CardioFocus, Inc., developer of the Endoscopic Ablation System for the transcatheter treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (AF), convened international leaders in electrophysiology to discuss the advantages of direct optical visualization to guide catheter ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal AF.
Scientists of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have developed a highly efficient approach for imaging the beating human heart. The images produced in one of the world's most powerful MRI systems whose power is equivalent to 150.000 times the earth’s magnetic field are of a much higher detail than cardiac images…
A new technique to aid the early detection and diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease has been developed by UK and Germans researchers. The Confocal Laser Endomicroscope (CLE) contains a powerful microscope that allows clinicians to view bacteria in the intestine that are thought to trigger bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
A little over three decades after the world's first human heart transplant (HT), Carmat’s life-size artificial heart, a mix of animal tissue, titanium and missile technology that perfectly replicate a human heart, might save the lives of thousands.
This March, Heinz-Dieter Hilgers arrived for his once-monthly check-up at Ruhrlandklinik in Essen. Last June, his situation was far less relaxed. Suffering chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for almost two years, he had been listed for a lung transplant since April 2009. During his wait for an organ, his illness increased.
Eppendorf AG celebrates success in a leading global design competition which attracted 4,433 entries from 1,700 companies in over 60 nations. Centrifuge 5424 R, a premium 24-place microcentrifuge, has been honoured for design excellence in the life science and medicine category of ‘red dot award: product design 2011’.
Following CE mark registration to sell a fully-automated Mycophenolic acid (MPAT) test for use on the Dimension integrated chemistry systems*, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has become the first to offer the consolidation of four fully-automated immunosuppressant drug (ISD) tests -- Mycophenolic acid, Cyclosporine, Tacrolimus and Sirolimus – used to monitor organ transplant patients.
State-of-the-art operating theatres are shifting from X-rays to the display of images on monitors. The variety of different picture sources is also increasing, ranging from boom and endoscopy cameras to C-arms or PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication) systems. Thus the trend is to use an image management system to display the various surgical images on just one monitor.
The Netherlands - In a very crowded train station, why can you immediately recognise the face of a friend? Professor Rainer Goebel wants to find out. Thanks to €10 million in funding from the country’s Limburg Province, the Brains Unlimited project at Maastricht University will install three high-field magnetic resonance imaging scanners that will allow Prof. Goebel to search for an…
Pushing the power of scanners creates new world for imaging, but whilst high-field magnets bring new capabilities they also pose new challenges for clinicians. John Brosky reports
At first glance you think it’s a futuristic washing machine, or maybe an oversized designer amplifier. Actually, you are looking at GE’s Optima* MR430s. This is not only a real eye-catcher because of its exceptionally compact design (ever, for an MR scanner) but also due to the system’s truly smart function and performance.
Innovative mobile C-arm solutions by Nuremberg-based Ziehm Imaging are quickly conquering interventional radiology. At this year‘s European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Martin Herzmann, Director of Global Marketing at Ziehm Imaging, met with EH correspondent Karoline Laarmann to discuss developments.
CT-PET is the child of a forced marriage between nuclear medicine and radiology. A shared session at ECR 2011 in Vienna did little to assure there is a growing consensus between the two partners.
Transcatheter valve implants (TAVI) have encouraged a new group of patients. Previously inoperable, they may now receive adequate treatment. Some centres report a success rate close to the conventional open surgical procedure. Naturally, the long-term outcome is still unclear. Holger Zorn reports.
Mechanical suturing tools are an indispensable part of modern surgery. Gastro-intestinal surgery as well as minimally invasive surgeries, would be unthinkable without this technology, a growing sub-market in an ever-growing industry, possibly driven by the patient’s benefit, writes Holger Zorn.
Rapid technological progress and the changed working patterns of surgeons has greatly increased the demand of simulated training in the United Kingdom, notes Professor Mike Larvin, Director of RCS Education at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, where a new Education and Simulation Centre is incorporating state-of-the-art education and training facilities in response to those changes.
The new cloud hovering over the IT industry bodes pleasant and sunny business weather. Reason enough for the organisers of CeBIT 2011, the large international IT event held in Hanover this March, to make ‘cloud computing’ the keynote theme, dubbed ‘Work and Life with the Cloud’. EH reporter Walter F Schäfer questions what cloud computing is and what promise it might hold for healthcare…
Michael Maher, Professor of Radiology at the University Collage, Cork, Ireland, produced an answer to during a GE Healthcare Lunch Symposium at the European Congress of Radiology this March. It is 1.2 millisievert – at least for abdominal CT scans of Crohn’s disease patients.
Korea has a large, diverse and vibrant medical device manufacturing industry, which has boomed in recent decades due to the rapid growth of the country’s economy. The scale of its medical industry was very evident at the 27th Korea International Medical and Hospital Equipment Show (KIMES) held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre (COEX) in March.
The global software provider TeraRecon is recognised for strong clinical applications containing advanced image processing and 3-D visualisation for CT, MRI and PET. Since May 2010, this Silicon Valley company (Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 ‘Company of the Year Award’ winner, for European Advanced Visualisation Applications) has been expanding its core business into cloud computing services…
The German Medical Technology Association BVMed advocates for clear perspectives for medical technology innovations. "There is a need for a common strategic positioning of industry, science, and politics on research, development, and innovation in medical technology in Germany , states BVMed chairman Dr. Meinrad Lugan in the newly published Annual Report 2010/11.
Doctors who used a free iPhone application provided by the UK Resuscitation Council performed significantly better in a simulated medical emergency than those who did not, according to a study in the April issue of Anaesthesia.
Cold is not only a winter topic. Cold is also applied medicine: Moderate to deep hypothermia made cardiac surgery possible and mild therapeutic hypothermia improves survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. By Holger Zorn
Supporter und platform for systems in the area of diagnostic imaging: The innovative Austrian company Mides again represented itself at the ECR – the European Congress of Radiology –in Vienna. As Europe-wide specialist in the field of ultrasound probe repair, Mides this year for the first time appears as retailer of high-quality CT and MRI devices.
Hitachi Medical Systems presents the HI VISION Ascendus for the first time in Europe at the ECR (European Congress of Radiology) in Vienna. The HI VISION Ascendus offers high definition imaging, advanced technological functionality and optimised ergonomics in one all-inclusive package. As the latest addition to the HI VISION series of ultrasound systems – joining the HI VISION Preirus and HI…