The 31st ISICEM
Jean-Louis Vincent, Chairman of the Dept of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, welcomes visitors to this year’s International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.
Emergency medicine
IT-assisted triage
The project consortium Alarm has developed new software to enable a computer-assisted triage-system for mass accidents and catastrophes. Torsten Schröder, emergency physician at the Charité Clinic for Anaesthesiology, with the focus on operative Intensive Care Medicine in Berlin, gave a mid-term review of the project and explained the advantages of the IT-supported triage-system for…
World Stroke Day
With the “World Stroke Day” the World Stroke Organization (WSO) aims to communicate a unified message to the world: stroke is a preventable and treatable catastrophe, and together we can fight this growing epidemic. This year’s theme is “Stroke‐What can I do?” The answer is ‐ a lot. The WSO prompts individuals, groups and governments to take action against stroke either at a…
Fighting acute coronary syndrome
Today in most countries of the world almost 50 % of patients in hospital for a cardiac condition began their treatment as emergency cases: chest pain at home . . . a cardiac arrest in the street. Thus, according to Dr Peter Clemmensen, of the 22 million hospital admissions in Europe each year for acute cardiac events, more than 10 million of them would have begun as an emergency and without…
Colder days raise the risk of more heart attacks
In the light of global climate change, the relations between weather and health are of increasing interest. A drop in the average temperature outside is linked to a higher risk of people having heart attacks, according to a new study published on bmj.com today. UK researchers found that each 1°C reduction in temperature on a single day is associated with around 200 extra heart attacks.
Warning: Staff may fail to spot suicide risk
Previous research has indicated that the emergency department might be well-placed to pick up patients vulnerable to suicide. However, according to a small, new study carried out by researchers at Manchester University, although people who frequently present themselves at hospital emergency departments may be at high risk of suicide, emergency care staff may fail to spot their vulnerability.
Schiller AG - Pace maker of trends in emergency medicine
In Switzerland, they say, the clocks tick a little slower than elsewhere in the world. Not at Schiller AG in Baar, however: The company remains forever ahead of the times. Since 1971, physicist Alfred E Schiller, the company’s founder and managing director, has successfully shown competitors in the tough intensive and emergency care market what innovative progress really means.
News • Launch
Three improved cardiac marker test kits
Alere International* has launched three new next generation products: Troponin I -- a single-analyte, improved sensitivity Troponin I (TnI) test; Cardio2 -- a two analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I and BNP, and Cardio3 -- a three analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I, BNP and CK-MB.
Health informatics in practice
The Health Informatics Congress held in the UK this April, revealed how IT is helping health Trusts across the UK to take innovative steps in the way they respond to patients’ needs. The Clinical Showcase session examined how Trusts are coping with new patient administration and reporting systems and, in particular, how Cerner Millennium and Lorenzo systems are being implemented.
Success for tele-stroke service
A telemedicine project is being used in rural areas of eastern England to enable stroke patients to receive clot-busting drugs within a critical three-hour time window. Adapting video-conferencing facilities, a telestroke service has enabled patients to receive a diagnosis from a stroke specialist, who can authorise thrombolytic drugs to be administered to those deemed eligible.
iPhones and healthcare
January saw the release of a German language version of Radiation Passport, an iPhone application that enables patients to calculate estimated radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging procedures and keep a personal record of their examinations. Radiation Passport costs US$3.99; by the end of 2009 over 1,000 English language versions were sold.
New ABL90 FLEX analyzer puts time on the caregiver’s side
35 seconds. That's how fast caregivers can get blood gas results on the ABL90 FLEX, Radiometer's next-generation, cassette-based analyzer. The unmatched short time to results enables caregivers to spend less time on testing and more on patient care. The ABL90 FLEX measures 17 parameters, including blood gas, electrolytes, metabolites and CO-oximetry from just 65μL of whole blood.
Carestream Health now taking orders for DRX-Mobile retrofit kit
Carestream Health announced it is taking orders for its CARESTREAM DRX-Mobile Retrofit Kit that will allow healthcare providers to upgrade selected mobile x-ray systems to wireless DRX-1 technology. This wireless DR system can help increase on-site productivity and deliver immediate access to images for improved patient care, especially for critically ill patients in emergency rooms, operating…
Emergency radiology
‘We are very proud that our country and our society has been selected to be presented during the special ESR meets Poland session,’ said Professor Marek J Sasiadek, Vice-President of the Polish Medical Radiological Society. ‘The history of Polish radiology began in 1896, just a few months after Wilhelm Roentgen’s discovery, when the first X-ray image was performed in Krakow.
Plane with full hospital landing in Port-au-Prince
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges that its cargo planes carrying essential medical and surgical material be allowed to land in Port-au-Prince in order to treat thousands of wounded waiting for vital surgical operations. Priority must be given immediately to planes carrying lifesaving equipment and medical personnel.
Santa Claus: He’s bad for your health!
Whilst millions of people celebrate Christmas in quiet ways, many millions see this as a time for parties and excessive indulgences in eating, drinking alcohol and spending. Stomachs, livers, minds and purses can be stretched to their limits -- and beyond. Results can range from stress and partnership breakdowns as well as serious health problems. Alcoholic poisoning cases increase in the young.…
CardiAid CT0207 AED
Manufactured by Amsterdam-based company CardiaTech Holland BV, which specialises in defibrillators and AED trainer units, the CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) has been designed to provide electroshock treatment for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
Seamless patient monitoring throughout the hospital
Draeger Medical showcases its new component for the Infinity Acute Care System, the M540, at this years Medica. The system makes it possible to seamlessly monitor and record vital signs data while moving through the hospital. It is fully integrated with Infinity C700 or C500 Medical Cockpit, which display vital signs data together with networked clinical information.
The portable Mysono U5 ultrasound
Sonoace, the German distributor of the Korean firm Medison Co. Ltd has launched its first hand carried ultrasound machine MySono U5 at Medica. ‘Complete with various image optimisation processing technologies in a lightweight and compact form , Mysono U5 is designed to guarantee immediate diagnostics in a wide range of applications, such as emergency medicine, vascular, musculoskeletal and…
Large capacity intensive care ambulances
In March 2008 over 200 cars were involved in a mass traffic accident caused by fog between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Six passengers were killed; hundreds were injured. Similar road traffic accidents, airplane crashes on the most frequented hub in the region and fires in factories and skyscrapers are among the mass casualty events that the Dubai Centre of Ambulance Services face on a daily basis.
The GE Venue 40 series
GE Healthcare is presenting its new Venue ultrasound product line at Medica. The Venue 40, the first product launched, provides visualisation for needle guidance procedures and rapid diagnostics in real-time at the bedside. These point-of-care (POC) settings are the fastest growing in ultrasound internationally (USA growth: 30% average in the last four years. Source: industry report by Klein…
MRI Alert!
The scanner shortage in France is a scandal, says chairman of the French Society of Radiology. New MRIs must be installed in 250 emergency departments
Conoxia - medizinischer Sauerstoff von PanGas
Auf der diesjährigen gemeinsamen Jahrestagung der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Intensivmedizin (SGI), der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (SGN), der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Neuroradiologie (SGNR), der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Nephrologie (SGN) und der Schweizerischen Interessengesellschaft für Intensivpflege (IGIP) stellte der Healthcare-Bereich von…
"Any cath lab that is not open 24/7 should be closed"
Surviving a heart attack depends upon where you live in Europe. For cardiologists that is unacceptable. A majority of European countries can deliver life-saving primary percutaneous coronary interventions (P-PCI), yet too often these centres are closed over weekends or after working hours - when 50% of all myocardial infarctions occur.
Accidents? We can all make mistakes!
Paramedics and other first-aid workers are often confronted with severe bleeding that can be arrested relatively easily. However, inappropriate approaches are frequent, and sometimes even increase bleeding, or cause other damage to the victim. Medical journalist Karl Eberius MD, asked Dr Edgar Biemer MD, of the Praxisklinik Dr Caspari hospital, in Munich, Germany, and the former head of the…