Research • healthcare-in-europe.com

Do-it-yourself scientific testing

A British teenager, 17-year-old Fred Turner, has won a major accolade for building a DNA testing analyser in his own home for a few hundred euros.

Treating bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is highly challenging in terms of patient management and medical costs. As the fourth most frequent cancer in men and ninth in women in developed countries, although BC is a common disease it is still under-represented in public awareness and in cancer research .

The role of the immune system in cancer therapy

Apart from tumour immunologists themselves, for a long time oncologists have underestimated the role of the immune system in cancer treatment. Nonetheless, in recent years increasing attention has been given to this aspect of cancer.

Program May Hold Promise for Reducing Avoidable Hospital Readmissions

Recent federal legislation imposes financial penalties on hospitals that experience excessive patient readmissions within 30 days.

International accreditation for University Medical Center Utrecht

The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) is the first hospital in the Netherlands to be awarded international JCI accreditation on their first attempt according to the latest standard.

Don´t worry, be healthy

People with cheerful temperaments are significantly less likely to suffer a coronary event such as a heart attack or sudden cardiac death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

Breast cancer

The charity Cancer Research UK reports that the number of breast cancer diagnoses in under 50-year-old women each year in the UK has exceeded 10,000 for the first time.

New cooperation in research on ovarian cancer

Sanofi and the Curie Institute, through its Curie-Cancer partnership under the Institut Carnot label, today announce the establishment of a three-year research collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the development of treatments for ovarian cancer.

Social media dramatically boosts organ donation registration

A social media push boosted the number of people who registered themselves as organ donors 21-fold in a single day, Johns Hopkins researchers found, suggesting social media might be an effective tool to address the stubborn organ shortage in the United States.

Large-Scale Switch to Digital Pathology Systems

Evolving technologies and market forces reveal that digital pathology is poised to radically affect the daily workflow and activities of pathologists and diagnostic laboratories

No systematic link between medtech innovation and increase in healthcare expenditure

MedTech Europe, the alliance of European Medical Technology Industry Associations, welcomes new research from the European Health Technology Institute (EHTI) confirming that there is no uniform relationship between medtech innovation and an increase in healthcare expenditure.

Study confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients

Patients' pathogen acquisition was reduced with Chlorhexidine gluconate 2% w/v impregnated pad, and intranasal mupirocin ointment - Study published in New England Journal of Medicine confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients reduces bloodstream infections by 44%.

Staff who smoke cost companies thousands of pounds more

Employers have to pay around £4,000 more a year to employ a member of staff who smokes compared to a non-smoking employee, finds research published online in the Tobacco Control journal.

Investigating the HFN1 virus

Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier and his colleagues around the world stopped their research into the bird flu virus H5N1 for a whole year to allow an international debate surrounding the benefits and risks of their work.

Denmark’s top-class robot technology

Copenhagen’s Hilleroed Hospital now has the world’s most advanced medical laboratory system, providing full automation from the point of drawing a blood sample to results delivery.

Cancer has a smell and breathprint

Israel - Researchers are using breath-test technology to detect volatile organic compounds to tell whether a patient has stomach cancer.

Market Trends in Europe Interventional Radiology and Cardiology

The European market for interventional radiology and cardiology is heading towards maturity, especially in Western Europe. Although the economic slowdown and fewer orders had a negative impact on revenues in 2012, it is expected that expanding applications of interventional systems and the popularisation of hybrid solutions will drive market growth over the 2013-2017 period.

Routine clinical use will take another decade

Numerous cardiac muscle cells die following myocardial infarction, due to reduced blood flow in the affected muscle areas. What remains is a scar, which also mechanically affects cardiac pumping. The muscle itself has no, or hardly any, capacity to regenerate itself.

News • Anaesthesiology

Accidental awareness under general anaesthesia

A UK study has highlighted the issue of patients waking up from a general anaesthetic while undergoing surgery. The research, which questioned more than 7,100 consultant anaesthetists, revealed that there was about one episode of accidental awareness in every 15,000 general anaesthetics cases in the three million UK operations in 2011.