ESC roundup: Fixing heart conditions
Devices to treat chronic cardiac disease are winning credibility with new evidence from large-scale patient registries, John Brosky reports
Developing Integration Capabilities Presents a Real Opportunity for Vendors
Healthcare facilities in Europe are currently working to create a unified digital patient record. In tandem, medical imaging vendors are developing and offering cardiology information systems (CIS) with advanced functionalities and easy integration capabilities with enterprise-wide information systems. As a result of such trends, image management-based information systems are set to witness…
The flying magnet
When Professor PD Dr Dr Marcos Tatagiba operates the recently installed five ton, ceiling mounted MRI scanner in the operating theatre at the Neurosurgery Clinic in University Hospital Tubingen, he will be using systems technology currently unique in Europe.
Ultra High Field Magnetic Resonance
2011 brought a second year for European and US scientists to meet up at the Annual Scientific Symposium on Ultra High Field Magnetic Resonance, held at the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch (MDC), Germany, to present and discuss their recent findings. Along with technical improvements, the main issues of the one-day gathering were cardiac, cerebral and molecular MR imaging.…
From CR to DR
Breathtaking though the rate of improvement in medical imaging systems may be, many hospitals remain locked into their various evolutionary stages – depending on their needs and capabilities. With its versatile portfolio, Carestream Health, provides choices to meet their diverse circumstances.
Sectra and Philips complete modality transaction
Sectra has completed a mammography-modality deal with Royal Philips Electronics. Philips will pay EUR 57.5 million in a cash-on-cash and debt-free basis and take over the acquired modality operation today, September 1, 2011.
MitraClip Therapy Demonstrates Benefits
Results of an observational study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Paris demonstrate that the percutaneous catheter-based MitraClip treatment improves symptoms and promotes reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), who do not respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
Cardiac Disease: Coronary or not?
Acute myocardial Infarction (AMI) is a major cause of death and disability. Worldwide, one in eight patients die of an ischemic heart disease. Its rapid and accurate diagnosis is critical for the initiation of effective evidence based medical management, including early revascularization, but is still an unmet clinical need. The gradual implementation of high-sensitive cardiac troponins (hs-cTnT)…
The PRODIGY study
However, the PROlonging Dual antiplatelet treatment after Grading stent-induced Intimal hyperplasia studY (PRODIGY) also found a consistently greater risk of haemorrhage in the 24-month dual therapy group according to all prespecified bleeding definitions, including the recently proposed Bleeding Academic Research Consortium classification. The need for transfusion was also increased in the…
Solutions for Sustainable Cardiovascular Care
Siemens Healthcare presented solutions for sustainable cardiovascular care at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Paris, France, under the motto "Are you ready for the long run?". This includes all modern imaging technologies, in-vitro diagnostics, IT solutions and consulting services.
Three questions for WFUMB Honorary Lecturers …
World of Ultrasound met Prof. Ioan Sporea, Prof. Gebhard Mathis and Prof. Byung Ihn Choi to ask them three questions.
From tissue uniformity to volume imaging
Explaining the value of the iU22 xMATRIX ultrasound system, Philips describes its new array transducer within the system – the X6-1 PureWave xMATRIX – as revolutionary.‘It harnesses the power of over 9000 active elements, more than 35 times greater than conventional transducers, to capture crisp, high-resolution images of even technically challenging patients,’ the company points out,…
Papworth Hospital: A constant continuing success
Recent events have again underlined the reason why Papworth Hospital in ambridgeshire, England, maintains a enowned international reputation for cardiac and thoracic procedures. As Britains largest specialist cardiothoracic hospitals, over 2,000 major heart operations were performed there in 2010. In the year ending 1 April 2011, 824 patients had coronary bypass operations, including urgent,…
Satisfaction in everyday life may protect against heart failure
While depression and anxiety have long been recognised as risk factors for heart disease, there is less certainty over the beneficial effects of a ‘positive’ psychological state. Now, according to results from a study of almost 8,000 British civil servants, published online by the European Heart Journal, researchers report that a satisfying life is indeed good for the heart.
Investigating treatment options for atrial fibrillation
The first patient has been enrolled for the largest pan-European study to determine whether an early comprehensive rhythm control strategy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) will benefit patients. Patients with recent-onset AF at risk for stroke or death are eligible for the trial. The researchers plan to enrol more than 3,000 patients from 200 centres in 11 European countries.
Building human hearts on an assembly line
An artificial heart will be implanted in a patient before the end of 2011, marking a milestone in medicine. The developers are now accelerating plans to manufacture thousands of these mechanical hearts for patients worldwide, reports John Brosky
MRI and plaque imaging
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in industrial nations. More than 50 percent of those deaths are associated with pathologies of the coronary arteries, despite the fact that luminal obstructions that lead to myocardial infarction or ischemia do not occur out of the blue. The initial symptoms are preceded by a whole slew of arteriosclerosis stages and the early detection of…
Trends in stents and balloon angioplasty
Stent fever, first diagnosed in 1997, has been spreading throughout the medical world – fuelled by new technologies, says Holger Zorn
A time to tackle controversies face-to-face
A hefty debate on controversial issues in cardiology is the definite intent of Congress President Professor Michel Komajda and the ESC 2011 congress organisers. To that end, he plans to open the event with a focus on disagreements among cardiologists over treatment methods. This is not the only promise of a lively meeting for congress participants, as Prof Komajda explained in conversation with…
RESPONSE trial results
Studies show that when a nurse follows patients after a cardiovascular crisis those patients stay healthier, live longer and reduce the risk of returning to hospital. Now the challenge is how to convince insurers to pay for this care, reports John Brosky.
Transcatheter aortic valve implants
Although transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is increasingly the most used surgical procedure in Germany, only two products have been approved for routine use. Although this has prompted other medical device manufacturers to go into action, according to Professor Justus Strauch, head of cardiac surgery at the Klinikum Bergmannsheil, Bochum, no one has yet taken the lead in this…
The New York Academy of Sciences Conference
This two-day international scientific symposium follows two previously successful conferences held by the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), ‘la Caixa’ Welfare Projects, and the International Centre for Scientific Debate (ICSD) for researchers, physicians, scientists and representatives of the related industries, working in cardiology, vascular disease, inflammation, regenerative medicine,…
Elastography in breast ultrasound
In recent years, the technique of breast ultra-sonography has become an essential procedure in the diagnostic evaluation of breast tissue. The improvement of ultrasound technology, especially with regards to the high resolution of modern devices and the use of colour Doppler sonography, has made this technique indispensable in our daily routine. Although the value of conventional breast…
High-end ultrasound at Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Sahlgrenska University Hospital provides emergency and basic care for the 700,000 inhabitants of the Gothenburg region. It also provides highly specialised care for the 1.7 million inhabitants in Sweden’s west because, in this country, endoscopic ultrasound examinations are only provided in university hospitals. Thus Sahlgrenska’s physicians receive referrals of difficult diagnostic cases…
True values versus relative Measurements
Detecting prostate cancer with transrectal ultrasound using strain elastography is quite tricky: it works by applying pressure to the transducer to measure relative stiffness of tissue, Professor Correas points out and states that ‘more than 80 percent of prostate cancer develops in the peripheral zone which is against the rectal wall. If we apply pressure to this zone the deformation of the…
