators.

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Article • Blood test & AI power

Early brain tumour detection – within minutes

A simple blood test coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis could help spot the signs of a brain tumour sooner in patients. Brain tumour diagnosis is difficult: patients often see their family doctor (GP) several times before referral for a scan. However, research presented at the 2019 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Glasgow last November suggests the…

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News • Biomarker for personalised treatment

Non-invasive technique to assess brain tumours in children

Ground-breaking research by the University of Birmingham has discovered a new technique to assess the aggressiveness of childhood brain tumours. Funded by Children with Cancer UK, Action Medical Research and The Brain Tumour Charity, the study is the first of its kind and will allow clinicians to give more personalised treatments for childhood brain cancers, which currently account for one third…

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News • Determining protein structures

3Dseq: New technique to solve biomedical puzzles

“Proteins are the workers in the cell, and it's important to know their shape,” says Chris Sander, PhD, director of Dana-Farber’s cBio Center in the Department of Data Sciences. Sander and his colleagues have now demonstrated a powerful “experimental evolution” method to discover details of protein shape and function, and the method may find uses across a very broad spectrum of…

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News • Molecular diversity

New insights into abnormal proteins in Parkinson’s disease and MSA

Parkinson’s and multisystem atrophy (MSA) – both of them neurodegenerative diseases – are associated with the accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC) have investigated the molecular makeup of these protein deposits finding structural…

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News • "Umbrella" trial

Urine test detects acute kidney transplant rejection

Early non-invasive detection of kidney rejection after transplantation was the central aim of a collaboration between Prof. Dr. Bernhard Banas, Chairman of Nephrology at the University Hospital Regensburg (UKR) and the medical diagnostics company, numares. The results of their joint clinical trial “UMBRELLA” were just published in EBioMedicine and presented at the American Society of…

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News • Chemical clues

AI blood test can spot signs of brain tumour

Chemical analysis of blood samples, combined with an artificial intelligence program, could speed up the diagnosis of brain tumours, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Brain tumours tend to have ambiguous symptoms, such as headache or memory problems, and a brain scan is currently the only reliable way of diagnosing them. Researchers say their test, which works by…

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News • Macular degeneration as a biomarker

Eye scan shows diseases at an early stage

More and more people aged 50 and over are suffering from age-related vision disorders. According to the World Health Organization, in four out of five cases they could be avoided if they were diagnosed at an early stage. A European team of scientists, including the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) in Jena, has now researched a new method that will enable doctors to better…

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Article • ESC consensus statement

Intracoronary imaging advances

Interventional cardiologists have been aware of the value of intracoronary (IC) imaging in clinical practice for more than twenty years. However, recent developments and improvements in modalities and software have enabled huge strides in its range and scope for both diagnostic assessment and in percutaneous coronary interventions. Imaging options now include intravascular ultrasound (IVUS),…

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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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News • Watching the change

Predicting cancer risk with computational electrodynamics

Researchers from Northwestern University are using Argonne supercomputers to advance the development of an optical microscopy technique that can predict and quantify cancer risks at extremely early stages. The basic principle driving Allen Taflove’s computational electrodynamics research — which bears the potential to transform how we diagnose, and possibly treat, various forms of cancer —…

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Article • Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The lab-on-a-chip SERS platform

Analytically sensitive and specific detection of pharmaceuticals or metabolites in bodily fluids, as well as fast and reliable detection of human pathogens, are major challenges for instrument-based analytics in medical diagnostics. Over the past few years the combination of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and microfluidic devices (Lab-on-a-Chip) has emerged as a perfectly suited…

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Video • Autoimmune disease

Detecting rheumatoid arthritis with infrared light

A new way of detecting rheumatoid arthritis using infrared light could offer an objective way of diagnosing the disease and monitoring treatment effectiveness, a University of Birmingham study shows. The rapid, non-invasive technique could help clinicians diagnose the disease earlier, and assess how effectively the selected treatment is controlling the progression of the disease. Rheumatoid…

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News • Nanotechnology

Targeting cancer cells with gold nanorods

Scientists at the University of Birmingham are working with a Canadian tech company to investigate whether gold nanorods can be used to target cancer cells in the human body. They have joined experts at Sona Nanotech Inc. to develop the next generation of nanorods for tissue imaging. The team will work with its Canadian partners - beginning by creating luminescent nanorods by transforming gold…

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Article • Gaining ground

MRI advances approach the realm of precision medicine

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…

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Article • GCCA/GBCA safety

Gadolinium @ ECR 2018 – diverse and “disunited”?

Gadolinium-containing/gadolinium-based contrast agents (GCCAs/GBCAs) and their usage was a major topic at ECR 2018. Fuelled by the current debate a number of presentations focused on possible impact, risks and necessities. Some were highly specific, others took a broader view. The only consensus, however, seems to be the need for more research and the focus on safety. Three ECR speakers, Joseph…

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Article • Cancer diagnostics

Progressing towards optical biopsy

Recognising malignant tissue remains a tricky task. While today, most patients undergo a biopsy, an invasive procedure where tissue is sampled, stained and assessed, researchers are exploring the potential of optical biopsy, the visual assessment of suspect tissue. The interest in optical biopsy ‘is indeed enormous,’ confirms Dr Thomas Bocklitz, physicist at Friedrich-Schiller University in…

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Article • Brain MRI-mining

The birth of psychoradiology

The emerging field of psychoradiology is taking a major step ahead. A new study highlights MRI’s role in identifying people with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and classifies subtypes of the condition, a leading Chinese researcher explained at the ESMRMB annual meeting.

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Article • Multimodality

Risk profiling in breast diagnostics

Breast diagnostics are undergoing considerable change, with new technology facilitating alternative procedures. Genetics and nuclear medicine also enhance diagnostic possibilities. During our EH interview, Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland described current changes in breast diagnostics. ‘To date, complementary breast diagnostics has comprised clinical, sonographic and mammographic…

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Article • 7 tesla MRI

A new technique for dilated cardiomyopathy

UK researchers are working on a more precise imaging technique for dilated cardiomyopathy that may lead to more effective treatments. A study from the University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research (OCMR), part of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the university, has demonstrated how the next generation of MRI scanners can work to measure heart conditions in dilated…

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News • Merging

Photo Research merges with JADAK

Photo Research (PR) has merged with its Novanta sister company JADAK, a manufacturer of machine vision, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and bar code products for the health care and life science industries. Photo Research is a leader in world-class light and color measurement solutions serving the flat panel display, automotive, aerospace and related industries.

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News • 25 Tesla

Switzerland winds up superconductivity

The unusual electronic properties of some superconducting materials permit lossless and dense electrical currents at very low temperatures, even in high magnetic fields. Conductors made of these materials are thus ideal for winding coils to generate very high magnetic fields, which are essential for a number of applications like magnetic medical imaging, MR spectroscopy for the analysis of…

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News • Patient comfort

New MRI coils decrease scan time

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.

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Article • EIBALL

Biomarkers increase impact on imaging

‘In imaging there is a trend towards quantification,’ said Professor Siegfried Trattnig, Medical Director of the High-Field MR Centre (HFMRC) at the Medical University Vienna, Austria. Whilst before, radiologists’ findings were subjective, qualitative results, based on signal intensity and grey scale, he pointed out. ‘Today imaging can draw on quantifiable and comparable parameters with…

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The molecular breakdance of seeing

The detection of light by pigments in the retina, called rhodopsin or visual purple, leads to our sense of vision. New experiments by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter and the University of Toronto have revealed that the primary photochemical event of this process operates at the fundamental molecular speed limit.

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Article • Open platform

Hitachi powerfully expands Oasis 1.2T MRI

Hitachi has double-down its bet on the advantages of open-platform MRI by introducing a new generation of the Oasis 1.2T scanner this year at RSNA. The jump to new processing power and the new Origin 4.0 MR Operating Software effectively enhances capabilities with a range of new applications for neuro, orthopedic and vascular imaging as well as enhancing routine exams for women's health and…

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Sponsored • Celebration

Japanese firm celebrates 140 successful years

The son of a craftsman making Buddhist altars, he was driven to create instruments for physics and chemistry. Attending the Physics and Chemistry Research Institute he gained experience with a variety of technologies and fields of expertise. He was convinced that Japan, as a should work towards becoming a leader in science. At the dawn of the industrial revolution and scientific age in 1875 he…

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Article • Brain Imaging

Detailed images of the brain

Refined acquisition techniques and coils facilitate the assessment of cranial nerves with MRI. Professor Dr Elke Gizewski, Director of the University Clinic for Neuroradiology at the Medical University Innsbruck, Austria, is an expert in diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology and explains pathologies and scanning techniques for intracranial nerves.

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    Article • Medical Training

    Diagnosing gastrointestinal infections

    The human gut literally teems with microorganisms from at least 1,000 different species that are increasingly considered to be a valuable resource for the prediction, aetiology and prognosis of disease. Due to continual contact with the environment, primarily via food, the gut is susceptible to infection when a virus, parasite or bacterium enters and disrupts normal gut microbiota (or flora).

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    A new tool for biochemical analyses

    Although telemedicine could improve the quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases, viable home care systems are still lacking. However, within the EU-project ‘d-LIVER’ (www.d-liver.eu) scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT, in St. Ingbert, Germany, are working with European partners to develop an IT- and cell-based system that will help chronic…

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    Breakthroughs in musculoskeletal imaging outlined at ECR 2012

    The fact that between 60% and 80% of people are expected experience some form of back pain at some point in their lives puts the importance of advances in imaging of the spine into context. A number of developments in imaging of the spine and peripheral nerves were outlined at a musculoskeletal scientific session at ECR 2012 in Vienna on Saturday morning.

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    What’ s new in the world of radiology?

    Radiology constantly evolves. There are technical advances in terms of the capabilities of various modalities, greater clarity from contrast agents that are also safer for patients, and innovation in techniques that gains even greater performance from existing equipment, or enables further development.

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    Diagnosing brain tumours - stick to the standards!

    As a referral neuroradiologist for paediatric tumour studies, Professor Monika Warmuth-Metz, Consultant at the Neuroradiology Department at University Hospital Würzburg, daily evaluates MRI images of different origin and colour. Her resume states: ‘All too often the standard protocols set out in the guidelines are not adhered to, which makes evaluation and follow-up significantly more…

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    ECR 2011 prelude

    Vienna - For the 23rd time, the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) is opening its doors to welcome 19,000 participants from over 90 countries. The scientific exchange of knowledge and the presentation of the latest developments in the field of radiology will again be presented right in the heart of Europea. In an inaugural press conference on March 3rd, the hot topics of the congress were…

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    PET-MRI - The right system at the right time

    Thinking of the future of imaging, inevitably PET-MRI springs to mind. The fascination of this novel hybrid technology is great, seeing how it combines the best from three imaging areas: anatomy, function and metabolism. The further development of functional procedures in oncology is raising particularly high expectations. However, how extensive the use of this potentiated image information will…

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    Modern radiological diagnostics for the evaluation of muscle diseases

    Muscular diseases belong to a heterogeneous group with various causes like neurogenic, metabolic, dystrophic, or inflammatory mechanisms as well as channelopathies leading to disorders of the muscle cell membrane potential. In most progressive disease cases the result is a focal or general muscle weakness that, unfortunately, is a very unspecific symptom. Standard neuromuscular literature…

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    The ultra-high-field MRI symposium

    Early problems of ultra-high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have been overcome by successful development of adequate hardware. In consequence big efforts have been achieved in structural imaging, as well in functional imaging. Basic scientists and physicians who work in ultra-high-field MRI in Europe and the USA, met at the Berlin Ultra-high-field Facility (BUFF), in the Max Dehlbrück…

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    Shimadzu combines two vital strengths to create new molecular imaging technologies

    Molecular imaging, a new science that emerged from molecular biology, is unlike traditional imaging. Whilst the latter can, for example, show the differences in proton density or water content on MRI, molecular imaging uses biomarkers (probes) that interact selectively with molecules within an area and then generate the image according to fine molecular alterations occurring inside (e.g. within a…

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    The first whole-body MRI-PET system

    The technological integration of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the dream of molecular imaging experts and engineers for some time. Now, the German Science Council has agreed to provide 6.56 million funding to install a whole-body MRI-PET prototype in the centre of excellence for imaging procedures at the radiology clinic in Eberhard-Karls…

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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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    MR Breast Care with Open Bore — and it's Pink!

    On this years ECR Siemens Healthcare presents its dedicated MRI breast scanner. With it's pink design it immediately catches the eye on the company's booth. In an interview with EH, Boris Tolkien, Vice President Marketing Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthcare pointed out the highlights of the 1.5 Tesla system beyond its colour.

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    EAU hot topic: Imaging in urological oncology today

    Big discussions are expected at the upcoming European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Stockholm* when urologist Dr Jochen Walz (right), of the Urological Department at the Institute Paoli-Calmettes, Marseilles, France, presents the forum: Imaging in Europe: Who, where, what, how many! and M F Coelho, of the European Society of Urological Imaging (ESUI) describes the Clinical utility of…

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    Small device counts viruses in minutes

    The machine 'qViro' which is the size of a coffee grinder will make virus counting much cheaper than traditional virus counting technology. The revolutionary new invention offers the potential to quickly muster and count the number of viruses in a sample in minutes - it is a portable, desktop instrument, powered from the USB drive of a computer - current competitors are the size of washing…

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    Healthy or diseased?

    The ratio between the concentrations of metabolites may give the answer to the question. Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum in Munich demonstrated the proof of principle. They identified diabetic or healthy mice by biomarkers they analyzed only by bioinformatics. Metabolomics might permit a promising tool for pre-clinical investigation of effects and side effects of new drugs, they say.

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    India's world experts on TB

    Every three minutes, two people living in India die of tuberculosis. This equates to approximately 370,000 deaths each year, and a staggering economic toll: an estimated US$300 million in direct costs and US$3 billion in indirect costs.

    Hyperpolarised Helium MRI of the lungs

    Only few imaging modalities lend themselves to imaging of the lungs. Conventional chest radiography is the most commonly used tool in the investigation of pulmonary pathology but yields the perhaps most difficult, plain radiographs to interpret.

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    Raman spectroscopy improves molecular imaging

    A team of Stanford University School of Medicine researchers has developed a new type of imaging system that can illuminate tumors in living subjects-getting pictures with a precision of nearly one-trillionth of a meter.

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    MR spectroscopy

    USA - MRI is playing an increasingly important role in breast cancer screening in the US, especially in the screening of high risk patients. It has proven to be more sensitive than mammography examinations, but is less accurate in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions.

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    CLINICIP

    Presented during a symposium at Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, in Berlin, the European CLINICIP research project aims to develop a method to improve glycaemic control during intensive care and provide a low-risk monitoring and control system that can control the metabolism of the critically ill

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    40th anniversary

    As the German Society of Neuroradiology 40th annual meeting approached (Venue: Dresden. 31 August - 3 September), Professors Martin Schumacher (Freiburg), President of the German Society of Neuroradiology (GSN) and Rüdiger von Kummer (Dresden), the meeting's President, examine the history and potential in this medical field

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