Why are we doing what we are doing to stop surgical infections? A new research review in the run-up to the ECCMID congress 2024 will look at improving preventive measures.
The enhanced infection safety measures installed for the Covid-19 pandemic also had a beneficial effect on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) overall, a new US study suggests.
Researchers from Rutgers University developed a way to help hospitals identify life-threatening Covid-19 cases using machine-learning software. The algorithm identified six crucial parameters.
Researchers from the University of Chicago developed a deep-learning model to assess chest X-ray radiographs for probable Covid-19 severity.
Experts presented state-of-the-art and emerging techniques to treat chest tumours and discussed common issues in the management of pneumothorax at RSNA 2022. Current ablation methods in the thorax include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation (CRYO), irreversible electroporation (IRE) and pulsed electric field.
Photon-counting CT allows for a comprehensive, simultaneous evaluation of lung structure and function, something not possible with standard CT, according to a new study.
Protection offered by Covid-19 vaccination declines more rapidly in people with severe obesity than in those with normal weight, scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh have found.
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.
It’s clear that radiology is lacking in the “green” department: healthcare still causes a large share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, not least due to diagnostic imaging. Dr Sarah Sheard from Imperial College Healthcare, UK, invited her ECR audience to take a closer look at radiology’s climate footprint – and revealed ways to make the field more sustainable.
True or false: Webcams have only recently been introduced in neonatology and are a patient-side component of the Digital Health Portfolio. False! Already in 1989, Professor Dr Roland Wauer at Charité Berlin built his DIY system to transmit images from the neonatology ward.
ECRI’s annual top ten technology hazard list alerts hospitals and healthcare providers of situations, products, and procedures they need to diligently monitor and/or take steps to improve. This non-profit technology Pennsylvania research firm has worked for over 50 years to make healthcare safer. The list reflects the organization’s collective judgment about the health technology risks that…
A new global study involving ICUs across 50 countries recommends a systematic approach to reduce the duration of ventilation to improve risk of death.
Some hospitalized patients’ infections may develop from their own bacteria, new research results suggest. The study in mice indicates that medical interventions can awaken dormant, hidden bacteria.
In their pursuit of solutions for pandemic challenges, a US hospital system applied telemedicine principles to respiratory therapy – with impressive results.
In surgery, artificial intelligence (AI) is applied mostly in imaging, navigation, and robotic intervention. However, AI can also play a major role in preoperative planning. Objective decisions-making, optimal utilisation of operating theatres and less overtime are additional advantages that are achieved with the use of AI in surgery.
Despite treatment, chronic lung diseases such as COPD or cystic fibrosis can become so severe that a lung transplant is necessary. Dr Urte Sommerwerck explains which patients might be considered for transplantation and why follow-up is as important as the surgery itself.
To monitor the lung function of patients with severe respiratory or lung diseases outside of an ICU, researchers have developed a vest that records noises with integrated acoustic sensors.
Recovery from severe Covid-19 is characterized by a reduction of certain white blood cells and changes in the molecular regulation of the immune system, an international research team found.
A special type of MRI found lung abnormalities in patients who had previously had COVID-19, even those who had not been hospitalized with the illness.
Advances in image post-processing and contrast-enhanced techniques have widened the scope of possibilities for MRI and ultrasound vascular imaging, experts showed in a dedicated course at the ECR Overture.
Cognitive impairment as a result of severe Covid-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, scientists found.
The University Medical Centre (UMC) Utrecht, The Netherlands, collaborates with Fujitsu to realize their smart hospital initiative, using sensors, tags and IoT technology provided by the company.
Reducing inflammatory mediators in the blood before surgical treatment of cardiac bacterial infection does not improve clinically relevant outcome, a new study shows.
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.
Is the Underground a safe means of transport in times of Covid-19? A computer simulation, developed at the University of Leeds, has calculated the infection risk.
Professor Richard Neher from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel is using his Nextstrain platform to investigate which variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are currently circulating worldwide.
A passive air sampler clip can help assess personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which could be especially helpful for workers in high-risk settings.
The long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on antimicrobial resistance remains difficult to predict. Infectious diseases consultant Professor Alison Holmes reflects on Covid-19's effect on antibiotic use in hospitals and beyond.
Doctors in Lisbon report on the case of a 61-year-old man who received a double lung transplant after his lungs were irreparably damaged by Covid-19.
The first investigational transplantation of a genetically engineered, nonhuman kidney to a human body was recently completed at NYU Langone Health—marking a major step forward in potentially utilizing an alternative supply of organs for people facing life-threatening disease.
A treatment combining two antibodies is recommended for two specific groups of patients with Covid-19 by a WHO Guideline Development Group panel of international experts and patients.
Study suggests need for better ventilation and tight-fitting masks, in addition to widespread vaccination to help stop spread of the virus.
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…
Covid-19 disease severity is determined by the individual patient’s immune response. The precise mechanisms taking place inside the lungs and blood during the early phase of the disease, however, remain unclear. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Freie Universität Berlin have now studied the cellular mechanisms…
Aerosol generated by playing woodwind and brass instruments is less than that produced when vocalising (speaking and singing) and is no different than a person breathing, new research has found. The findings could be crucial to developing a roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions in the performing arts, which have been significantly restricted since the start of the pandemic.
Researchers used AI to identify which daily changing clinical parameters best predict intervention responses in critically ill Covid-19 patients. The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) - a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve…
Should outdoor face covering be normalised to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2—or should anti-Covid efforts rather focus on indoor protection? Experts argue the case for both sides in this controversial debate.
Vigorous and rapid air exchanges might not always be a good thing when it comes to addressing levels of coronavirus particles in a multiroom building, according to a new modeling study. The study suggests that, in a multiroom building, rapid air exchanges can spread the virus rapidly from the source room into other rooms at high concentrations. Particle levels spike in adjacent rooms within 30…
The largest study of its kind in the UK has identified differences in the immune response to Covid-19 between people with no symptoms, compared to those suffering a more serious reaction to the virus. The research by Newcastle University and collaborators within the Human Cell Atlas initiative found raised levels of specific immune cells in asymptomatic people. They also showed people with more…
What happens when patients can no longer breathe on their own and need to be supported by machines? How far does infected air spread throughout a room? And what safety precautions do medical and nursing staff need to take? Respiratory specialists Dr. Dominic Dellweg and Dr. Jens Kerl together with Dr.-Ing. Conrad Völker, Amayu Wakoya Gena, and Dr. Hayder Alsaad from the Department of Building…
Any future attempts to reduce the spread of Covid-19 should be focused on tackling close airborne transmission of the virus which is considered to be the primary route for its circulation, according to experts. Respiratory experts argue that it is now clear that SARS-CoV-2 is most likely to transmit between people at close range through inhalation rather than through contact with surfaces or…
Recovery duration, co-morbidities, mortality, risk groups: A large UK study reports in detail on 'Long Covid'. We spoke with two of the study's co-investigators about why so many patients are still affected after a coronavirus infection.
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…
Researchers have called on European policymakers to make adequate resources available to tackle pancreatic cancer, a disease that is almost invariably fatal and where little progress has been made over the past 40 years. In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU and UK for 2021, published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor…
Preventing air contamination in healthcare facilities is crucial to minimise the airborne spread of Covid-19 and its new strains. Universal masking, rigorous use of and safe disposal of PPE, plus building ventilation are vital. Twenty-four studies reporting hospital SARS-CoV-2 air contamination are summarised in a meta-analysis by a multi-institutional team of French researchers. These show that,…
Around 50% of patients who have been hospitalised with severe Covid-19 and who show raised levels of a protein called troponin have damage to their hearts. The injury was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at least a month after discharge, according to new findings published in the European Heart Journal. Damage includes inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), scarring or…
Covid-19 patients who suffer a cardiac arrest either in or out of hospital are far more likely to die than patients who are not infected with the coronavirus. In particular, women have the highest risk of dying: they are nine times more likely to die after suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.
Coronavirus-associated concerns dominate the Top 10 list of important technology hazard risks for hospitals, in an annual report published by ECRI, a nonprofit technology Pennsylvania research firm. The list is derived from ECRI’s team of technology experts who monitor hospital and healthcare organizations, and published to inform healthcare facilities about important safety issues involving…
An unfortunate truth about the use of mechanical ventilation to save the lives of patients in respiratory distress is that the pressure used to inflate the lungs is likely to cause further lung damage. In a new study, scientists identified a molecule that is produced by immune cells during mechanical ventilation to try to decrease inflammation, but isn’t able to completely prevent…
Bacteria or viruses like influenza that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lung within hours. In the modern intensive care unit, these bacteria or viruses are usually controlled either by antibiotics or by the body’s immune system within the first few days of the illness. But in a study published in Nature, investigators at Northwestern Medicine show Covid-19 pneumonia is…
The variety and volume of bacteria in the gut, known as the microbiome, may influence the severity of Covid-19 as well as the magnitude of the immune system response to the infection, suggests research published online in the journal Gut. Imbalances in the make-up of the microbiome may also be implicated in persisting inflammatory symptoms, dubbed ‘long Covid’, the findings suggest. Covid-19…
So far, little research has been done on the risk of children being seriously affected by Covid-19 when the schools were open. A study from Karolinska Institutet has now shown that one child in 130,000 was treated in an intensive care unit on account of Covid-19 during the period March-June. The study has been published in New England Journal of Medicine.
Nearly twice as many people were admitted to hospital for Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic than were for influenza at the peak of the 2018/2019 flu season, a study of French national data published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal has found (Covid-19, 89,530 patients vs influenza, 45,819 patients).
Covid-19 causes characteristic changes in lung tissue visible in CT scans and chest radiographs, known as “ground-glass” opacities. Imaging is now considered a valid alternative, possibly even superior to RT-PCR. ‘This sparked an international debate about the role of CT in the diagnostic work-up of Covid-19,’ said radiologist Professor Cornelia Schäfer-Prokop.
A panel of experts from the USA and China highlighted AI use in radiological workflow during the Covid pandemic and identified current pitfalls during the Hot Topic session at RSNA 2020. Radiologists from the USA prioritised Covid articles, delivered quick reviews, made all results open access, and helped organise a white paper from the Fleischner Society recognising recommendations for the role…
Low, light and with a field strength: 0.55-tesla with added new digital technologies. Indeed, this is a very new class of MRI scanner created by Siemens Healthineers. We interviewed Christiane Bernhardt, Vice President of Magnetic Resonance Marketing & Sales, Business Line MR, at Siemens Healthineers, about the technologies behind this development, plus its advantages and applications.
As a world leading manufacturer of medical devices, the subclassification of Contec Medical products includes numerous series for multi-parameter monitoring, ECG, oximeter, blood pressure, telemedicine health, respiratory sleep, and more. With the frequently increasing occurrence of respiratory diseases, Contec Medical reports on its great efforts in the research and development of related…
Safety and protection for patients and healthcare professionals during routine procedures is imperative for Fujifilm, which it intends to pursue by constantly innovating its offering of accessories and instruments for endoscopy. The company announced the launch of the Mouthpiece “B1” incorporating a sponge rubber, a droplet reduction accessory, and a drape shield specifically created to catch…
Specialists from the Department of Fundamental Medicine of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) with Russian and Japanese colleagues have probed into mechanisms of COVID-19 inside-the-body distribution linked to erythrocytes damaging.
Although uncommon, sudden permanent hearing loss seems to be linked to COVID-19 infection in some people, warn doctors, reporting the first UK case in the journal BMJ Case Reports. Awareness of this possible side effect is important, because a prompt course of steroid treatment can reverse this disabling condition, they emphasise. Sudden hearing loss is frequently seen by ear, nose and throat…
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…
Ventilation systems in many modern office buildings, which are designed to keep temperatures comfortable and increase energy efficiency, may increase the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, particularly during the coming winter, according to new research.
Adequate levels of vitamin D reduces complications and deaths among COVID-19 patients, reveals new research performed at the Boston University School of Medicine. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were vitamin D sufficient, with a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of at least 30 ng/mL (a measure of vitamin D status), had a significant decreased risk for adverse clinical outcomes including…
According to the German Federal Ministry of Health, 400,000 to 600,000 patients are diagnosed with hospital-acquired infections every year. The treatment of these nosocomial diseases is complex. Hygiene is a must, especially in the operating room. The IT environment should be designed accordingly.
A recent preprint study in France underpins the debate on whether lung ultrasound (LUS) should be used to triage COVID-19 patients better at the hospital as well as in primary care. The eChoVid study, published as a preliminary report of work on medTrix, shows that LUS enables identification of lung lesions as well as chest CT in COVID-19 patients. A team of French researchers compared routinely…
Carestream Health has entered the personal protection equipment (PPE) market with the launch of the CARESTREAM Shield, solving problems of discomfort and difficulty of use commonly associated with personal face shields.
COVID-19 patients can suffer long-term lung and heart damage but, for many, this tends to improve over time, according to the first, prospective follow-up of patients infected with the coronavirus, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. [1]
The airborne transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 via aerosol particles in indoor environment seems to be strongly influenced by relative humidity. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig and the CSIR National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi from the analysis of 10 most relevant international studies on the…
A new mathematical model is helping develop the current understanding of how airborne diseases such as COVID-19 can spread during breathing and aerosol generating procedures. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh have developed a mathematical model of droplet migration. Dr Cathal Cummins of Heriot-Watt’s School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences and…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives around the world, much research has focused on the immune system’s role in patients who become seriously ill. A popular theory has it that the immune system gets so revved up fighting the virus that, after several days, it produces a so-called cytokine storm that results in potentially fatal organ damage, particularly to the lungs.
As the corona pandemic continues, mechanical ventilators are vital for the survival of COVID-19 patients who cannot breathe on their own. One of the major challenges is tracking and controlling the pressure of the ventilators, to ensure patients get exactly the amount of air they need. Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have developed a technique based on self-learning…
Dr. Jesus Casado Cerrada, Internist at the Hospital Universitario de Getafe and Professor at the Universidad Europea, Madrid, Spain, has travelled to the Rasuwa district of Nepal to help a local NGO rebuild the region’s infrastructure following a severe earthquake in 2015. Dr. Casado explains: “University colleagues from the architectural and engineering departments had already established…
Approximately one fifth of COVID-19 patients admitted to German hospitals between the end of February and mid-April died. For patients receiving ventilation, the mortality rate was 53%. For those not receiving ventilation, the rate was significantly lower at 16%. 17% of all patients were ventilated during this period. These are the main results of an analysis by WIdO, the research institute of…
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety…
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Post-Pandemic Global Healthcare Market Outlook, 2020, forecasts that 2020 will be an unforgiving but transformational year for the healthcare industry. As the world grapples with a global emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry is expected to witness a drop in growth from 5.3% to 0.6% in 2020, with revenues remaining below the…
Department B for Internal Medicine of the University Medical Center Greifswald successfully used, within an international multi-center trial, a special diaphragmatic stimulation therapy to treat a COVID-19 patient as the first clinical site in Europe. "The first patient treated in this trial happened to be a woman who survived COVID-19, but was not able to be weaned from mechanical…
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…
A plea issued by 239 scientists from around the world to recognise and mitigate airborne transmission of COVID-19 addressed to international health authorities is published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Led by internationally recognised air quality and health expert Professor Lidia Morawska from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the appeal is to address the overwhelming…
An overactive defense response may lead to increased blood clotting, disease severity, and death from COVID-19. A phenomenon called NETosi is part of an immune response that becomes increasingly hyperactive in people on ventilators and people who die from the disease.
When infected by the new coronavirus, women may mount a more potent adaptive immune response than do men, a new study suggests. By comparison, the male immune response appears to progress less effectively, fostering inflammation that’s harmful to the body. This study is the first to delve into sex differences in how the immune system defends itself against the virus SARS-CoV-2. It could help…
Imagine a dressing that releases antibiotics on demand and absorbs excessive wound exudate at the same time. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) hope to achieve just that, by developing a smart coating that actively releases and absorbs multiple fluids, triggered by a radio signal. This material is not only beneficial for the healthcare industry, it is also very promising in…
Researchers in the UK have shown that a widely available drug reduces death in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19.
Benchtop tools for studying the respiratory system misrepresent the interdependence between the diaphragm, abdomen and lungs. Meanwhile, computational models often hide the mechanisms in a black box computation, without a clear picture of what transpires in the process. This means students form a poor understanding of respiratory mechanisms and makes it hard to train clinicians for real scenarios…
Early data from a clinical study suggest that blocking the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) protein provided clinical benefit to a small group of patients with severe COVID-19. Researchers observed that the off-label use of the cancer drug acalabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor that is approved to treat several blood cancers, was associated with reduced respiratory distress and a reduction in the overactive…
Preventing airborne transmission of COVID-19 should be the next front of the battle against the virus, argue experts from the University of Surrey. In a study published by the City and Environment Interaction journal, scientists from Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), together with partners from Australia’s Queensland University and Technology, argue that the lack of…
Age, male sex, obesity, and underlying illness have emerged as risk factors for severe and fatal cases of COVID-19 in the UK, according to the largest cohort study to date published by The BMJ. As the largest prospective observational study reported worldwide to date, it provides a comprehensive picture of the characteristics of patients hospitalised in the UK with COVID-19 and their outcomes.…
As Covid-19 spreads throughout the country, much attention has been paid to the devastating effects of the virus on the lungs. But doctors are learning how the virus may affect other organs, including the brain. Some patients with Covid-19 have had neurological symptoms, which may include an increased risk of stroke.
Why does every person react differently to an infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2? Why do some people have no symptoms or only mild symptoms of COVID-19, the disease which it causes? And why do some people become so severely ill that they require ventilators or even die? These questions are being investigated by Professor Mascha Binder, director of the Department of Internal Medicine IV at…
As the coronavirus spreads and infections with Covid-19 further increase throughout Europe, ECMO therapy turns out to be a necessary option for patients with severe courses. Xenios AG provides ECMO consoles that can be used for the treatment of patients who develop severe pneumonia and ARDS with lung failure which also might result from infection with the coronavirus.
A computational lung model can be used to reduce damage caused by mechanical ventilation – and could increase survival rates for patients significantly.
Until recently, the major challenges surrounding Point-of-Care-testing (POCT) concerned the quality of the results and improving the reagents and the procedures in order to optimise patient care. In the modern clinical environment, however, IT security of POCT devices is becoming increasingly important, in Germany also due to new industry-specific safety standards under the Act on the Federal…
A team of researchers from Empa, ETH Zurich and Zurich University Hospital has succeeded in developing a novel sensor for detecting the new coronavirus. In future it could be used to measure the concentration of the virus in the environment - for example in places where there are many people or in hospital ventilation systems. Jing Wang and his team at Empa and ETH Zurich usually work on…
Siemens Healthineers announced that its latest critical care testing solution, the RapidPoint 500e Blood Gas Analyzer, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is now available in the U.S., Europe and countries requiring the CE mark. The analyzer generates blood gas, electrolyte, metabolite, CO-oximetry, and neonatal bilirubin results, which are used to…
The sense of fear is palpable in the images and videos of hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency departments that are broadcast on television and posted on social media. Fear and heartbreak can be heard in the voices of physicians and nurses who describe what they are experiencing.
The sunny Sunday of March 22, 2020, may well go down as a watershed date in the context of Coronavirus in the UK. A couple of days earlier, UK schools had closed en masse – open only thereafter for children of key workers – and the British government had advised that pubs, bars, cinemas, gyms and restaurants should close and people should adhere more rigorously to social distancing.
The first case of the new coronavirus infection was reported on the 24th January. The strategy taken by the French to stem the spread of the virus and relieve the pressure on the health service may seem draconian to some, but many feel that it is either not strong enough and/or too long in coming because it is only recently that the borders have finally been closed.
Chest X-ray is the first imaging method to diagnose COVID-19 coronavirus infection in Spain, but in the light of new evidence this may change soon, according to Milagros Martí de Gracia, Vice President of the Spanish Society of Radiology (SERAM) and head of the emergency radiology unit at La Paz Hospital in Madrid, one of the hot spots for viral re-production of COVID-19.
A technique that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a new study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, researchers initially proposed the technique as a new means for earlier diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease.…
Laboratory staff is permanently exposed to harmful formalin vapors. The GrossPath GP-1500 reduces this risk to a bare minimum as contaminated air is being extracted immediately downward and also backwards. Additionally, the tissue grossing station complies with MAC (maximum allowable concentration) values for formalin.
Whilst researchers acknowledge ultrasound, when used as a tool to assess intracranial pressure in an emergency, is not a replacement for current gold standard invasive approaches, they believe it has enormous potential as a non-invasive and fast, cost-effective, and patient-friendly way to assess possible brain injury at a patient’s bedside. Consultant anaesthetist Dr Chiara Robba, a specialist…
Inhalation therapy is widely used for the treatment of lung diseases. Targeting of drugs to the site of disease is a major goal to improve drug efficacy and minimize side effects. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich have now shown that combined insight from various imaging methods allows for real-time monitoring of the dynamic process of drug…
Martin Möckel and Dorothee Riedlinger, from the Charité Medical University Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine Campus Virchow-Klinikum, and Campus Charité-Mitte report on POCT testing in the A&E Department to screen for Staphylococcus aureus colonisation of the nose or throat. People colonised with Staphylococci are at increased risk of developing a nosocomial, i.e. hospital acquired…
Healthcare is going digital worldwide at an incredibly rapid pace. More and more applications for prevention, diagnostics and therapy are being made into apps (with matching hardware) for smartphones and tablets or are even available as wearables for direct use on the body. Digitalisation is also striding forward in Germany, where doctors, therapists and patients still take a fairly analogue…
In a busy hospital, thousands of devices and equipment are on the move every hour of every day. Beds, blood pressure monitors, wheelchairs, or infusion pumps can be taken to different locations and, at times, even ‘lost’. Keeping track of vital tools is a challenge, particularly given the massive throughput of patients and staff shift changes. However, innovative tracking systems are evolving…
In October 2016, Xenios became a part of Fresenius Medical Care (FME), the world’s leading provider of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure. The integration of the expertise from FME and Xenios and thus the combination of the companies’ competences strongly enhances treatment options in critical care within the intensive care unit (ICU) of hospitals across the world.…
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…
During our interview with Professor Felice Eugenio Agrò, Professor, Director and Chairman of the Postgraduate School in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, he spoke of the use of Mindray’s TE7 ultrasound system, which provides a touchscreen and focused exam pre-sets. ‘Anaesthesiologists are seeking safe and accurate methods during procedures. Many…
In intensive care units (ICU), some monitoring device or other is always sounding the alarm. Whether it’s a patient whose blood oxygen level is too low, someone in the next bed whose intracranial pressure is rising, or someone else whose blood pressure has taken a nosedive. Or perhaps just because a patient has shifted position in bed. False alarms like this last are all too common. They…
The Czech Republic has a long tradition of ground-breaking medical innovations. At Medica 2018, the presence of Czech companies and traders underlined that medical devices and technologies from this country have continuing strength and value. Having recorded steady growth over the past few years, the Czech medical technology sector now produces a volume of around €870 million. 13,400 people…
GrossPath – the special worktable designed to ensure a pollution free, laboratory-grade working environment for slicing and preparing histological slide preparations. Its compact design makes the GrossPath Special Worktable the perfect laboratory equipment, especially for small facilities. As a product of our ECOline range, this worktable has been designed with a special view to conserving…
Doctors working in the eight-bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid extensively use point-of-care ultrasound to evaluate the condition of critically ill children, and they find it essential in their work, as Dr José Luis Vázquez Martínez, Head of PICU at Hospital Ramón y Cajal, with over 25 years’ experience in paediatric intensive care…
Gram-negative pathogens are responsible for half of all healthcare-associated infections and their ability to resist traditional antibiotics makes them more dangerous for seriously ill patients in a healthcare setting. The need for new approaches to treat these pathogens is essential and there are a number of trials trying to find suitable answers. One of them is the RESTORE-IMI 1 pivotal Phase…
Loreen Herwaldt doesn’t believe there is a ‘gold standard’ for infection prevention, but she knows there are common sense steps that hospitals can take to prevent disease outbreaks. ‘I don’t think there’s a gold standard, or a silver bullet, but more like standard operating procedures,’ says Herwaldt, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Iowa, USA. ‘These are…
Technical innovations and the implementation of quality standards in anaesthesia have immensely increased patient safety. ‘Over the past 60 years, patient safety during anaesthesia has improved more than in any other medical discipline,’ according to Professor Achim von Goedecke MD MSc, Director of the Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at Landeskrankenhaus Steyr in Upper Austria.
By 2020 medical devices manufacturers must document the clinical effectiveness of their devices more extensively. The Medical Device Regulation (MDR) presents a fundamental impact on innovation and price calculation for medical devices. Since the faulty PIP breast implants scandal in France (March 2010), there have been frequent calls for tighter licensing regulations for medical devices within…
Innovative ‘artificial lungs’, which help the patients to breathe, offer less traumatic treatment for severe diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD/AECOPD). Respiratory failure is one of the most frequent causes of ICU admission. It may occur inter alia in patients with ARDS, a dangerous condition when the respiratory system…
A patient walks slowly into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He sits on a hospital bed, hears unfamiliar beeps and other sounds. Doctors and nurses arrive to talk about all the surrounding machines and how things work in an ICU. Everything is calm and without stress for the patient as he listens to them. Then the virtual reality (VR) glasses he is wearing are removed, and he returns to reality. The…
How can newborn babies benefit from sensors with chip technology and what might the future hold for sensor data? Samuel Wehrli, Product Manager for Gas Flow at Sensirion AG in Switzerland explained during our EH interview at the MST Conference held in Dortmund.
Central alarm management of the Xenios console via the Philipps IntelliVue MX800® patient monitoring system. Achieving the goal in an easy and efficient manner by a combination of safety and innovation. The Barmherzige Brüder hospital in Regensburg and Xenios combine both in the clinical practice.
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…
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are keeping infection specialists worldwide on their toes. One of these specialists travelled all the way from Leipzig to India to gain insights in one of the sources of the problem.
With its beam quality independent characteristic and the spherical shape of its active volume, the RAZOR Nano Chamber is the latest highlight for small field dosimetry at IBA.
In the 21 years since its launch in Germany, Kugel medical has become a leading manufacturer of histopathology equipment on a global level, with a presence in laboratories, forensic centres, universities, anatomical institutes, pharmacy firms and veterinary pathologies.
The EASY PULSE® is an unbelievably small and light mechanical chest compression device. Performing manual chest compressions well for an extended period of time is almost impossible. Not only is it physically demanding, but other actions, such as vital signs monitoring, are also required simultaneously. SCHILLER’s EASY PULSE® is the solution for more efficient resuscitation: this portable,…
New research takes a novel approach to traditional, clinician-only sedative delivery, finding that select critically ill patients can safely self-administer sedatives to manage their anxiety during mechanical ventilation.
Lightweight, sturdy and simple to operate – the Oxylog VE300 is Dräger’s newly developed emergency and transport ventilator that is particularly apt for use outside of the hospital environment. Emergency doctors and paramedics can provide patients with the most important ventilation modes and, if necessary, use the device for CPR.
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.
‘I am sorry, the electricity will be cut off because we’re going to simulate an attack, or emergency exercise, this morning,’ explained Dr Wim Develter, when he suddenly delayed his interview with Mélisande Rouger of European Hospital. They were about to discuss computed tomography, and its role not only in advanced healthcare and other more unexpected areas, such as the arts and…
First thing on a recent Monday morning, Professor Tomasz Grodzki could be found performing a lung resection in an operating theatre at the Regional Hospital for Lung Diseases in Szczecin-Zdunowo. Just two days earlier he was in a meeting with Senator John McCain, in Washington D.C.
Since lung diseases tend to be complex, imaging is a crucial diagnostic tool. While computed tomography has become the standard modality, which is frequently used outside hospital settings, specialised MRI diagnostics remains the preserve of large university medical centres.
It is well known that, due to the inherently low efficiency of the X-ray generation physical process, operating an x-ray equipment involves sending significant amounts of electrical energy to the X-ray generating element, the X-ray tube. While a small fraction of this energy is converted to X-rays, the remaining turns into heat that must be removed from the unit to allow further operation…
Ultrasound examinations are considered cost-efficient, fast and effective. The E-FAST (Extended-Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) is a standardised examination used in accident & emergency medicine worldwide. The procedure helps to diagnose internal bleeding and organ damage in severely injured patients in the resuscitation room and, in some regions, even during emergency…
It’s the third day of MEDICA 2016 and hundreds of visitors have visited the World Forum for Medicine. Not to miss is the newly launched fully automated formalin mixing station AFDS-100, from German firm Kugel medical, a leading supplier of histo-pathology equipment.
Mechanical ventilation and subspecialisation are key aspects of modern anaesthesia and critical care practice according to Dr Javier Garcia Fernandez, Head of Critical Care and Anaesthesiology at University Hospital Puerta de Hierro in Madrid.
A study on weaning patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has compared those who underwent prolonged weaning off mechanical ventilation (MV) with patients classified as undergoing ‘simple’ or ‘difficult’ weaning. It shows that patients who experienced ‘prolonged’ weaning from mechanical ventilation show significantly higher mortality rates. Report: Mark Nicholls
The development of a healthcare IT infrastructure in European hospitals faces two major hurdles, Ben Giese reports: ‘contradictory return on investment (ROI) reports and the unquantifiable risk of security breaches’.
The hybrid operating room is one of the most innovative developments in the surgical sector. The combination of interventional and minimally invasive surgical procedures is exciting for many clinical disciplines. The room design, intraoperative imaging techniques as well as interdisciplinary collaboration play a pivotal role in this.
Conventional therapy for ARDS patients and for patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has relied on invasive mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation, however, has several major drawbacks: sedation has to be induced and the air being pressed into the lungs with positive pressure can damage the pulmonary alveoli or the diaphragm. Moreover, even maximum…
Virologists from KU Leuven, Belgium, have shown that an experimental antiviral drug against hepatitis C slows down the development of Zika in mice. The research team was led by Professor Johan Neyts from the Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy.
Health always has a political dimension, as seen at two recent international events - the World Health Summit in Geneva in May and the G7 Summit in the Bavarian Alps near Garmisch at the beginning of June. Report: Anja Behringer
Dr Sven Ballnus is Director of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at the Hospital Centre Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, and an active member of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Formerly a chief consultant in intensive care medicine at Westküstenkliniken in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, he oversaw the development of an ultrasound course focusing on the specific needs of…
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
The recently launched Respironics V680 ventilator, from Philips Healthcare EMEA, was guided onto the market by Arne Cohrs, its Sales and Marketing Director of Therapeutic Care in Patient Care and Monitoring. We asked him about his department and the merits of non-invasive and invasive ventilators. Report: Chrissanthi Nikolakudi
Sphere Medical, launches its in-line patient dedicated arterial blood gas analyser in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium at ISICEM 2015. The advanced Proxima System delivers true point-of-care testing (POCT) by enabling critical care staff to obtain frequent laboratory accurate blood gas measurements without leaving the patient’s bedside. This facilitates effective and timely clinical decisions…
The ‘Robert Koch’ plane for medical evacuations (MedEvac) is the winged equivalent of a German hospital isolation ward. Within it, medics with viral haemorrhagic fever while working on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, receive intensive medical care during any stages of the disease, while being evacuated. Report: Anja Behringer
Clinical routine would be inconceivable without MR Imaging. Without exposure to radiation, doctors can make a patient’s organs and tissue structures clearly visible. However, pathological changes in the early stages, degenerated cells or small areas of inflammation, have so far remained almost invisible on these images. In 2014, for the first time, a team of cell biologists, chemists and…
Anyone who becomes seriously ill or has an accident while on holiday would like to be treated as well as they are at home. It is vitally important for the patient that the doctor has been well trained, in particular in intensive care medicine
A new study reveals that more than half of patients in intensive care units (ICU) using ventilators to help them breathe could benefit from assistive communication tools.
Abbott announced its innovative diagnostic platform, known as Iridica, is now available in Europe and other CE–Mark recognized countries. The new platform can identify more than 1,000 infection–causing pathogens in less than six hours.
The new Carescape R860 is an intuitive critical care ventilator that uses advanced lung protection tools and an innovative user interface to help improve patient care.
Research being conducted in the United Kingdom is focusing on techniques to help improve the weaning process for patients coming off mechanical ventilation in hospital intensive care units. Report: Mark Nicholls
Back in 1938, the precision machinist and innovator Hans Rudolph created what is possibly the first respiratory valve specifically for human/animal pulmonary studies.
Is chlorhexidine still the best decolonisation method? For many decades decolonisation – be it selective intestinal, oral or skin decolonisation – has been the accepted procedure to prevent infections by endogenous bacteria. Report: Brigitte Dinkloh
Ultrasound is playing an increasing role in the management of the upper and lower airways, particularly in interventional procedures and emergency situations. It is also used to enhance patient safety. Report: Mark Nicholls
Professor Tobias Welte MD, President of the 24th International Congress of the European Respiratory Society, gave EH some personal views on the symposium ‘New perspectives in the management of nosocomial pneumonia’. Interview: Ralf Mateblowski
Imaging procedures are rarely used to diagnose and treat asthma – but this may well change in the future.
Ultrasound is playing an increasing role in the management of the upper and lower airways, particularly in interventional procedures and emergency situations. It is also used to enhance patient safety.
John Power is breathing easier after agreeing to let the Philips Home Healthcare deal with the complex and competitive consumer market for medical technology.
MAQUET and Swisstom are pleased to announce their distribution partnership for the monitoring and diagnostic product Swisstom BB2.
Patients in intensive care units in hospitals across the UK are benefiting from a combination of new techniques and technology with changes in clinical practice that help to dramatically cut incidences of infection.
You’ll find Élie Azoulay everywhere during this year’s International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM).
Many physiological and observational studies indicate that non-invasive ventilation (NIV) after both thoracic and abdominal surgery is helpful and non-randomised trials have indeed confirmed the benefits.
To deliver the next step forward in mechanical ventilation, Jens Viebke, CEO of the Maquet-Getinge Group, decided to take a step backwards by first talking with the people who would be using the system.
Performing manual chest compressions well for an extended period of time is almost impossible.
The CMEF autumn show turned out to attract crowds from China, East and Central Asia, Africa, Europe, the U.S., and further regions.
In intensive care units (ICUs) little can be automated to relieve staff pressures – with the exception of point of care testing (POCT)
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
Shocking: Air quality checks are infrequent and insufficient in operating theatres. The good news: a new device can now measure pathogens circulating during surgical procedures, John Brosky reports
This May it will be exactly 60 years since the first extracorporeal circulation device to temporarily replace heart/ lung function was successfully used in a clinical setting.
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.
The use of endotracheal tubes with a dorsal lumen to allow drainage of respiratory secretions is currently not common in Germany, although two meta-analyses from the USA and Canada have already demonstrated that this special technique can reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by 45-50%.
A hospital is not the best place to get a good night’s sleep, especially in a noisy intensive care unit.
As in so many European countries, nosocomial infections have hit the headlines in Germany over and over again in recent years – as when three premature babies died in a Bremen neonatal clinic in 2011.
Leveraging more than 100 years of anaesthesia expertise, GE Healthcare introduces ecoFLOW technology option to help guide clinicians in agent delivery, while providing economic and environmental benefits.
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.
In 2011, among Germany’s 82 million people 69.5 million holiday trips were made, each lasting at least five days; 47.8 million (68.8%) of these were abroad.
Along with a call for earlier identification and intervention in sepsis cases, intensive care consultant Dr Ron Daniels also stressed that timely intervention is cost-effective for health systems as it leads to fewer sepsis patients needing treatment in intensive care units (ICU).
Ensuring the safety of hospitalised patients is vital – and brought under a particularly strong focus in anaesthesiology. Launched in 2010, the Helsinki Declaration provided a further boost. Report: Holger Zorn
Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the new state-of-the-art South West Acute Hospital, in the Northern Ireland town of Enniskillen on June 26th. The £276 million hospital is the first hospital to be built in Northern Ireland in more than a decade.
At first sight magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not seem to be particularly well suited for lung diagnostics: too much air, too much movement and too little water make image acquisition a real challenge. Nevertheless, MRI is useful and in certain cases even superior to CT say the members of HTIP (Heidelberg Thorax Imaging Plattform), an association of the radiology departments of the…
Suspicion of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a pregnant patient will quickly bring a radiologist to a choice, where the next step holds potentially significant consequences for both the mother and unborn child.
“With all that has been published in the past year on this subject, we will not lack interesting things to highlight and discuss during this session,” said Martine Remy-Jardin, MD, Head of Cardio-Thoracic Imaging at the University Centre of Lille, who will present an update on CT Imaging for thromboembolic disease on Friday afternoon at ESTI 2012.
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.
Modernisation and a financing model facilitate savings of up to 50% in primary energy consumption. Every year, European hospitals face energy costs in the €billions. In Germany, for instance, the sum is €1.7 billion.
If the hopes of inventors are to be believed, in around 20 years’ time there will be ‘real artificial lungs -- for now the endpoint of a history that began 84 years ago with the invention of the iron lung. Until then, non-invasive and invasive mechanical respiration will continue to dominate the hospital, complemented by extracorporeal procedures for blood oxygenation and decarbonisation,…
Carefully adjusting mechanical ventilator settings in the intensive care unit to pump smaller breaths into very sick lungs can reduce the chances of dying by as much as 8 percent, according to a study by critical care experts at Johns Hopkins. Study participants were evaluated for two years after their acute lung injury.
Johns Hopkins neurologists report success with a new means of getting rid of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain safely without cutting through easily damaged brain tissue or removing large pieces of skull. The minimally invasive treatment, they report, increased the number of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who could function independently by 10 to 15 percent six months…
From 16 - 19 November 2011, the attention of health and medical care professionals from around the world will once again focus on Düsseldorf, as the world's largest medical trade fair, MEDICA 2011, World Forum for Medicine, and COMPAMED 2011, High tech solutions for medical technology, the leading international trade fair for the suppliers market in medical manufacturing, get underway.
MEDICA 2011 in Düsseldorf (16 - 19 November) promises an "explosion" of novelties from the medical technology industry. The more than 10,500 new products registered by exhibitors at the MEDICA.de Internet portal are not the only indicators. The MEDICA PREVIEW press event already provided a preview of the most significant trends and product highlights.
A solution for a large but previously unsolved problem has been solved by LMT Lammers Medical Technology GmbH, which specialises in the interface of neonatology and radiology.
In Europe, nosocomial infections cause about 25,000 deaths every year. Copper has strong antibiotic effects and may reduce hospital acquired infections.
This March, Heinz-Dieter Hilgers arrived for his once-monthly check-up at Ruhrlandklinik in Essen. Last June, his situation was far less relaxed. Suffering chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for almost two years, he had been listed for a lung transplant since April 2009. During his wait for an organ, his illness increased.
Held near Kobe, Japan, the Joint Meeting of the International Workshop and the Japanese Society of Pulmonary Functional Imaging drew in more than 250 international researchers and clinicians who work at the forefront of pulmonary functional imaging
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).
Jean-Louis Vincent, Chairman of the Dept of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, welcomes visitors to this year’s International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.
This March, Dräger Medical will bring to the bedside of respiratory patients an innovative new monitor that vividly shows, breath-by-breath, their response to treatment. After shifting a patient’s position, or adjusting the respirator setting, or delivering a drug to open airways, physicians and nurses will be able to watch in real-time the response inside the patient’s lungs.
Who has not dreamed at least once to live in future times? Who would not want that one’s today incurable diseases may be cured in the future by medical progress? Long-time cryopreservation immediately after death is the betting ticket to that future.
The suggestion that a Chinese company will emerge in the future as the dominant provider of ultrasound systems in Europe made Landwind Managing Vice President Wang Guozhong smile before he then confirmed: ‘I’m confident that, with our strengths in research and development and the importance we place on customer service, Landwind can make this happen even sooner.’
The Linde Group’s global business unit Linde Healthcare today announced it has launched the Linde Healthcare REALfund in September. The fund is intended to support and stimulate novel and innovative ideas, research and projects relating to the use of gases in certain therapeutic focus areas of healthcare.
An RFID transponder (also known as a tag) consists of a chip and tiny antenna. Thanks to their small size these transponders can be integrated into almost any object, including clothing, boxes or even sheets of paper. Thus the logistics industry numbers amongst the prolific areas of application for wireless frequency identification using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology.
For many ICU patients, entering the Kloster Grafschaft, in Schmallenberg, Germany, a hospital specialised in pneumology and allergology, is a last resort. On average, they have been in an ICU for seven weeks and have failed three attempts to be weaned from the ventilator. They have been deemed ‘unweanable’.
Every year in German hospitals about 15,000 patients acquire ventilation-associated pneumonias (VAP). This number, and the associated mortality, is striking enough to make it one of the topics at HAI 2010, the annual conference of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI). Like many physicians, Dr Maria Deja, senior physician at the Charité Clinic for…
The Ethianum in Heidelberg is one of the first clinics in Germany to align itself consistently according to sustainability criteria, thus making it a hospital in keeping with the spirit of Siemens' Green+ Hospital Program. Working in partnership with the Ethianum, Siemens has developed and implemented comprehensive solutions: These include energy management, patient care, and the communications…
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), a wireless technology primarily known from the field of logistics, has become a focal point in hospitals and similar areas. RFID makes it possible to manage hospital beds from a central location or track the whereabouts of surgical instruments.
‘Sustainability’ is more than a buzz word. The original meaning – to limit the use of natural resources so they will be available for future generations – has been expanded to encompass an economic as well as a social dimension. Companies – including hospitals – are increasingly integrating the concept of sustainability in their corporate strategies.
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.
Clinicians all over the world use GE Healthcare products and solutions to anesthetize patients. The breakthrough ideas of a small Ohio company in 1910, the predecessor to the anesthesia division of GE Healthcare, have evolved into innovations that continue to open new frontiers in anesthesia. Today, GE Healthcare provides anesthesia technologies in many countries worldwide, collaborating closely…
The lungs had to be regarded as the black hole for MRI for a long time. However, since the introduction of substantial improvements in hardware and scanner technology, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel. MRI offers two main advantages for the diagnostic pathways for pulmonary diseases applied today.
Although food for in-patients can be integral to healing, the standard of catering can be disappointingly low in some hospitals. In addition, sometimes even the help needed by those patients unable to eat or drink unaided can be overlooked. In addition, the problems of poor hospital hygiene can, at worst, result in deaths as well as legal issues for management. These two difficult areas are now…
In November 2009 about 150 leading infectious disease researchers gathered in Berlin for the National Forum for Innovation in Medicine. During the meeting, Professor Antoni Torres MD (Hospital Clinic-Ciberes, University of Barcelona) gave Meike Lerner insights into community acquired pneumonia research projects and findings
Innovate Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a conceptual and operational development. It is comprehensive, modern and multifaceted, to understand the risks and find solutions for indoor air. It goes beyond the sick building concept to define healthy environments and beyond the idea of indoor air being the only contaminant source.
The road from a great idea to a marketable product is long, rocky and often too expensive. Thus innumerable ground breaking, even revolutionary ideas have never seen daylight and innumerable great inventions and inventors have remained hidden behind desks, in labs and garages. Start-up competitions such as Senkrechtstarter, in Bochum, North Rhine Westphalia, ensure that hidden…
What is good for the body may not be good for the mind. In an effort to repair heart damage with bypass surgery patients may experience unintended cerebral damage, including neuroligical impairment or even stroke.
In March 2008 over 200 cars were involved in a mass traffic accident caused by fog between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Six passengers were killed; hundreds were injured. Similar road traffic accidents, airplane crashes on the most frequented hub in the region and fires in factories and skyscrapers are among the mass casualty events that the Dubai Centre of Ambulance Services face on a daily basis.
"Indexes predicting weaning outcome are frequently inaccurate," said Sérgio N Nemer RRT PhD of the Intensive Care Unit, Hospital de Clínicas de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, explaining why he and a team of colleagues have developed a new integrative weaning index that aims to improve the accuracy of the traditional indexes. Their online provisional abstract published by Critical Care has…
One of the most comprehensive articles on non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been published this September. Specialists can access this online (e-medicine.medscape.com/article/304235-overview).
NAVA is a new mechanical ventilation method in which the ventilator is controlled directly by the patient's neural breath control, and is incorporated in Maquet´s Servo-i system.
ARCUS -- It’s a portable, fully electronic, stand-alone inhalation anaesthesia unit that offers the electronic gas mixer EGAMIX. The wall version is used for induction. Compared to a conventional mechanical rotameter, this machine simplifies work considerably due to the fully automatic electronic control and supervision of the adjusted parameters, the manufacturer EKU Elektronik GmbH. reports.
In the operating room, a surgeon typically is surrounded by 11 different medical devices, « and they all keep beeping at us, » complains Dr. Martin Schuster at Charité University Hospital in Berlin. «Which one of these alarms is important, » he asks, adding that blood pressure, oxygen saturation and ventillator alerts can sound between 10 and 12 times during each case.
Dr Vasilios Papaioannou, of the Democritus University of Thrace in Alexandroupoli, Greece, received the €15,000 Bernhard Dräger Award for Advanced Treatment of Acute Respiratory Failure during the opening of The European Society for Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) annual conference in Vienna.
The Leapfrog Group is a U.S. organisation of member companies that pay for healthcare services, e.g. corporations, health insurers and local, state and federal government agencies. Established in 2000, its philosophy is that big 'leaps' in healthcare safety, quality and value to patients will be recognised and rewarded. The organisation mobilises purchasing power of its members, representing over…
By Heidi Heinhold
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
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA), an award-winning practice that specializes in workplace consulting, architecture and interior design, has eight offices in Europe, America and Russia and has designed healthcare environments throughout the UK, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Among these is the £300 million King's Mill Hospital, a PFI institution now under construction in…
At this year's Euroanaesthesia 2009, in Milan, the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) presented for the third time the “Dräger Award for Intensive Care Medicine”. The 10,000 Euro prize went to the working group studying “Effects of ventilation with 100% oxygen during early hyperdynamic porcine fecal peritonitis” in the Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Ulm, Germany.
As processes become more complex, the need for increased laboratory safety is paramount. Protecting operators from hazardous substances, aerosol release or spillages is a critical consideration during processes, whether they are mixing substances or dispensing drugs. Of equal importance is the need to protect the substance, or product, from contamination from the operator. Mark Nicholls presents…
Maquet is possibly Europe's oldest manufacturer of healthcare equipment. Founded in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1838 the firm initially manufactured patient chairs and other healthcare equipment. Today, Maquet operates three business divisions (see box) each focusing on medical technology for operating theatres (OT) and intensive care units (ICU).
About 5,000 physicians and healthcare workers interested in intensive care and emergency medicine will gather in Brussels for the 29th ISICEM.
From 18th till 20th February 2009 the 19th Symposium of Intensive Care will take place in Bremen, Germany. During the symposium a presentation of the latest clinical data in form of a scientific symposium “Perspectives beyond protective ventilation” will take place on Friday, 20th February. These data enable new therapy chances for acute and chronic pulmonary patients.
Maquet Critical Care introduced two new MCare Services components, MCare Portal and MCare Remote Services, to enhance the current Maquet MCare worldwide services and provide more flexibility.
Since 1985, Ortner cleanrooms unlimited has specialised in all areas of clean-room technology - from clean-room planning and implementation to clean-room facility management.
GE Healthcare in partnership with Deep Breeze Ltd, the leader in vibration response imaging (VRI™) technology, announced that FDA granted marketing clearance for the VRIxv™, a non-invasive, radiation-free lung imaging system.
Hungary is going to start a major new collaborative research programme to transform the care of elderly citizens was announced in Hungary. A broad consortium of private and public sector organisations, led by GE Healthcare has secured HUF 895 million (US $4.2 million) from the Hungarian government to research and develop new ways of monitoring the health of elderly citizens in their own homes. …
If a patient is delivered to the clinic with pulmonary complications, the clinic has to decide which type of therapy is suitable. In addition to purely medical aspects other criteria also play an important role such as: the mental and physical stress on the patient due to the treatment, the time it takes to implement a measure and the overall economics of the procedure.
Newly released sales figures for the Tissue Oxygenation Monitor InSpectra show a huge jump - they have doubled in the last quarter, according to Peter Ickert, Vice President of Hutchinson Technology Inc, who added that current orders indicate that the trend will continue.
Maquet has launched Cardiohelp, the world's smallest, lightest heart-lung machine, that can not only provide a total therapy solution for heart surgery, cardiology, intensive and emergency care, but also, due to its suitcase size and 10 kg weigh, the device can be carried by just one person onto a helicopter or ambulance for mobile use.
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.
Maquet has launched Cardiohelp, the world's smallest, lightest heart-lung machine, that can not only provide a total therapy solution for heart surgery, cardiology, intensive and emergency care, but also, due to its suitcase size and 10 kg weigh, the device can be carried by just one person onto a helicopter or ambulance for mo-bile use.
In May 2006 the Rosie Hospital, in Cambridge, UK, launched a competition challenging staff to suggest ways to save energy or time. Many came up with energy saving ideas. This resulted in the creation of the Rosie Energy Awareness programme. Monitoring energy usage of various items of medical equipment within hospital, for example ultrasound machines, the energy statistics provided staff with a…
During the Congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) the research work of Hermann Heinze from the Clinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine of the Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital was honoured with the first "Bernhard Dräger Award for Advanced Treatment of Acute Respiratory Failure".
To fight hospital infections and increasingly resistant bacteria Normeditec has developed Toul Mobile Laminar Airflow
Transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-AVI) is a new therapeutic strategy, which has been implemented successfully into clinical practice in several hundred patients suffering symptomatic aortic stenosis and an increase perioperative risk during the past two years. The Edwards SAPIEN™ prosthesis has been used.
Hospital infections are immensely dangerous. Toul Meditech has therefore developed a new mobile laminar airflow system which can be used in every operating room in addition to the existing ventilation system.
They are one of the major threats in today's hospital: tiny pathogens that hide out in catheters, in ventilation tubes, on instruments or on the keyboards of medical technological equipment only waiting to attack patients whose immune system is already weakened. This week, EH Online will take a closer look at nosocomial infections, their causes, their effects and the available ways and means to…
Considered optimal transportation and identification tools, they have become a symbol for modern hospitals: RFID tags. But according to a new study radio frequency identification devices (RFID) may disrupt medical devices. Moreover, the FDA is concerned that the increase in digital technology might be dangerous for patients.
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.
By Professor Gennady Souchkevich, Deputy Director of the Moscow Research and Clinical Institute of Emergency Children's Surgery and Trauma.
Among the major changes to operating theatres (OT) in recent years is the introduction of information technology (IT) equipment.
The clinical center of the university of Mainz, Germany, reported the first successful use of a newly developed mobile heart-lung support system with a patient suffering from life-threatening pulmonary embolism. "Lifebridge", a highly automated system, was connected via the inguinal vessels right after the embolism had occurred and immediately took over the functions of lung and heart, supplying…
Draeger reports that the Apollo includes an advanced ventilation capability that provides ICU quality ventilation in the operating theatre (OT), as well as
There is a huge amount of literature being published and even with improved access via the internet, accumulating all the relevant data and applying it correctly to clinical practice is a challenge for even the most fastidious amongst us.
By Professor Anis Baraka MD FRCA (Hon), Chairman of the Anaesthesiology Department at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Since its early beginnings in Europe, during the polio epidemics of the 1950s, intensive care medicine has grown to become a specialty in its own right and the intensive care unit (ICU) occupies an increasingly important position in every hospital. Intensive care doctors are responsible for the management of very sick patients often with multiple and complex disease processes, and ICUs are now…
Evolving from an award-winning project carried out by undergraduates of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel's leading University for science and technology, a new non-invasive device for detecting early stage respiratory irregularities is momentarily in development. The novel respiration monitor is intended to immediately detect deterioration in lung ventilation of ICU patients.
Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is often chosen in cases of acute respiratory insufficiency, because modern respirators offer response times of milliseconds, so technical hurdles are overcome.
The project “Clean Hands” is Germany's contribution to the WHO initiative “Clean care is safe care”. “Clean Hands” aims at improving hand hygiene in German hospitals in order to significantly reduce nosocomial infections.
Heinrich Dräger's concept for the first Pulmotor was ahead of its time, for he was the first to choose a mechanical principle that could closely copy human physiology.
MAQUET Critical Care today announced the introduction of MAQUET FLOW-i, the company's new anesthesia system, at the world's largest medical trade fair, MEDICA 2007.
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.)
Detroit based Delphi Medical Systems is a world-class provider of technology, products, and product development and manufacturing for many major sectors of the medical industry. Amongst their latest technologies on show at Medica (Hall 11) is the Delphi Portable O2, a light weight oxygen supply for patients with respiratory diseases or other illnesses requiring supplemental oxygen such as chronic…
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.
At this year's MEDICA numerous medical ventilators for use in intensive care units were showcased. The European Hospital team visited Maquet and Siare to have a look at their flagship products.
By Professor György Harmat MD, Director General of the Budapest Municipal Council Pal Heim Children's Hospital, Hungary
Although modern respirators present ever increasing features to enhance and simplify ventilation therapy, methods to quantify the efficacy of ventilator changes are limited.
The Lifebridge B2T (bridge-to-transport) is the first, fully portable emergency life support system for patients suffering cardiogenic shock, or those showing signs of imminent cardiogenic shock.
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress is the world's biggest annual scientific gathering in respiratory medicine.
Dräger looks up to 100 years of innovation in ventilation technology worldwide. In 1907 Johann Heinrich Dräger invented the Pulmotor as the first short-term respirator and founded the first Draeger company in the United States.
Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles found out that the blood level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a neurohormone released by the heart when it is stressed or damaged, provided a direct relationship with in-hospital mortality. So a simple blood test can predict in-hospital mortality risk for heart failure patients.
i-gel, a new single-use, supraglottic airway device designed for quick, easy insertion, also comes ready to use.
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.
Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), particularly when performed immediately by those witnessing a cardiac or respiratory arrest, definitively saves lives - especially in witnessed cases of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and childhood drowning events. Nevertheless, the frequency of bystander CPR still remains mostly low. In turn, survival chances for potentially salvageable patients remain…
SpiroStar is the smallest lung function testing system in the world, reports its Finnish manufacturer Medikro Oy. Weighing just 22 grams, this also became one of the first to satisfy the new and changed requirements for the calculation of lung function testing, meeting the latest ATS/ERS spirometry standards.
TSI's battery-operated Certifier FA and Certifier FA Plus flow analysers.
'Over 230 established and emerging international leaders in intensive care and emergency medicine will provide participants with a state-of-the art review of the most recent advances in diagnosis, monitoring, and management of critically ill patients,' Jean-Louis Vincent, Head of the Department of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Belgium, promises the expected 5,000…
Currently, to expand and centralise the MRI Department at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Luebeck, Germany, a new building is being planned.
Dräger's Acute Care System is reported to be the first to offer a totally new approach to managing and delivering care across the entire acute care process - from emergency care to operating theatre, to critical care and neonatal care.
After previous meetings in the USA (2002) and Japan (2004), this October the 3rd International Workshop of Pulmonary Functional Imaging (IWPFI) took place in the German Cancer Research Centre, based in Heidelberg University, Germany. " 'The clinicians' need for earlier and more detailed diagnosis in pulmonary disease demands a joint interdisciplinary effort to push the limits in pulmonary…
The Prismaflex monitor, produced by Gambro Healthcare provides extra therapy options and features for continuous renal replacement therapy.
Affordable, effective and innovative products drive sales.
Respironics develops and manufactures innovative sleep and respiratory products and programmes, which it distributes internationally:
Intersurgical expanded its range of respiratory products.
Spacelabs Healthcare is a growing group of companies now operating under one new name. Earlier companies incorporated under this name include Spacelabs Medical, Del Mar Reynolds, Blease, Hertford Cardiology and Spacelabs Medical Data.
Another introduction at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Congress, in Spain, was the Vela Diamond mechanical ventilator platform made by Viasys Healthcare.
The Raphael XTC offers non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV), full-featured invasive ventilation and easy switching between those two ventilatory modes. Its Swiss manufacturer, Hamilton Medical AG, also points out that the system is fully adapted for use in sub-acute care units, long-term care centres, intensive care departments, recovery rooms and during patient transit.
Two new ventilators - Carina and Carina home - were introduced at the 26th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine in Brussels.
With Toshiba's 256-row CT scanner, Multi-Slice Computed Tomography (MSCT) will make a quantum leap. Consequently, expectations were high when the new CT premiered during “New Horizons” on 18-21 October. And the expectations were more than met. In his presentation, Dr Patrik Rogalla, radiologist at the Charité Berlin, impressively demonstrated the diagnostic potential of the new 256-row CT…
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…
Working in tandem, two new technologies — SpiroDynamics and FRC INview — measure pressure and volume directly from a patient's lung.
corpuls.net is a database system that amalgamates recorded data and information for use by emergency medical services (EMS).
System enables ventilator to be controlled by the patient's brain.
Rigel Medical, part of the Seaward Group, has launched a new biomedical electrical safety analyser.
EU multidisciplinary lung research project aims to cure pulmonary hypertension.
German medical technology firm Novalung GmbH (est. 2002) produces extracorporeal artificial lungs.
VoluCount, a new system by Draeger Medical accurately measures the consumption of all installed medical gases in all hospital areas.
Many hospitals pay more attention to complex hygiene solutions they do on another, simple solution: hand washing.
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
Increase in COPD and chronic respiratory disease patients will challenge the European Healthcare Systems in the future.
Professor Paul Pepe and Dr Jane Wigginton discuss current research and concepts that will affect the future of basic CPR.
You are invited to be part of a forum to bring respiratory biological research together, to discuss and build. Ours is a growing and vital discipline.
SmartCare, a software solution from Dräger Medical could cut the time of a weaning process by around 50%.
A Web guide for mechanical ventilation in anaesthesia, intensive care and emergency medicine.
Tracoe experc kit, designed for percutaneous dilation tracheostomy, is based on the established Ciaglia technique with single step dilation.
USA - A satellite symposium will be provided at the 53rd ACSM Annual meeting in Denver, Colorado (30 May) by VIASYS Healthcare Inc. and the American College of Sports & Medicine.
Paul E Pepe MD MPH FACEP FCCM, Professor of Medicine, Surgery, Public Health and Chair, Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre and the Parkland Health and Hospital System (TSMC&PHHS), Dallas.
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Medicine and Dermatology Institute
It is the largest meeting of its kind with 5,000 participants.
Alfred E Schiller, founder and managing director of Schiller AG, based in Baar, Switzerland, describes the rise of his company and its place in today’s highly competitive intensive care market. Alfred Schiller founded Schiller AG in 1971 and three years later introduced his first product – a pocket-sized electrocardioscope, which has been built on successively over the years. The…
The Vest Airway Clearance System (which is technique independent and treats all lobes of the lungs simultaneously) helps to mobilise pulmonary secretion via high-frequency chest wall oscillation.
Maquet's new Cantellus system is a flexible, highly mobile patient-monitoring system designed to provide full control over the patient's vital signs anywhere in a hospital and during patient transportation.
The requirement for mechanical ventilatory support is the most common indication for admission to an intensive care unit - and up to 50% of the time that a patient receives such treatment may be taken up by attempts to discontinue it: a process termed weaning.
An intensive care unit (ICU) is a ward staffed by medical support who have been specially trained in the high levels of care required by each pathological state.
The 25th International Symposium of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, to be held at the Congress Centre in Brussels, will see us celebrate our Silver Anniversary, when we will reflect on 25 years of meetings that have encouraged the presentation, discussion, and debate of intensive care medicine, and when we also look forward to what the next 25 years may bring.
Spain - New research suggests that sleep apnoea is a new risk factor for death from stroke.
Breathlessness, the most common symptom in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), greatly reduces their ability to participate in day-to-day activities.
Camena, an innovative ventilator that provides clinical-quality ventilation for patients at home, will be launched, at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) annual meeting (4-8 September 2004, Glasgow, UK), by Dräger Medical AG & Co KGaA, of Lübeck, Germany.
"Céad Mile Fáilte!" said ERS President Walter McNicholas, to greet those about to attend this the 14th Annual Congress of the ERS, (Glasgow, Scotland, 4-8 September 2004).
The known global death toll due to the new virus (as of 1 July) was 811. Total number of cases 8447.