An innovative collaboration has been formed in the UK between academic researchers and industry to develop a rapid integrated liquid biopsy platform for early detection of recurrent breast cancer. Breast cancer specialists Professor Charles Coombes, who is Professor of Medical Oncology at Imperial College London (ICL), and Professor Jacqui Shaw, Head of the Department of Genetics and Genome…
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) demonstrate a thorough and non-invasive imaging technique to identify areas of the eye affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR), a progressive eye disease associated with diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. The researchers have found that blue light can be used to probe the depths of the eye and uncover areas affected by DR.
Together with Imperial College London (‘Imperial’), molecular diagnostics company DNAe has been awarded a UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) by Innovate UK to support development of its next generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic platform for use in cancer monitoring. The KTP program connects innovative businesses with academic experts who can help them deliver their ideas. This…
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation that is triggered by an immunological malfunction. In this case, the immune system falsely recognises the patient's own liver cells as "foreign to the body". The symptoms of this rare liver disease are unspecific, and the exact cause is not yet known. If left untreated, AIH can lead to abnormal scarring (fibrosis) of the liver,…
Researchers at the DZNE and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia. Their findings, which are presented in the scientific journal “EMBO Molecular Medicine”, are based on human studies and laboratory experiments. Various university hospitals across Germany were also involved in the investigations.
A miniscule area in the brain, known as the locus coeruleus (LC), or blue spot, can help to identify an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease at a very early stage. The LC is hidden deep in the brainstem and can only be detected with advanced MRI equipment. Heidi Jacobs (Maastricht University/Harvard Medical School) used MRI scans to show that the tau protein can begin to spread in the LC three…
New research indicates that MRIs are cost effective for detecting breast cancer for women with very dense breasts detected by mammography. About 10% of women have extremely dense breasts, and current mammography screening guidelines do not recommend additional imaging tests unless there is a strong family history or genetic risk for breast cancer. Such women face two problems. They have increased…
If the suspicion of Alzheimer's disease creeps up, those affected must prepare themselves for lengthy and complex procedures until the case is clear. A team from Empa and the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen is now in the process of developing a blood test that will enable a reliable diagnosis using atomic force microscopy (AFM).
Although artificial intelligence (AI) tools and smartphone apps that help identify suspicious moles and potential skin cancers are starting to proliferate, dermatology informatics has far to go before becoming a clinically adoptable technology. Many challenges need to be resolved, not least of which is the need for more image data representing people of colour.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change medicine and healthcare: Diagnostic patient data, e.g. from ECG, EEG or X-ray images, can be analyzed with the help of machine learning, so that diseases can be detected at a very early stage based on subtle changes. However, implanting AI within the human body is still a major technical challenge. TU Dresden scientists at the Chair of…
The risk of colorectal cancer can be predicted more accurately by determining seven blood-based micro-RNAs (miRNAs) than by using traditional methods - and can be done so many years before a diagnosis is made. In a current study, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg show that miRNA profiles provide greater predictive…
A study by an international research group identified 15 novel biomarkers that are linked to late-onset dementias. These biomarkers are proteins, which predict cognitive decline and subsequent increased risk of dementia already 20 years before the disease onset. The proteins are related to immune system dysfunction, blood-brain-barrier dysfunction, vascular pathologies, and central insulin…
A researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has developed a mathematical model for use in automated image analysis of tissue samples. The model provides the possibility for better and more similar cancer prognosis and treatment.
Cancer care and the treatment clinicians can offer patients is being increasingly enhanced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology has a role in diagnosis, with algorithms trained to design and deliver patient care, can match patients to clinical trials they may benefit from, and even help predict outcomes and those at greatest risk.
Life science research and clinical diagnostics company Bio-Rad Laboratories announced the launch of its PREvalence ddPCR SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Quantification Kit, a tool to detect the virus that causes Covid-19 in a community’s wastewater. "With wastewater testing becoming more widely adopted, this assay provides the ability for a community to determine if the virus is present days to…
The tell-tale signs of a person’s susceptibility to a stroke may appear up to 10 years before the event, suggests research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Stroke patients experienced much steeper declines in cognitive abilities and routine daily functioning, starting around a decade before their first stroke, than people who didn’t have a stroke,…
Experts at University College London (UCL) and spinout company Odin Vision working with clinicians at UCLH have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer. The first procedure in the world using the AI technology was performed at University College Hospital by UCLH consultant gastroenterologist Dr Rehan Haidry. The system, called CADU, uses AI to support…
Final results from a study of a blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer have shown that it is accurate enough to be rolled out as a multi-cancer screening test among people at higher risk of the disease, including patients aged 50 years or older, without symptoms. In a paper published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers report that the test accurately detected…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing of the GI Genius, the first device that uses artificial intelligence (AI) based on machine learning to assist clinicians in detecting lesions (such as polyps or suspected tumors) in the colon in real time during a colonoscopy. “Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform health care to better assist health care providers and…
A Japanese research group combined motion analysis that uses smartphone application and machine learning that uses an anomaly detection method, thereby developing a technique to easily screen for carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is common amongst middle-aged women. The disease causes compressed nerves in the wrist, causing numbness and difficulty with finger movements. While an…
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…
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) can detect prostate cancer and inform about treatment response and disease progression earlier and better than other imaging modalities. A Belgian expert will delve into the latest and future developments of the technique for prostate cancer and distant metastases imaging in a dedicated session at ECR. WB‐MRI and nuclear medicine -…
Wearable devices can identify Covid-19 cases earlier than traditional diagnostic methods and can help track and improve management of the disease, Mount Sinai researchers report in one of the first studies on the topic. The findings were published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. The Warrior Watch Study found that subtle changes in a participant’s heart rate variability (HRV)…
In-vitro diagnostics company Universal Diagnostics (UDX) announced promising new data for its investigational blood-based lung cancer test. The data, presented at the IASLC 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (#WCLC20), held virtually 28th-31st January 2021, used methylation status measurement of the tumour-derived portion from…
A panel of experts from the USA and China highlighted AI use in radiological workflow during the Covid pandemic and identified current pitfalls during the Hot Topic session at RSNA 2020. Radiologists from the USA prioritised Covid articles, delivered quick reviews, made all results open access, and helped organise a white paper from the Fleischner Society recognising recommendations for the role…