News • Widespread effects
Tougher childbirth in pandemic Europe
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to deficiencies and large inequalities in the care of mothers and newborns in Europe.
Women's health
Article • Heard at JFR 2021
Women in interventional radiology take center stage
Gender-specific benefits of women should have a greater impact in interventional radiology (IR). But also, the field should see more women practicing the craft, two experts stressed at the most recent annual JFR meeting.
Sponsored • Breast imaging congress
EUSOBI 2021: A turning point in women’s health
The breast imaging field plays a critical role in women’s health and wellbeing around the globe. Bringing together experts, leaders and innovators from across the breast imaging landscape, the 2021 European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) Congress comes at a crucial time and represents a pivotal opportunity for the industry as a whole. Taking place online from 4-28 October, 2021, the virtual…
News • Coronary microcirculation
New measurements improve diagnosis of ‘woman’s heart’
Researchers at the Catharina Heart and Vascular Center, together with Eindhoven University of Technology, have developed a new measurement method to analyze the smallest capillaries of the heart by measuring blood flow and resistance. The new method to assess coronary microcirculation allows cardiologists to make a clearer diagnosis. Until recently, the tests used for this purpose were not…
Article • Pregnancy imaging
Machine learning predicts placenta health from MRI scans
Machine learning methods are being used to predict the health of the placenta from a 30-second MRI scan. Researchers hope the approach will offer an insight into the health of expectant mothers and unborn babies by detecting the early signs of dangerous conditions such as pre-eclampsia. Researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King’s College London (KCL)…
News • Research
Covid-19 infection increases risk for preeclampsia
A study found that women who contract Covid-19 during pregnancy are at significantly higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia. In their study, researchers said their systematic review shows that women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy had 62% higher odds of developing preeclampsia than those without the infection during pregnancy.
News • Roadmap for Improvement
Inaugural Global Women’s Health Index
Hologic, Inc. shared the findings from its inaugural Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, the world’s most comprehensive, globally comparative survey about women’s health.
News • Cardiology research
Strong connection between heart health and pregnancy complications
A study of more than 18 million pregnancies has shown a strong and graded relationship between women’s heart health and pregnancy outcomes. The research is published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The researchers examined the presence of four risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women prior to pregnancy: unhealthy…
Article • Preprogrammed bias?
AI and the gender gap: Data holds a legacy of discrimination
Technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI) are considered the epitome of progress. However, the data AI algorithms use to draw their conclusions is outdated. It ignores the existence of biological sex and socio-cultural gender and their effects on individual health and disease states. German experts discussed the gender problem in healthcare AI at virtual.MEDICA 2020.
Article • Workflow optimisation
The potential of AI in breast imaging efficiency
The contribution of Artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential in breast imaging efficiency, Professor Linda Moy MD told attendees at the 2021 Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology (SBI/ACR) Breast Imaging Symposium this April. AI models for breast imaging have focused mainly on the diagnostic classification and detection of breast cancer.
News • In different medical fields
Women and men are each underrepresented in clinical trials
A study showed that women are underrepresented in oncology, neurology, immunology, cardiology, hematology; whereas men underrepresented in trials related to mental health, musculoskeletal disease and trauma, and preventive care.
Article • Gender bias
Sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular diseases
Women are missing out on appropriate cardiac care because guidelines and medications often fail to take into account gender and conditions that specifically affect the female population. Women are also underrepresented in clinical trials for new cardiac therapies.
News • Infertility
Beckman Coulter launches Access AMH Advanced
Beckman Coulter announced the launch of an AMH test that uses a validated cut-off to aid in the assessment of poor ovarian response. This new assay helps clinicians predict poor ovarian response in those who plan to undergo controlled ovarian stimulation as part of an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) protocol.
News • Inconceivable?
Many fertility apps not exactly fussy about data privacy, study shows
The majority of top-rated fertility apps collect and even share intimate information without the users’ knowledge or permission, a collaborative study by Newcastle and Umea Universities has found. Researchers are now calling for a tightening of the categorisation of these apps by platforms to protect women from intimate and deeply personal information being exploited and sold.
News • Sex differences in medication
A drug that could help men help cope with fear (but might make things worse for women)
A research team from the Institut de Neurociències at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) has showed that inhibition through a drug of the Tac2 neuronal circuit, involved in the formation of the memory of fear, has opposite effects on the ability to remember aversive events in mice according to sex: it is reduced in male mice and increased in female mice.
News • Improved comfort
New mammography system improves diagnostic confidence
Fujifilm Europe GmbH is launching the new “Harmony” version of its Amulet Innovality mammography system. The “Harmony” version brings together improved diagnostic performance with new design themes to embellish and illuminate your mammography suite, creating an environment to put your patients at ease.
News • The stronger sex after all
Why women may be better equipped to fight Covid-19
When it comes to Covid-19, women seem to be the stronger sex, suffering severe disease at about half the rate as men, but the reason for this has been elusive. Now a chance experiment by an ophthalmology researcher at Duke Health has led to an insight: Women have more of a certain type of immune cell that fights infections in mucosal tissue, and these immune cells amass in the lungs, poised to…
Article • Digital pathology
AI delivers cervical cancer screening to rural areas of Kenya
Experts from Sweden, Finland and Kenya are using digital microscopy combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver a rapid and effective cervical screening service to rural locations in Kenya. The project sees AI and digital diagnostics bridge the gap between low-resource settings and the availability of centralised AI-enhanced expertise and pathology services, located in larger cities in…
News • HPV testing advances
Cervical cancer screening: Emerging tech to replace Pap smears
Emerging technologies can screen for cervical cancer better than Pap smears and, if widely used, could save lives both in developing nations and parts of countries, like the United States, where access to health care may be limited. In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital write advances in nanotechnology and computer learning are among the…
News • Neurodegeneration research
Alzheimer's: Faster accumulation of tau protein in women's brains
Alzheimer’s disease seems to progress faster in women than in men. The protein tau accumulates at a higher rate in women, according to research from Lund University in Sweden. The study was recently published in Brain. Over 30 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease worldwide, making it the most common form of dementia. Tau and beta-amyloid are two proteins known to aggregate and…
News • Gender bias in cardiovascular health
Heart attack: chest pain misdiagnosed more often in women
Chest pain is misdiagnosed in women more frequently than in men, according to research presented at ESC Acute CardioVascular Care 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The study also found that women with chest pain were more likely than men to wait over 12 hours before seeking medical help. “Our findings suggest a gender gap in the first evaluation of…
News • Women's health
Hypertension symptoms in women often mistaken for menopause
Pregnancy complications and early menopause increase women’s future risk of heart disease. Cardiologists, gynaecologists and endocrinologists recommend how to help middle-aged women prevent later heart problems in a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) consensus document published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the ESC.
Article • Underrated technique
Pitfalls in pelvic CT imaging
Computed tomography (CT) plays an increasingly important role in assessing pelvic disease, particularly when patients present with acute abdominal pain. In addition, radiomic approaches on CT are being developed to increase the characterisation of ovarian cancer for optimising treatment planning.
News • Higher intake, lower risk
Could magnesium save women from fatal heart disease?
A new prospective study based on data from the Women's Health Initiative found a potential inverse association between dietary magnesium and fatal coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The study, which also showed a trend between magnesium and sudden cardiac death in this population, is published in Journal of Women's Health. Charles Eaton, MD, Alpert Medical School of Brown University,…
News • Polycystic ovary syndrome
Better treatment for women with PCOS
A major £2.4 million research project is underway at the University of Birmingham aimed at improving treatment for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS affects at least ten percent of all women and causes irregular periods and difficulties trying to conceive.