In May 2001, the world's first CT-XR hybrid suite for image guided therapy in paediatrics was put into operation. The new Centre for Image Guided Therapy (IGT) at The Hospital for Sick Children allows surgeons and interventional radiologists to do something that's never been done before - work side-by-side when diagnosing and treating children. A total of 4 interventional suites were equipped…
Most babies are born healthy, but there is still a small risk for all women to give birth to a baby with some type of anomaly. Ultrasound has proven to be one of the most reliable procedures to prenatally diagnose some of these conditions. Ultrasound can be used during the entire pregnancy, but in the first trimester ultrasound examinations are, as a rule, used to exactly calculate the pregnancy,…
Pediatric imaging presents many unique and difficult challenges to the radiologist. Correct and rapid diagnosis is extremely important in pediatric imaging and to that end we constantly strive for tests that offer more information, accuracy and versatility. However, it is also our duty to provide tests that are safe and minimise exposure to ionizing radiation. In recent months there has been…
Since the beginning of the 90s, sonography has been a solid diagnostic pillar in ophthalmology centers, but it is also used by related medical disciplines, such as pediatrics, whose patients require ophthalmological treatment. For all age groups, the fundus of the eye, and especially the optic disk, is well-suited for high-frequency sonography with linear transducers. This type of examination…
Chromosomal abnormalities are major causes of perinatal death and childhood handicap. Consequently, the detection of chromosomal disorders constitutes the most frequent indication for invasive prenatal diagnosis. However, invasive testing, by amniocentesis, chorionicvillus sampling (CVS) or cordocentesis, is associated with a risk of miscarriage of about 1% and therefore these tests are carried…
What is an “open foramen ovale”? The open foramen ovale medical abbreviation PFO for “patent foramen ovale”) is a usually small, only a few millimeter thick, membrane-covered slit in the septum between the atria of the heart. It is a remnant from human embryonic development that usually closes during the newborn period; however, in 10-25% of newborns a small opening remains that generally…
For the last six months we have been using the Aplio system in sonography for children and adolescents. The following report describes our experiences with this system using a wide range of probe and special applications.
Pediatric cardiovascular disorders are extremely complex in nature and present with a widely variable array of abnormal anatomy. Imaging these disorders presents a unique set of challenges for the cardiovascular team. Complex anatomical variations require detailed volumetric image interpretation with high spatial and temporal resolution. In addition, the patients are invariably young. They may…
In the last 25 years, fetal echocardiography has become established as an integral component of prenatal medicine. Structural heart defects are found in approx. 0.8% of all foetuses. They are consequently comparatively frequent and head the list of isolated fetal organ malformations. Routine screening of the four-chamber view and the outflow tract allows the experienced investigator to detect…
Smiths Medical, part of the Smiths Group, has organised and is maintaining one of four main laboratories for Caudwell Xtreme Everest - the biggest human biology study ever performed at high altitude.
According to figures released in 2006 by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), around 14 million children, aged 7-11 years, are overweight - and three million of these are obese.
Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), particularly when performed immediately by those witnessing a cardiac or respiratory arrest, definitively saves lives - especially in witnessed cases of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and childhood drowning events. Nevertheless, the frequency of bystander CPR still remains mostly low. In turn, survival chances for potentially salvageable patients remain…
Canada, Italy, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today committed US$1.5 billion to launch a pilot Advance Market Commitment (AMC) to help speed the development and availability of a new vaccine which is expected to save the lives of 5.4 million children by 2030. The new initiative will target pneumococcal disease, a major cause of pneumonia and meningitis…
Apparently, 20 children are diagnosed each day in the UK with alcohol poisoning.
Emergency care doctors can now use just one stethoscope to tend either paediatric or adult patients.
The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, accused of intentional mass HIV infection, face their final court sitting on 31 October. A verdict is expected soon afterwards.
The EHFG has developed into the leading health policy platform in the EU since its beginnings in 1998, attracting close to 600 high-level participants annually.
Freezing abnormal electrical pathways in the hearts of young patients may be a safer alternative to zapping them with powerful radiofrequency probes to treat tachycardias and other arrhythmias, according to Dr Fabrizio Drago, of the Bambino Gesù Hospital, Rome. ‘If you have a child with a supraventricular tachycardia due to a re-entry circuit, or a target very close to the atrioventricular…
Interview with Prof. Klaus Vetter MD, director of the Obestetrics Clinic at the Perinatal Centre, Vivantes Hospital Neukölln, Berlin, Germany.
Healthcare authorities have advised university hospitals to slowdown surgical training, because, after years of study, qualified Dutch surgeons can find no employment.
The use of unlicensed and off-label medicines for children is widespread, yet over 50% of all pharmaceutical products have no scientific data for young people. With its Regulation on Medicinal Products for Paediatric Use the EU aims to promote the development of more medicines specifically for children.
About 25,000 German children are diabetic, and numbers are increasing rapidly. Specialists in childhood diabetes gathered at a meeting held by the Dianino Foundation during the 41st Annual Meeting of German Diabetes Society (DDG), to discuss `Diabetes-Nanni´, a programme in which female diabetes advisers receive additional psychology training to care for diabetes-affected families in their homes.…
Across Europe there are different answers to the question of who should manage intensive care. In Germany the issue is linked to a discussion on which medical field could claim surgical intensive care for itself.
The Philips Kitten Scan is a miniature CT (or CAT) scanner for children - no, not to be scanned in it, but for them to use while awaiting checkups themselves.
Russia - Leonid Roshal, 71, paediatrician and head of the Moscow Scientific Research Institute for Emergency Children's Surgery and Traumatology, has received the Reader's Digest European of the Year Award 2005 for his tireless and dedicated work helping children who have been injured in disasters and conflicts around the world.