News • Genetic
App analyses Covid-19 genome on a smartphone
A new mobile app has made it possible to analyse the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on a smartphone in less than half an hour.
Coronavirus
News • Comfy, but risky
Why many ventilation systems may increase risk of COVID-19 exposure
Ventilation systems in many modern office buildings, which are designed to keep temperatures comfortable and increase energy efficiency, may increase the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, particularly during the coming winter, according to new research.
News • Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Insight on the use of CMR in COVID-19 patients
The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), a Society dedicated to improving cardiovascular health by advancing the field of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), has released a formal statement supporting and explaining their position on the use of CMR in COVID-19 patients. The topic has led to debate among medical professionals, especially those in the cardiology specialty.
News • Insufficient protective properties
Covid-19: Experts warn of KN95 masks quality issues
An analysis by ECRI, the U.S.’s largest patient safety organization, shows that up to 70 percent of KN95 masks it tested do not meet its standards for effectiveness, raising risks of contracting Covid-19 for care providers and patients at hospitals and other healthcare organizations that imported masks from China.
News • Reduced complications, death
COVID-19: The benefits of vitamin D
Adequate levels of vitamin D reduces complications and deaths among COVID-19 patients, reveals new research performed at the Boston University School of Medicine. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were vitamin D sufficient, with a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of at least 30 ng/mL (a measure of vitamin D status), had a significant decreased risk for adverse clinical outcomes including…
News • Testing strategy re-evaluated
COVID-19 testing at random? Here's a better idea
As COVID-19 infections begin to rise again, a novel testing strategy proposed by researchers at the University of Oxford at the start of the pandemic has become urgent once again. The strategy aims to bring the virus’s reproduction number (‘R’) down to below 1, by concentrating testing resources on particular groups in the population that are most likely to spread the infection to others,…
News • Basis for a passive vaccination
Researchers identify highly effective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified highly effective antibodies against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and are now pursuing the development of a passive vaccination. In this process, they have also discovered that some SARS-CoV-2 antibodies bind to tissue samples from various organs, which could potentially…
Article • Covid-19 disinfection
New insights into SARS-CoV-2 surface stability and temperature susceptibility
Surface disinfection has proved an effective method to control Covid-19 infection, as virologists from the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) have shown. However, an effective disinfection strategy against Coronavirus must consider various factors, says Professor Eike Steinmann, head of the Department of Molecular and Medical Virology at the RUB.
Article • Nitrogen dioxide levels
Air pollution linked to higher COVID-19 mortality
Scientists have unearthed a possible link between the severity of COVID-19 and air quality. The preliminary study – looking at whether areas with higher levels of air pollutants in England are associated with a larger number of cases/deaths from COVID-19 – was conducted by a team from the University of Cambridge. Aware of the effects that air pollutants have on human health – and that…
News • Silent alarm
‘Silent’ COVID-19 patients may still act as a spreader, warn experts
People with ‘silent’ COVID-19 infection have as much coronavirus in their noses and throats as those with symptoms, reveals research published online in the journal Thorax. Given how many of these people there are---a fifth of those infected, the study findings show--they may have a key role in driving the spread of COVID-19, warn the researchers, who go on to suggest that this warrants…
Article • POCT as initial coronavirus screening tool
Ultrasound confirms frontline value in COVID-19 setting
Ultrasound could become the prime modality in emergency settings for tracking disease progression in COVID-19 patients. While chest CT has held a key diagnostic role thus far, many experts now advocate the benefits of ultrasound within the context of the coronavirus epidemic. Dr Rachel Liu, who recently led a high-profile panel discussion with experts from the USA and areas of Europe with high…
Article • Modality comparison
COVID-19 imaging: lung ultrasound vs chest CT
A recent preprint study in France underpins the debate on whether lung ultrasound (LUS) should be used to triage COVID-19 patients better at the hospital as well as in primary care. The eChoVid study, published as a preliminary report of work on medTrix, shows that LUS enables identification of lung lesions as well as chest CT in COVID-19 patients. A team of French researchers compared routinely…
News • Prevalence prediction
COVID-19 will probably become seasonal, but...
Researchers predict that COVID-19 will likely become seasonal, waning in the summer and prevalent in the winter. But, only once herd immunity is achieved through natural infection or vaccinations. Until then, COVID-19 will be here year-round.
News • Due to COVID-19
Medica 2020 goes all virtual
Medica 2020 and Compamed 2020, the information and communication platforms for the medical technology industry and supplier industry for the medical technology industry, will take place entirely online from 16 to 19 November. Within the framework of 'virtual.Medica' and 'virtual.Compamed', decision-makers from all sectors of the healthcare industry can then expect a comprehensive range of…
News • Taking control
How the coronavirus hijacks cells
Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Bern have discovered a mechanism by which the coronavirus manipulates human cells to ensure its own replication. This knowledge will help to develop drugs and vaccines against the coronavirus.
Article • Non-pulmonary aspects
The cardiovascular impact of Covid-19
The increased Covid-19 risk to cardiac patients was discussed during an online presentation at ECR 2020. Focusing on the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in Covid-19 patients, Dr Karl-Friedrich Kreitner, Professor of Radiology at the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the Johannes-Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, discussed hypotheses which can explain cardiac…
News • Protection
New face shield for frontline workers
Carestream Health has entered the personal protection equipment (PPE) market with the launch of the CARESTREAM Shield, solving problems of discomfort and difficulty of use commonly associated with personal face shields.
News • Personal protective equipment helps
Risk of Covid-19 infection among hospital staff lower than expected
Contrary to expectations, the risk of COVID-19 infection among hospital staff at the height of the coronavirus pandemic was lowest among intensive care clinicians, reveals a study of one major UK medical centre, published in the journal Thorax.
News • Coronavirus
Discovery of four COVID-19 risk groups helps guide treatment
An easy-to-use score for predicting risk of death in adult patients admitted to hospital with covid-19 outperforms existing scores and can be used to support treatment decisions, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
News • Rhinovirus
Common cold combats influenza
Rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of common colds, can prevent the flu virus from infecting airways by jumpstarting the body's antiviral defenses.
News • Lung and heart
COVID-19 patients suffer long-term damage
COVID-19 patients can suffer long-term lung and heart damage but, for many, this tends to improve over time, according to the first, prospective follow-up of patients infected with the coronavirus, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. [1]
Article • Cutting-edge
Taiwan companies present latest equipment advances
The healthcare system of Taiwan, renowned for its ability to tackle challenges, has held up very well during the COVID-19 pandemic. To underline the nation’s role as a healthcare innovator, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) presented several of the most promising companies and their products in an exclusive webinar. The event showcased cutting-edge technologies as well as…
News • Coronavirus
“Hotspots” of a corona infection in the human body
An infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can affect multiple organs. With this in mind, researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Cornell University in the US have investigated cellular factors that could be significant for an infection. To this end, they analysed the activity of 28 specific genes in a wide range of human tissues.
News • Patient transport
Greek ambulance service EKAB acquires EpiShuttles
Generous donations made by companies and individuals funded seven state-of-the-art isolation pods for COVID-19 patient transport in Greece. The Greek ambulance service, EKAB, acquired seven top modern isolation pods, known as EpiShuttle, from the generous donations made to them.
News • Prototype
Portable point-of-care for Covid-19 tests
As COVID-19 continues to spread, bottlenecks in supplies and laboratory personnel have led to long waiting times for results in some areas. In a new study, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign researchers have demonstrated a prototype of a rapid COVID-19 molecular test and a simple-to-use, portable instrument for reading the results with a smartphone in 30 minutes, which could enable…
