An Italian law requiring citizens to hold a certificate to use a defibrillator must change to improve survival from cardiac arrest, researchers argued today at Acute Cardiovascular Care 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress. “Automated external defibrillator (AED) use before the arrival of the emergency medical services (EMS) plays a key role in improving victim survival from…
The international MedTech Summit and MT-CONNECT, an international medical technology exhibition (Nuremberg, 11-12 April 2018) is a key event in Europe. For many years, developments in digitisation and personalised health have been among core elements of the congress, the organiser points out. Around 1,900 visitors travelled to Nuremberg for the previous MedTech Summit Congress and MT-CONNECT,…
In the German healthcare system, innovations are difficult – Xpomet boss Ulrich Pieper is certain of this. Not because the system is different, but because the point of view is wrong. ‘The system assesses innovations according to how much money they save, and not according to whether they achieve healing,’ the industrial engineer explains. Precisely for this reason, he adds, the three-day…
Cell-based biosensors can simulate the effect of various substances, such as drugs, on the human body in the laboratory. Depending on the measuring principle, though, producing them can be expensive. As a result, they are often not used. Cost factors for sensors that perform measurements electrically are the expensive electrode material and complex production. Fraunhofer scientists are now…
The integrated wiring of a medical device imposes great requirements on the cable system’s producer as well as the device manufacturer. This calls for a partnership collaboration particularly in development to ensure the system solution exerts a positive effect on mobility, user friendliness and robustness – long-term and reliably.
Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) have shown how the Microsoft HoloLens headset can be used during reconstructive lower limb surgery. Surgeons at London’s St Mary’s Hospital are using the device, a self-contained computer headset that immerses the wearer in ‘mixed reality’, enabling them to interact with holograms visible through the visor.
The Clinica Creu Blanca Diagnostic Group in Barcelona, Spain, is the first clinic in Europe to use Canon Medical System’s new Celesteion PET-CT Scanner. Dr. Xavier Alomar, Head of the Diagnostic Imaging Department at the Clinic, explains how the new system has opened up a large field of diagnostic possibilities for the Group in Metabolic Medicine in Oncology, Neurology, Cardiology and…
For centuries, hands, eyes and ears were the physicians’ most important instruments when it came to detecting and diagnosing disease. Today, one of the traditional techniques, percussion, is being revived, supported by state-of-the-art technology and dressed in a new name: optoacoustics. In one of the most exciting visionary ideas in modern healthcare short laser pulses (optics) are transmitted…
A patient walks slowly into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He sits on a hospital bed, hears unfamiliar beeps and other sounds. Doctors and nurses arrive to talk about all the surrounding machines and how things work in an ICU. Everything is calm and without stress for the patient as he listens to them. Then the virtual reality (VR) glasses he is wearing are removed, and he returns to reality. The…
A new method of drug manufacture which uses 3D printers to create pharmaceuticals on demand could lead to a ‘Spotify for chemistry’, scientists claim. In a new paper published in the journal Science, researchers from the University of Glasgow present for the first time a new approach to the manufacture of pharmaceuticals which can be made using a digital code. This code is used by a 3D…
Engineers at the University of Connecticut (UConn) have created a biodegradable pressure sensor that could help doctors monitor chronic lung disease, swelling of the brain, and other medical conditions before dissolving harmlessly in a patient’s body. The UConn research is featured in the current online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The small, flexible sensor is…
The tech world descended upon Las Vegas this week for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and plenty of health IT’s biggest players were in attendance. While much of the discussion was on consumer-friendly health tools and novel digital interventions, there were still a handful of products and discussions between executives and entrepreneurs focused on healthcare’s largest roadblocks —…
GE Healthcare has entered into a strategic, long-term partnership with Roche to jointly develop and co-market digital clinical decision support solutions. The partnership will initially focus on products that accelerate and improve individualized treatment options for cancer and critical care patients. The two companies aim to develop an industry-first digital platform, using advanced analytics…
The most common type of tumor found in the kidney is generally quite small (less than 1.5 in). These tumors are usually found by accident when CAT scans are performed for other reasons and the serendipitous finding poses a problem for doctors. Are these tumors malignant and do they need to be surgically removed because they may threaten the patient’s life? Or are they benign and can be left…
Cancer surgeons perform an estimated 1.7 breast biopsies each year, according to the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations. This makes the procedure a significant proportion of cases referred to anatomic pathologists. This surgery, however, is time-consuming and not always accurate due to shortcomings in existing surgical technology and to human error. Now, a 3D-printed…
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and engineers have developed a “brain-on-a-chip” device aimed at testing and predicting the effects of biological and chemical agents, disease, or pharmaceutical drugs on the brain over time without the need for human or animal subjects. The device, part of the Lab’s iCHIP (in-vitro Chip-Based Human Investigational Platform) project,…
No visit to the doctor’s office is complete without a blood-pressure cuff squeezing your arm and a cold stethoscope placed on your chest. But what if your vital signs could be gathered, without contact, as you sit in the waiting room or the comfort of your own home? Cornell University engineers have demonstrated a method for gathering blood pressure, heart rate and breath rate using a cheap and…
3-D visualisation, augmented reality, automated tumour classification – today, the Republic of China produces cutting-edge medical technology and it’s a long time since ‘Made in Taiwan’ stood for inferior, copied products. Over recent years, this island state has successfully morphed into a productive and, above all, innovative manufacturer of medical technology available on the world…
In Rennes, France, more than 850 patients have already been treated with a top accelerator equipped with a multileaf collimator, the first of its kind in the country. Brittany’s capital Rennes is leading stereotactic radiotherapy practice as Eugène Marquis Cancer Centre gears up to welcome worldwide technicians to train on the latest CyberKnife system, Accuray’s powerful robotic radiosurgery…
Luke Skywalker’s bionic hand is a step closer to reality for amputees in this galaxy. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an ultrasonic sensor that allows amputees to control each of their prosthetic fingers individually. It provides fine motor hand gestures that aren’t possible with current commercially available devices. The first amputee to use it, a musician…
The Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) has organized, in partnership with TeraRecon, Vizua, Microsoft and Digital Evolutis, the live broadcast of the first surgery performed in the world with a collaborative platform of mixed reality at the Avicenne Hospital AP-HP, and interacting with remote doctors. Dr. Gregory Thomas, Head of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology Hospital Avicenne…
Researchers using CT scans and 3-D printing have created accurate, custom-designed prosthetic replacements for damaged parts of the middle ear, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The technique has the potential to improve a surgical procedure that often fails because of incorrectly sized prosthetic implants, researchers…
Scientists are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support more effective breast cancer detection. The researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School, are using the machine learning system to predict whether breast lesions identified from a biopsy will…
How can newborn babies benefit from sensors with chip technology and what might the future hold for sensor data? Samuel Wehrli, Product Manager for Gas Flow at Sensirion AG in Switzerland explained during our EH interview at the MST Conference held in Dortmund.
Bright and new come the revolutionary portable ultrasound scanners EXAPAD and EXAPAD mini which French manufacturer ECM Echo Control Medical reports were developed in close collaboration with key opinion leaders in various medical fields. ‘Optimal image quality for a perfect visualisation, an intuitive and streamlined user interface for a fluid workflow and the unique and useful features…
