UK - Optical imaging company Michelson Diagnostics Ltd (MDL) has announced successful initial results from clinical testing of its novel optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology. The tests, performed on cancerous and precancerous human oesophagus and lymph node tissue, were designed to establish the potential value of MDL's optical imaging technology used during cancer surgery.
A British collaboration has secured £325,000 (?460,000) of government backing to develop an in vivo optical imaging probe for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in oncology. The long-term objective is to use optical coherence tomography (OCT), an interferometric imaging modality, to perform real-time diagnosis and to guide the removal of cancerous or precancerous tissue during the same…
Enzymes are biocatalysts that control the different metabolic processes of living organisms. These range from digestion to the copying of genetic information.
The uses of the internet in psychiatry have increased in recent years, and there is evidence that professionals, patients, families, institutions and other agents benefit from it.
The Technology initiative “Molecular Imaging” aims to strengthen the synergies of science and industry in research and development of new technologies in order to significantly improve diagnostic and treatment options, for example for cardiovascular diseases, cancer or Alzheimer's.
In Europe, more than ten million people suffer from diabetes mellitus, 90 percent of whom have diabetes type II.
Over 15 million people are affected by strokes annually, and about five million of these (source: WHO 2004) are left with lasting damage.
Carestream's molecular imaging group focuses on life sciences, developing high-performance digital imaging systems, imaging agents, film and accessories for the research and drug discovery/development markets.
The first European Multidisciplinary Meeting on Urological Cancers will take place in Barcelona, Spain, November 2nd to 4th, 2007. The meeting is co-organized by the European Association of Urology (EAU), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO).
At the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), which took place in Stockholm, September 15-19, 2007, researchers from the Imperial College London, UK, presented their study about the successful implantation of lung cells grown from embryonic stem cells into the lungs of mice. In future, this method could be used for the treatment of human lung diseases.
Professor Loennidis, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Greece, and a team of researchers examined 242 randomized trials, performed during the last fourty years and covering the efficiacy of chemotherapy treatment for advanced stages of colorectal cancer. The scientist compared the benefits and outcome of different systemic treatment regimes.
By Stefan P. Janssens, MD, PhD Russian summary and complete article in English.
By Bodo E. Strauer (Düsseldorf, Germany) Russian summary and complete article in English.
Switzerland - A clinical trial of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in patients with advanced heart failure and a narrow QRS complex
During a meeting of cardiologists in Prague earlier this year to exchange experiences with new methods and treatments to control atrial fibrillation, Dr Josef Kautzner, Head of Cardiology Department at IKEM (Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine) pointed out that numbers of patients with AF will more than double during the next 20 years.
More women than men die of cardiovascular disease (CVD) every year, yet females receive only 33% of angioplasties, stents and bypass surgeries; 28% of implantable defibrillators, and 36% of open heart surgeries.
'The world at home in German hospitals' — thousands of wealthy foreign patients coming to boost budgets, this was the hope of many hospitals. Then along came a sobering study from Sozial und Seniorenwirtschaftszentrums GmbH (SWZ), conducted within the framework of Healthcare Export Projects, which are funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research to design, establish and market…
Early functional evaluation of new treatments in oncology is of major importance. Overall survival rate is the best criterion for assessing treatment, but unfortunately it calls for lengthy follow-up whereas treatment efficacy must be ascertained as soon as possible. The morphological criteria normally used (WHO or RECIST) do not lend themselves easily to new therapies which often induce lesion…
Radiotherapy treatment planning relies on transversal CT images. They form a basis for treatment planning, dose calculation and increasingly the plan localization for external radiation therapy, called CT simulation. A dedicated CT scanner for radiotherapy plan simulation is one of the most essential pieces of equipment in a modern radiotherapy department. In contrast to external beam…
Otologics' Carina could improve the quality of life for patients suffering from hearing loss. The fully implantable hearing device uses a transducer to move the middle ear bones - much like the eardrum causes the middle ear bones to vibrate in response to sound wave. Carina implantation surgery takes about three hours and is an easy procedure with low surgical risks. (The whole article is only…
Ultrasound scanning with CCDS is an established technique in shunt diagnostics and allows non-invasive assessment of vascular flow. Stenosing changes to walls of vessels used as a dialysis shunt should be detected as early as possible to avoid occlusion by a thrombus. High occlusion rates with volume flow reduced by up to 45% in one year demand ultrasound screening. The risk of haemodynamically…
Visions: Mr. Soldner, you are considered the father of real-time ultrasonic technique. How did that happen? Richard Soldner: The answer isn't simple because the development of ultrasonic diagnostics and its modern state are the result of a multitude of developmental steps over many decades and come from the most diverse sources. For example, J. P. Joule already described the magnetorestrictive…
Visions: Mr. Soldner, you are considered the father of real-time ultrasonic technique. How did that happen? Richard Soldner: The answer isn't simple because the development of ultrasonic diagnostics and its modern state are the result of a multitude of developmental steps over many decades and come from the most diverse sources. For example, J. P. Joule already described the magnetorestrictive…
Multiple-breath washout (MBW) is a new and sensitive lung function test qualified for use on very young children. In their study Asthma UK and the Institute of Child Health at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London use MBW among other tests to investigate how asthma affects the growing airways of babies and infants.
Endovascular therapy of diseases of the brain-supplying blood vessels has recently sparked new interest. Hundreds of these minimally invasive and often operation-substituting interventions are now being performed annually at neuroradiological centers. The most impressive results in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms are achieved using coil embolization. Endovascular therapy has been lound to…
