News • Algorithm uses image analytics
AI auto-scans lung X-rays for coronavirus
Coronavirus can be identified automatically from sick patients’ lung X-rays using artificial intelligence (AI) developed at Brunel University London.
Lung
News • Imaging collaboration
AI quantifies COVID-19 in chest CT images
Hospitals and organizations worldwide joined forces with AI imaging company icometrix in a global initiative to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against COVID-19. The multinational collaboration resulted in the development of an AI algorithm, icolung, which received CE-marking for clinical use in Europe. icolung is the first CE-marked AI solution for CT resulting from a…
News • COVID-19 and ARDS
Computer model of the lung enables protective ventilation
A computational lung model can be used to reduce damage caused by mechanical ventilation – and could increase survival rates for patients significantly.
News • Coronavirus research
COVID-19 severity and air pollution: exploring the connection
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found an association between living in an area of England with high levels of air pollution and the severity of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Because of the urgent need to share information relating to the pandemic, the researchers have published their report on MedRXiv. It has not yet been peer-reviewed. However, the…
News • Turning hidden depths into meaningful answers
Agfa launches digital tomosynthesis solution
Agfa announces the launch of its digital tomosynthesis solution, which offers a fast, economical and low-dose technique to separate anatomical overlap in a variety of applications. Powered by Musica, digital tomosynthesis automatically delivers 3D reconstructions with optimal contrast and consistent quality across slices and images. The digital tomosynthesis solution can add clinical value in a…
News • COVID-19 in radiology
CT outperforms lab diagnosis for coronavirus infection
In a study of more than 1,000 patients published in Radiology, chest CT outperformed lab testing in the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Researchers at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, concluded that CT should be used as the primary screening tool for COVID-19. In the absence of specific therapeutic drugs or vaccines for COVID-19, it is essential to detect the disease at an…
News • ECMO treatment
FDA clearance for extracorporeal life support system
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) approval to Fresenius Medical Care North America and Xenios, a Fresenius Medical Care company, for long-term use of its Novalung system for patients with acute lung failure or acute cardiopulmonary failure.
News • Pilot clinical trial
China to test targeted therapy for COVID-19
A University of British Columbia (UBC) researcher is part of an international team working with a biotechnology company on a pilot clinical trial of a potential new treatment for patients with severe coronavirus infections in China. Dr. Josef Penninger, director of UBC’s Life Sciences Institute and Canada 150 Chair in Functional Genetics, is working closely with Vienna-based Apeiron Biologics…
News • COPD, asthma and more
Deaths and disability due to lung diseases on the rise
There has been an increase in deaths and disability due to chronic respiratory (lung) diseases over the past three decades, finds an analysis of data from 195 countries published by The BMJ. The poorest regions of the world had the greatest disease burden. Ageing and risk factors including smoking, environmental pollution, and body weight also play a key role, say the researchers. Chronic…
News • Air pollution with a bang
The health impact of festival fireworks
Fireworks associated with festival celebrations such as Australia Day, China’s Lunar New Year and Fourth of July, in the USA, may have a significant impact on the health of vulnerable people, a new study reveals. Using fireworks during these celebrations generates anthropogenic source of air pollutants with significant impacts on local air quality, creating up to eight times the average of…
Sponsored • COPD diagnostic wearable
‘Smart shirt’ to monitor lung disease
A smart shirt, developed by Canadian startup Hexoskin, has been successfully tested as a potential diagnostic modality for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the Radboud University Medical Centre in The Netherlands. “COPD is a growing problem with around 64 million people suffering with the condition worldwide. When patients suffer an increase in their symptoms, such as coughing…
News • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
New diagnostic criteria proposed For COPD
Researchers at National Jewish Health and dozens of leading institutions around the nation have proposed new criteria for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The proposal expands diagnostic criteria from a single measure of lung function to include environmental exposure, symptoms, and abnormal CT scans.
News • Inhalation visualised
New imaging tech gives insights into pulmonary drug delivery
Inhalation therapy is widely used for the treatment of lung diseases. Targeting of drugs to the site of disease is a major goal to improve drug efficacy and minimize side effects. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich have now shown that combined insight from various imaging methods allows for real-time monitoring of the dynamic process of drug…
Article • Lung cancer early diagnosis
Can we afford not to offer lung screening?
For lung cancer patients, life expectancy has hardly improved since 1970. A ten-year survival is 5%, making this the leading cause of death among all cancers. One reason is that, in most cases, the disease is diagnosed far too late. Professor Mathias Prokop is among leading advocates of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer for high risk patients.
News • Lumacaftor-ivacaftor
Cystic fibrosis patients benefit from drug combination, but...
In adolescent and adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) taking lumacaftor-ivacaftor (Orkambi), the combination drug appears to improve lung function and body weight and reduce the need for intravenous antibiotic treatment, according to a French study published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. However, the treatment also…
News • Respiratory failure and sepsis
Cheap, quick test identifies major risks for pneumonia patients
Spanish researchers in Valencia have identified specific fragments of genetic material that play a role in the development of respiratory failure and sepsis in pneumonia patients. Presenting the research at the European Respiratory Society International Congress, Dr Francisco Sanz said the findings could enable doctors to test quickly for these biological markers when a patient is admitted to…
News • Rare lung disease
FDA approval for scleroderma treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ofev (nintedanib) capsules to slow the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adults with interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis or scleroderma, called SSc-ILD. It is the first FDA-approved treatment for this rare lung condition. “Patients suffering from scleroderma need effective therapies, and the FDA supports the efforts…
News • Wireless spirometer & smartphone
'Asthma app' to improve self-monitoring
A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that a treatment adjustment algorithm based on lung function and symptoms in a mobile phone can be an efficient tool in managing uncontrolled asthma. For fuss-free measuring of lung function, the phone connects to a wireless spirometer and the app can register respiratory symptoms and provide visual feedback on treatment. The study is…
Article • MERS-CoV
Seeking answers to combat Middle East respiratory syndrome
With a case fatality rate of 35 percent, a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection – also called camel flu – is a dangerous disease. About seven years ago, when the virus was first isolated, mortality was close to 100 percent since only severe infections that led to the patient being in intensive care were recorded. Today the environment of each victim is…
News • Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Protein linked to cancer growth drives deadly lung disease IPF
A protein associated with cancer growth appears to drive the deadly lung disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to new research from Cedars-Sinai. The discovery, made in laboratory mice and human tissue samples, may have implications for treating the disease using existing anti-cancer therapies that inhibit the protein PD-L1. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic,…
News • Death toll
Air pollution causes 800,000 extra deaths a year in Europe
Air pollution could be causing double the number of excess deaths a year in Europe than has been estimated previously, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal [1] today.
News • Muscle cancer
Rhabdomyosarcoma: are spots on the lung dangerous?
Small spots on CT scans of the lungs of children with muscle cancer do not have an adverse effect on survival. This conclusion has direct consequences for the treatment of the disease.
News • Omega-3
Asthma control: How effective is fish oil really?
Fish oil does not appear to improve asthma control in adolescents and young adults with uncontrolled asthma who are overweight or obese, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. In “Fish Oil Supplementation in Overweight/Obese Patients with Uncontrolled Asthma: A Randomized Trial,” Jason E. Lang, MD, MPH, and co-authors report that four grams…
Sponsored • Intensive care
Deep learning software helps to locate the carina
The ability to accurately check the position of the endotracheal tube for patients in intensive care units is crucial to their wellbeing and safe treatment. A pivotal element of this lies in identifying the position of the carina, a ridge of cartilage in the trachea that occurs between the division of the two main bronchi. Yet highlighting its location often proves problematic on portable chest…
News • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD: Biomarker for kidney disease has unexpected benefits
A commonly used biomarker of kidney disease may also indicate lung problems, particularly COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In “Albuminuria, Lung Function Decline, and Risk of Incident COPD: the NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study,” Elizabeth C.…