Article • Study
Surveying discrepancies
A limited survey of patients who died soon after being discharged from hospital found that almost a quarter had an undiagnosed co-morbidity with a potentially avoidable cause of death. Report: Frank Swain
Generation Y in hospitals today
Could the widely predicted shortage of qualified staff in German hospitals soon lead to tough competition for members of Generation Y, ultimately resulting in a change in hospital structures and a revolution in the country’s total healthcare system? Perhaps. EH spoke with Professor Christian Schmidt, Medical Director and Head of the Board at Rostock University Hospital, and with consultant…
Article • Study
Jet air and warm air driers unsuitable for use in healthcare settings
A new study concludes that jet air and warm air hand driers have a greater potential to contaminate washrooms by spreading bacteria into the air and onto users and bystanders. The findings have significant implications for infection control health professionals and purchasing managers responsible for equipping hospital washrooms.
News • Survey
DNA Electronics tackles the growing threat of antibiotic resistance
DNA Electronics (‘DNAe’), the inventors of semiconductor DNA sequencing technology and developers of a new point-of-need test for blood infections, highlights the urgent need for fast diagnostics to help tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
News • Infections
Recommendations for improved management of CDI
A first of its kind expert consensus report on Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), contributed to by more than 1,000 healthcare professionals across Europe, has been presented today at the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) International Congress in Lyon, France. The consensus report aimed to identify a set of expert views on CDI management, in order to determine attitudes to diagnosis,…
News • Ebola
Furin – the answer to the crises?
With an estimated fatality rate of 52%, the need to discover a cure for Ebola has never been more urgent. New research published in Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics this month suggests that scientists currently investigating potential cures for the Ebola virus should focus more attention on the protein furin.
Biologised medical technology
New approaches, solutions and outlooks on biologised medical technology developed in the Berlin metropolitan region were presented at this year’s annual 'Medical technology meeting place' in Berlin, which presents the latest research, new product developments and best practice examples from the greater-Berlin area. report: Bettina Döbereiner
Article • Research
3D printers help neuroradiologists
The treatment of cerebral aneurysms is often very complex and initially it is not always obvious which type of treatment is best suited for an individual case. In October, during the Annual Congress of the German Society for Neuroradiology e.V., a working group from Hamburg introduced a procedure that enables the production of exact copies of individual aneurysms with a 3D printer.
Scientists aim for a self-adjusting buffer
UT Arlington researchers have been awarded a $744,300 grant from the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program to create an adaptive interface that fits between a prosthetic and a patient’s limb so that the fit and comfort of the prosthetic are improved.
Putting early detection to the test
The number of cancer patients in Germany continues to rise steadily. An increase in the number of newly diagnosed cases of 14% is expected by 2020 compared to 2008. Therefore early detection is increasingly the focus of attention.
Individualised cancer medication
Among updates on breast cancer diagnostics and treatments aired at the 33rd German Society for Senology meeting last year was SpheroTest, an evidence-based tool that helps select the most effective drug for each individual cancer patient. Report: Anja Behringer
Article • Phase-contrast x-ray
Creating the Holy Grail of medical imaging
Among new medical imaging innovations is a phase-contrast x-ray technique to bring greater precision to breast cancer assessment and improve biopsy diagnostics. EH asked research pioneer Professor Marco Stampanoni, a key figure in the development of this technique, to explain how it works. Report: Sascha Keutel
Breakthrough in hepatitis C research
Earlier this year a drug was launched that can cure hepatitis C without severe side effects in most patients. Whilst the treatment is fast, it is very expensive but does avoid liver cancer and thus makes liver transplants superfluous. This is only one of the many promising developments in hepatitis research that Dr Markus Cornberg of the Medical University Hanover will address at the Medica…
Article • Study
New Norwegian breast cancer research
A new study has suggested that mammography screening of healthy women can help to significantly reduce deaths from breast cancer. Much will now depend on new treatments and more systematic management of patients. Report: Mark Nicholls
News • Technology
Tracking system to monitor bacteria inside the body
Approach could improve treatment of drug-resistant infections. Combining a PET scanner with a new chemical tracer that selectively tags specific types of bacteria, Johns Hopkins researchers - working with mice report - have devised a way to detect and monitor in real time infections with a class of dangerous Gram-negative bacteria.
Curetis Joins European Prosthetic Joint Infection Cohort Study
Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced it has joined the European Prosthetic Joint Infection Cohort Study (EPJIC).
Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for locating brain’s inner GPS
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award The 2014 Nobel Prize in in Physiology or Medicine to John O´Keefe and the other half jointly to May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
A breakthrough in antibiotic resistance
An ‘Achilles heel’ in the defensive barrier surrounding drug-resistant bacterial cells has been identified by a team of scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK.
Shocked by the Shock trials?
No need to ask who was really shocked by the Halle Shock trial, followed by the multi-centre Shock II trial.
When cardiac catherisation delivers no result...
The significant benefits of cardiac catherisation remain undisputed. However, cross-sectional imaging modalities are serious competitors when it comes to arriving at the right diagnosis.
News • Oncology
One cancer – many tumors
In studies on prostate cancer, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) simultaneously investigated the genetic and epigenetic development of the tumors.
Innovation: UK hand-held device could challenge ELISA’s position
UK scientists are developing a hand-held testing device for use at the point of care and provide a disease diagnosis on the same day.
A blood test for suicide?
Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a chemical alteration in a single human gene linked to stress reactions that, if confirmed in larger studies, could give doctors a simple blood test to reliably predict a person’s risk of attempting suicide.
Metal attacks norovirus head on
The Norovirus, which affects around 267 million people and is attributed to cause over 200,000 deaths annually (usually among the very young, elderly or immune-suppressed, or in 3rd world areas) can be rapidly destroyed by copper and copper alloys, scientists at the United Kingdom’s University of Southampton confirm.
US trails Europe in facilitating novel antibiotics development
While the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) Act of 2012 has been a significant step in the right direction for encouraging novel antibiotics research, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remains one step behind its European equivalent, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.