Blockchain is a concept that could have significant benefits for healthcare – particularly in radiology – but several challenges remain. Although an effective conduit through which to share data and medical images, particularly across health systems, one drawback is speed, given the amount of data that can be involved. However, Professor Morgan McBee, paediatric radiologist and imaging…
Examining the safety of AI integration into clinical workflow during at the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) annual congress in London, this November, Professor Nicola Strickland focused on issues of data quantity and quality, regulation, validation and testing of algorithms. She also urged radiologists and computer scientists to work more closely together to develop safe, effective and…
A partnership between the Rwandan government and Babyl, the country's largest digital health service provider, creates the framework for Rwanda's ascent to be a world leader in digital health. The partnership will allow people over the age of 12 to have a consultation with their doctor or nurse through their phone within minutes. They will be able to receive prescriptions, lab requests and…
Medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra has signed a digital pathology contract with the Dutch hospital Zuyderland MC. A digital pathology workflow makes it possible to access and share images and information between departments and hospitals. Storing, reviewing and sharing digital pathology images increases efficiency in primary diagnostics and improves cancer care by facilitating…
Teams at Helmholtz Zentrum München, LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a new algorithm that enables automated detection of metastases at the level of single disseminated cancer cells in whole mice. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. More than 90% of cancer patients die of distal metastases rather than as a direct result of the primary…
Complex challenges require interdisciplinary approaches. To find out at first hand which topics are of interest to experts is the key objective of ETIM 2020 (Emerging Technologies in Medicine), which is held from February 28-29 in Essen, Germany. Be there when experienced physicians, engineers and computer scientists talk about future topics in radiology. And after the lectures, take advantage of…
Dramatic developments in digital technologies have fuelled the growth and need for a mobile workforce, with the number of mobile workers predicted to climb to 1.87 billion by 2022 – accounting for almost half (42.5%) of the global workforce. The healthcare industry is no exception to this. In fact, the global healthcare mobility solutions market is predicted to experience a 25% year on year…
Radiomics is one of the most exciting topics in radiology. It involves data and artificial intelligence (AI) but very few people know or understand the details. In her lecture ‘How does Radiomics work?’, presented at the German Radiology Congress in Leipzig, Professor Ulrike Attenberger outlined how radiomics will advance radiology but also the obstacles faced along the way.
With over 100 exhibitors at the annual Radiological Society of North America conference using NVIDIA technology to bring AI to radiology, 2019 looks to be a tipping point for AI in healthcare. Despite AI’s great potential, a key challenge remains: gaining access to the huge volumes of data required to train AI models while protecting patient privacy.
Artificial intelligence (AI) opens up a host of new diagnostic methods and treatments. Almost daily we read about physicians, researchers or companies that are developing an AI system to identify malignant lesions or dangerous cardiac patterns, or that can personalise healthcare. ‘Currently, we are too focused on the topic,’ observes Professor Christian Johner, of the Johner Institute for…
It’s a world’s first. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is collaborating with Amazon to provide reliable health information from the service’s website through voice-assisted technology. In a speech announcing the service, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, addressed the need for dependable information.
More dynamic, more digital, and more networked – the medical industry is striding into the future. Thus, it’s wise to keep a finger on the pulse, be informed and deepen communications with specialists. At Medica, the presence of start-ups has grown annually, largely due to the special attention they receive. This year, 36 out of several hundred of these mostly young and digitally-driven firms…
The EU four-year project ELSAH, which began at the dawn of 2019, aims to design a wearable to enable continuous determination of biomarker concentrations. Project coordinator Dr Joerg Schotter, Molecular Diagnostics, Centre for Health & Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, explains the project’s objectives and potential applications for the planned wearable.
TomTom Telematics is helping Kent Central Ambulance Service to meet its NHS targets for patient delivery 97% of the time, following the installation of the WEBFLEET fleet management solution in June 2018. With a fleet of 28 specialised vehicles, Kent Central Ambulance Service provides non-emergency transport for high dependency patients attending hospital for outpatient clinics, operations or…
Refining hospital processes saves costs, improves workflows and patient care plus outcomes. To realise those aims, a hospital in the Netherlands has installed an Internet of Things (IoT) mesh network. A pilot project initiated by a Dutch children’s hospital has enlisted an entire ward as an Internet of Things (IoT) playground, to experiment with various type of tags, sensors and switches in a…
From an initial focus on innovative manufacturing, in-house ICT technologies drove production efficiency and quality. Today, Taiwan has advanced to become a leader with its "Asian Silicon Valley" concept. The government also wants to further strengthen Taiwan's key position by independently developing medical products that meet the high demands of international markets – at…
Consider the diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities resulting from access to pertinent data from thousands of anonymized patient medical scans. What new patterns, options, or evidence for actionable insights could be derived from all this information? Cloud-based data is easily accessible via computer, smartphone, or tablet and is a valuable complement to the insights from the millions of…
Dr Clemens Martin Auer knows ‘disruption is an ambivalent concept’. Auer is president of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), in which healthcare policy is discussed annually from a European perspective: ‘For some, disruption is the promise of necessary change whilst for others it means suspicions and fears.’ The term – a synonym for ‘transformation’ but also for…
With the medavis REFERRER PORTAL your referrers have easy online access to the reports and studies you created. The web-based portal works with any RIS via standard HL7 interfaces to create a smooth workflow. Reports and images are automatically transmitted to the portal in the background as soon as you release them in your RIS. The referrers can then easily access their patients’ data – from…
The current introduction of instant access to all patient clinical imaging and medical documentation in one picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for use throughout the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT), in Essex, UK, lies in the hands of Imaging Systems Manager and radiographer Stephen Townrow. In 2017, Townrow went to his hospital’s Board with a business case to consolidate…
A trial tele-ophthalmology system pioneered by the University of Strathclyde and NHS Forth Valley, has paved the way for what's believed to be one of the world’s first tele-examinations of an eye streamed live using a 5G smart phone. The system uses a live video feed to securely connect doctors, opticians and patient through a mixture of 3-D printed technology developed at Strathclyde, and the…
To demonstrate advances in 5G connectivity for healthcare, a UK team has linked a paramedic in a simulated ambulance to a hospital-based clinician. The paramedic wore a robotic or ‘haptic’ glove, which received signals over the live 5G network. Using a joystick, the clinician remotely directed the paramedic to move the ultrasound sensor to where on the patient the clinician wanted to scan.…
When hospitals are hacked, the public hears about the number of victims – but not what information the cybercriminals stole.
As a member of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) planning committee Professor Elmar Kotter suffered no serious challenge in pinpointing subject matter for the IT sessions. More than 300 submissions were received on artificial intelligence (AI). From the presentations, Kotter, Professor of Radiology and Senior Consultant at the Clinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, at the…
The Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) is the first European university hospital to utilize IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help uncover therapeutic options for cancer patients. HUG will use the IBM Watson Health’s precision oncology offering, Watson for Genomics, an AI tool that enables oncologists to provide patients with more personalized, evidence-based cancer care. Using…
