The Medtronic CoreValve Evolut R System received its CE Mark of approval this August to treat aortic stenosis in patients with an intermediate risk for undergoing conventional surgery for a valve replacement. This is a controversial indication for transcatheter aortic valve implantations (TAVI) – one that has been eagerly sought by some clinicians but resisted by others. Younger patients will…
Big Data has the potential to turn the approach to science and research on its head, according to leading expert Professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. In the future, he believes, researchers could adopt a position where they ‘start with the data and then come up with the question.’
To sharply focus on the specialised requirements in echocardiography, Toshiba engineers built from scratch the Aplio i900CV with a total redesign of hardware and software. The new Aplio i-series is a premium addition to the award-winning Aplio 500 platform, which today is used in more than 31,000 clinical settings worldwide.
A small report in the press prompted examination of a much neglected topic. The report read ‘Heart Centre at University Hospital no longer carries out transplants’, and referred to the University Hospital Frankfurt, one of the 22 Heart Centres that perform these transplantations.
Coronary interventions often rely more on art than science as the decision to treat a patient tends to be based on what clinicians can see, a subjective interpretation of cardiac imaging. Two new techniques have emerged for cardiovascular diagnostics that are enabling software to help surgeons and cardiologists measure, and thereby better manage cardiac disease.
Greater sensitivity and versatility of devices, as well as more patient-friendly implantation options, were issues outlined at the CardioStim 2016 EHRA Europace world congress on cardiac electrophysiology, held in Nice, France.
UK researchers are working on a more precise imaging technique for dilated cardiomyopathy that may lead to more effective treatments. A study from the University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research (OCMR), part of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the university, has demonstrated how the next generation of MRI scanners can work to measure heart conditions in dilated…
One of the first facilities to purchase a complete set of the 3-D TEE transducer, including the equipment, was the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at University Hospital Magdeburg, as Thomas Groscheck, specialist physician for internal medicine at the echocardiography lab explains. Since July 2015 he has worked with the new Siemens transducer – and is enthusiastic.
Stroke patients will first undergo a CT scan as they enter the hospital. Before any further imaging scan is carried out, the medical team must decide whether they need to intervene intra or extra cranially. ‘Imaging enables you to see which pathology you are dealing with and helps you select patients for either recanalisation or revascularisation or, in some cases, occlusion by embolisation,’…
Research by a team at John Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, USA highlights the patients who are most likely to face lethal arrhythmias. They have developed a personalised 3-D virtual heart that can help predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Two new studies have focused on the impact of weekend care and discharge on heart patients within the NHS in England. In one, patients suffering atrial fibrillation (AF) who were admitted to a National Health Service (NHS) hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying within five years than patients admitted during normal hours.
In the fast-evolving field of left atrial appendage closure a new study has delivered data that could benefit thousands of patients at risk of stroke. Led by Professor Martin Bergmann, head of Interventional Cardiology at Cardiologicum Hamburg in Germany, the EWOLUTION study was conducted to evaluate the Watchman Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) closure device from manufacturer Boston Scientific.
SCHILLER is looking forward to ESC Congress 2016. Come and visit us at booth E4-O200 and explore our latest innovations!
When Michael Ziller, Head of IT at the Bethanien Hospital in Moers, Germany, was looking for a provider of cardiac IT applications that not only offered standard applications for ECGs as well as long-term ECGs and long-term blood pressure measurements, he realised there was not much on the market. ‘We had an additional challenge for this project in that we wanted all data to run via just one…
3-D print technology is expanding to cardiology surgery and interventional procedures. Research is scarce in Europe but a group of Spain-based cardiologists are currently developing 3-D print models to assess their value in the heart.
It’s well known that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the UK and worldwide. In the UK it is responsible for more than 73,000 deaths annually, affecting 1 in 6 men and 1 in 10 women. With the emergence of such startling statistics, this begs the question, why do routine cholesterol tests still rely on the basic biomarkers high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density…
UK researchers have identified a new approach, which could make it easier to identify fatty plaques that could cause heart attacks or a stroke.
A gene called ‘Wars2’ has been pinpointed as a potential new target in treating heart disease. These latest findings are the first to show that Wars2 has a star role in driving the growth of blood vessels in the heart.
Coronary or peripheral bypasses are the most frequently performed vascular operations. Although one million patients per year and around the world, undergo this intervention, its failure rate reaches 50%, because of poor vessel healing, leading to vessel graft occlusion. To improve the outcome of bypasses, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) work together with medical doctors from…
Jersey Shore University Medical Center, part of Meridian CardioVascular Network, is the first hospital in New Jersey to implant the Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) – the world’s smallest pacemaker – since the device gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in April 2016.
BIOTRONIK has won the Cardiostim Innovation Award in the category “Best Practice Improvement” for its MRI AutoDetect feature. The company’s Ilivia implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization device (CRT-Ds) are the world’s first equipped with a sensor capable of automatically recognizing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment.
Medical professionals have long known that the buildup of plaque in arteries can cause them to narrow and harden, potentially leading to a whole host of health problems — including heart attack, heart disease and stroke. While high blood pressure and artery stiffness are often associated with plaque buildup, new research from engineers at Washington University in St. Louis shows they are not…
Topics of big data, the genetic basis of coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death in the young are among key subjects for British cardiologists at their 2016 annual conference. With a central theme of “Prediction and Prevention”, the 2016 British Cardiovascular Society annual conference takes place in Manchester from June 6-8 and features innovative and interactive presentations,…
A weak heart is unable to pump an adequate amount of blood around the body. In Germany, this condition is now the commonest reason for patients to be admitted to hospital. A research group from the Clinic for Internal Medicine III in the Faculty of Medicine at Kiel’s Christian Albrecht University (CAU) and Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital (Kiel Campus) has discovered a previously unknown…