
1st portable heart-lung machine
Lifebridge is the first portable heart-lung machine which promises a great success for the clinlical use.

Lifebridge is the first portable heart-lung machine which promises a great success for the clinlical use.

A new American Cancer Society report estimates that there will be over 12 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths (about 20,000 cancer deaths a day) worldwide in 2007. The estimate comes from the first-ever Global Cancer Facts & Figures, the latest addition to the American Cancer Society's family of Facts & Figures publications.

As reported in the January issue of Hepatology, MRI imagery is emerging as a non-invasive way to determine the existence and extent of hepatic fibrosis. It could eventually help the development of pharmacologic strategies to combat the condition.

Patients with severe COPD may benefit more from therapy that combines salmeterol and fluticasone [SFC] than treatment with tiotropium, according to results from a long-term, multi-center study, “Investigating New Standards for Prophylaxis in Reducing Exacerbations” (INSPIRE) that directly compared the two therapies.

Thanks to a new software, MR images from a five-minute scan may generate the images for a complete and comprehensive examination and therefore eliminating the need to perform multiple scans. The advanced software developed by Synthetic MR AB will be offered as a clinical application in Sectra´s PACS system.
Sweden — Sectra, which develops IT systems and products for radiology, mammography and orthopaedic surgery, has announced an agreement with Swedish research firm Synthetic MR AB, developer of analysis and imaging methods for synthetic magnetic resonance, for its new software-based technology to be offered as a clinical application in Sectra's PACS for radiology.

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.
Stereoscopic digital mammography, a new diagnostic technique capable of producing three-dimensional (3-D) in-depth views of breast tissue, could significantly reduce the number of women who are recalled for additional tests following routine screening mammography.

Brenda Marsh reports on the country's flourishing and expanding breast screening programme

Dr Eduardo de la Sota reports
EH correspondent H-C Pruszinsky reports

It is hoped that a new technology, digital breast tomosynthesis or 3-D mammography, will overcome three drawbacks of traditional screening mammography: discomfort with breast compression, cancer concealed within overlapping tissue and the limited number of views.

Radiologists frequently have limited time when examining mammography images, especially under screening conditions. In addition to their training and experience, the computer can offer beneficial support in the detection of breast cancer, due to special Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software solutions

The first 15 megapixels display, which enables radiologists to monitor two mammograms on one screen, was launched at RSNA 2007 by the Japanese firm Totoku.

Siemens Medical Solutions, which launched Ysio wi-D - its first digital X-ray unit equipped with a wireless detector - at Medica, said it combines all the advantages of digital X-ray imaging with the flexibility of an X-ray film cassette.

Germany - Once again MEDICA 2007 drew healthcare professionals- this year around 137,000 — to attend the congress and view the enormous number of medical products demonstrated by over 4,300 exhibitors.
by Dr Feldkamp, Duisburg, Germany. Russian article
In 2008, the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) will include a Special Focus Session titled "Women in Radiology". During an EH interview, Professor Dr Maximilian Reiser, President of ECR 2008 (Vienna, Austria) discussed this and other aspects of the new programme. Russian article

Change is occurring at a rapid rate in cancer care - in many European countries cancer services are now being provided primarily in an ambulatory or outpatient setting with subsequent change of resources. Karen Luker, Professor of Community Nursing at the Universtiy of Manchester, UK, thinks that specialist nurses should not only refresh their knowledge of existing and new therapies. As the face…

ulrich medical is an independent medium-sized company with worldwide sales of innovative products in the field of medical technology. For 25 years ulrich contrast agent injectors are reliable partners for radiological clinics and practices. They ensure optimal contrast agent injection for computer and magnetic resonance tomography.

Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. introduced the world's first dynamic volume computed tomography system the AquilionONE. This advanced diagnostic imaging system revolutionizes can help reduce diagnosis time for life threatening diseases like stroke and heart disease from days and hours to mere minutes.

Radiologist Dr Christoph Seifried, and colleagues at Altötting hospital, are among the first to use the new Sectra workstation IDS7/rx.

To meet an ever expanding demand for faster, more efficient healthcare delivery, and therefore better IT solutions, companies are in hot competition internationally. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Dr Andrea Fiumicelli, Head of IT at Agfa HealthCare, discussed his company's aims and position in this vibrant healthcare market

“We have a broad set of products and services that enable healthcare providers to improve the quality and cost of patient care,” said Carestream Health's Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Hobert with reference to Carestream´s RSNA highlights. “We have digital technology and consulting services that few companies can match, and our integrated imaging and IT solutions are helping healthcare…