Advances of vascular MRI at higher field strengths
Stefan G Ruehm, Kambiz Nael, Derek Lohan and Henrik J Michaely* describe impressive images that benefit patient treatment
Imaging
Philips HD15 ultrasound system
Philips has added a new platform to its HD ultrasound products - the HD15 - which aims to provide small hospitals, clinics and private practices with advanced image clarity and broad application support for everyday use.
Panel reviews safety of drugs cleared for echocardiography
Last October the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) added a black box warning on ultrasound (US) contrast agents used in echocardiogram imaging examinations, around 200 reports of serious allergic reactions were received. Problems included cardiac arrest as well as breathing difficulty and seizures; seven of the cases resulted in death.
The 1st tele-ultrasound via satellite
The first robotised tele-ultrasound examination has been performed by participants in the European Mobile And Robotised Tele-echography (MARTE) project, in collaboration with Robosoft, specialist in the development and production of service robot systems.
ProSound a7
`High performance systems need not be large,´ says Aloka, manufacturer of the new compact ProSound a7, which produces high-resolution images yet can be used in areas with little spare space. `Broadband Harmonics provides high sensitivity and penetration that is comparable to fundamental-frequency imaging resulting in a significant improvement above standard harmonic imaging,´ Aloka reports.
Under- or over-utilised?
Although ultrasound imaging is a very powerful imaging modality it is mostly under-used Ultrasound combines several very appealing characteristics. It is among the non-invasive imaging modalities, indeed it is really non-invasive. Similar to MRI, no harm to the patient can be caused by ultrasound.
Sono-elastography
Martini Clinic, in the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) campus in Hamburg, is one of the world's major centres for nerve-sparing prostatectomy. The Martini physicians not only specialise in surgical intervention but are also at the cutting edge of diagnostics, being among the few in Germany to use sono-elastography, an innovative tool to detect prostate cancer. We asked Dr Georg Salomon (GS),…
Hot topic cardiovascular imaging
Every summer the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) holds Europe's biggest annual meeting of specialists in cardiovascular medicine, inviting and drawing in top international medical professionals. Karoline Laarmann asked Professor Kim Fox, President of the European Society of Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and professor of clinical cardiology at Imperial…
Welcome to ESTRO 27
More than 4,500 cancer and radiotherapy specialists will gather in Göteborg, Sweden, this September for the 27th annual congress of ESTRO. ESTRO 27 is to be held between the 14th and 18th September 2008 at the Göteborg Convention Centre in Göteborg.
Medically sound for benefit of athletes worldwide
Compact ultrasound technology provides greater diagnostic confidence within close proximity of athletes. The portable equipment from GE Healthcare is not much larger than a laptop, and delivers comparable results in terms of display quality to the high-end equipment used in hospitals.
Elastography - ready to go
The idea of measuring tissue stiffness using ultrasound is nothing new. But lately the field sets a rapid pace. “Real-time, hand-held elastography is now a commercial reality,” asserts Jonathan Ophir from the University of Texas Medical School.
Enjoy the games Enjoy the games — in the best of health in the best of health
To make sure that for athletes and officials the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will not come to a premature end, digital medical and dental imaging systems from Carestream Health, Inc. are available to diagnose and treat any health concerns.
HD-images of a stressed heart
Treadmill exercise testing is a common tool to detect of cardiovascular diseases. But clear images of the working heart are hard to obtain. Now researchers designed MRI equipment to provide high-resolution images of the heart at critical stages.
New display for modality imaging
Totoku now offers the new 19inch, 1,3 Megapixel grayscale display ME191L. It supports all modality devices of the most common manufacturers but fits also for special applications like cardiology. The display was developed to replace the CRT monitors, which reached the end of their lifetime.
Apple gets ads from radiologists
iTunes can more than only play music, according to a new study. The successful music-managing software from Apple allows its user to manage and organize PDF files just as easy as a record collection, making it possible for radiologists to better organize their personal files of articles and images.
Change of leadership at GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare today announced John Dineen as the companies new CEO and president. Therewith Dineen changes from the Transportation to the Medical Technologies and Services Segment of General Electric.
Still a lot to learn about breast cancer
Since decades women carefully feel their breast. Hoping that they will not find any evidence for lumps or other changes, that might signal breast cancer. However, a review of recent studies conclude that self-exams do not appear to reduce deaths. Whereas radiation therapy may lower recurrence rate of rare breast cancer.
Siemens to cut 1,550 jobs in healthcare sector
Continuing its transformation program, Siemens intends to make job cuts primarily in administration-related functions. “The speed at which business is changing has increased considerably, and we're orienting Siemens accordingly. Against the backdrop of a slowing economy, we have to become more efficient”, said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. The healthcare sector intends to cut…
Guide to treat patients with myocardial bridging
A research team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch and RWTH Aachen University in Germany has developed a new classification system devised to guide physicians treating patients with symptomatic myocardial bridging, published in the online edition of Cardiology.
First magnetic navigation catheter intervention in child
Ten-year-old Tobias smiles brightly at the photographer. And so do the two physicians next to him. They have good reason to be proud as they were the first surgeons worldwide to treat a very serious congenital heart defect in a child by guiding a catheter with the help of a magnetic navigation system into small lung vessels.
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust upgrade their cardiothoracic centre
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust is a partnership of two specialist hospitals which are known for excellent expertise, standard of care and research success. For their new magnetic navigation catheter lab they use the very latest system standards to optimise workflow and procedures.
Trends in image-guided therapy
For the third in his series of articles for European Hospital, Professor Stefan Schönberg of the Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (IKRN), University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, invited colleagues at the Faculty's Cardiology and Radiology and Nuclear Medicine departments for a round-table discussion on:
The brain in three dimensions
Stroke treatment is a question of time. The faster the cerebral infarct can be diagnosed, the less the brain will be damaged. But unfortunately it is not always easy to get the patient to a brain scanner within the required three-hour window. Real-time 3D ultrasound might bring the solution, according to researchers from the Duke University in Durham, NC.
GE Healthcare diagnostic imaging award for two German physicians
For the 15th time in a row General Electric (GE) Healthcare's Innovation Award for radiological diagnostic imaging was presented. This year's two recipients - Dr Isabelle Naßenstein of the Institute of Clinical Radiology at University Hospital Münster and PD Dr Ulrike Wedegärtner of the Diagnostics Center of University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) — share the 15,000 EUR prize money.
Predicting the odds of heart attacks via ultrasound?
According to Prof Clemens von Birgelen, cardiologist on staff at the Thorax Centre of the Medisch Spectrum Twente in Enschede, who quoted from recent studies in his inaugural as a professor at the University of Twente at the beginning of June, this might be the case.
