Medical innovations are rapidly expanding therapy options for many diseases. Keep reading to find more information on new therapies, surgical techniques, effective medication and patient care.
A medicine that could control outbreaks of scabies in the UK is unlicensed and only available through specialist importers, researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) have found. In July 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its model list of essential medicines to include oral ivermectin for scabies-related infections. This recommendation follows the 2017 WHO…
Robocath, a company that designs, develops and commercializes cardiovascular robotic systems for the treatment of vascular diseases, announced it has successfully completed six robotic coronary angioplasties with R-One, a first for the continent of Africa. The Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) were performed by Dr Faizel Lorgat, an interventional cardiologist at the Netcare Christiaan…
Dr Ganesh Bavikatte, Neurorehabilitation Specialist, has developed a solution along with an international expert team to untangle the complex post-stroke spasticity care pathway. With Europe’s ageing population, stroke cases are on the rise, with estimates suggesting around a 35% increase from the number of cases in 2015 to 2035. And thanks to the greatly improved emergency care and delivery of…
Medication prescribed for a certain type of epilepsy may offer a new method for treating malignant infantile brain tumours. A specific mTOR inhibitor has the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier to both reach and attack the tumour at source. This has been demonstrated by researchers from Uppsala University, in collaboration with US and UK colleagues, whose research has now been published in…
Obesity not only means someone is overweight but, over time, they will probably suffer sequelae that increasingly impair quality of life and are potentially fatal – these include hypertension, coronary heart disease, type two diabetes, pulmonary function disorders, tumours, plus an increased risk during surgery and anaesthesia. In patients with morbid obesity, class three obesity, according to…
In children, middle ear infections are the number one indication for antibiotic prescriptions or surgery. Nearly every child around the world will suffer at least one middle ear infection (otitis media) severe enough to see a doctor, and most will experience repeat occurrences throughout childhood. Internationally, there is significant over-prescription of antibiotics for otitis media, leading to…
ScoliBot, a new robotic system, could perform spinal surgery to a higher degree of accuracy than human counterparts. Devised by a team from Nottingham Trent University (NTU), the system has two robotic arms that semi-autonomously drill holes in individual vertebrae in procedures to straighten the spines of patients with conditions such as scoliosis or kyphosis. Leading the project, Professor…
Omnia Medical’s ‘Boxcar’ has been granted the first US FDA 510(k) clearance for a cervical vertebral body replacement (VBR) system manufactured from PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced polymer. The system has been designed for use in cervical-corpectomy procedures – the replacement of a collapsed, damaged, or unstable vertebral body located in the cervical spine. Robert Gewirtz, MD - Neurosurgeon,…
A smart shirt, developed by Canadian startup Hexoskin, has been successfully tested as a potential diagnostic modality for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the Radboud University Medical Centre in The Netherlands. “COPD is a growing problem with around 64 million people suffering with the condition worldwide. When patients suffer an increase in their symptoms, such as coughing…
ACEMSO15F is a new focusable and flexible LED examination light designed by the Italian firm ACEM. The touch panel controls all lamp functions, including light intensity adjustment and beam focusing. The result is a uniform, homogeneous and shadow-less light.
NICO Corporation, a company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is releasing its new Myriad Novus resection tool. The FDA cleared product combines xenon illumination with NICO’s proven Myriad neural tissue removal technology. Xenon lights reproduce the visible spectrum of daylight much better than most other bulbs – although LED contenders are now available – and so are often the optimal choice…
Scenario: A physiotherapist arrives in a ward pushing a new device towards a patient in bed. There, she introduces rehabilitation robot Robert and points to its multi-jointed arm. She places a cuff around the patient’s lower leg to link it to Robert’s arm and presses the start button; Robert raises the leg slightly. Manually, the physiotherapist performs movements, which Robert memorises to…
Thanks to a four-limb robotic system controlled by brain signals, a patient with a cervical spinal cord injury could walk and control both arms for the first time in a proof of concept. Developed by CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), the system is driven via the long-term implant of a semi-invasive medical device to record brain activity. ‘This device is an…
The MKC-X800 ultra-compact camera is a new addition to Ikegami’s range of medical imaging equipment, which, the firm reports, sets higher than ever standards of imaging quality to capture the precise colour and image detail of surgical operations. Measuring just 28x28x52mm WHD and weighing 100g, it can be mounted on a surgical microscope, lightweight support stand or boom. With its 4K-native…
‘Electronic monitoring systems are proven to assist healthcare institutions to make sustained improvements in hand hygiene compliance.’ [Scheithauer S, et al. Do WiFi-based hand hygiene dispenser systems increase hand hygiene Compliance? American Journal of Infection Control (2018)]. ‘Using these systems,’ adds the manufacturer Ophardt Hygiene, ‘a continuous stream of objective data is…
ACEMST1, a new flexible medical LED light from the Italian manufacturer ACEM, has an illumination suitable for diagnoses in dermatology, general medicine, gynaecology, and dentistry – and can even be used as a bedhead light. The manufacturer also reports that this compact lamp ensures excellent light intensity, an IR-free beam, variable colour temperature (CCT), a high colour rendering index…
Nosocomial infections cause more deaths than traffic accidents – a stunning discovery made in a recent German study. Worse: infectious diseases long thought eradicated in Europe, such as measles, tuberculosis (TB) and, more recently, syphilis, are also implicated. The increasing number of patients places an additional financial burden on healthcare. But – and this might be the good news –…
Researchers have created better biosensor technology that may help lead to safe stem cell therapies for treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other neurological disorders.
Doctors who give advanced breast cancer patients just one estimate, such as 12 months, for the average amount of time they are expected to live are only accurate 20-30% of the time, according to Dr Belinda Kiely, medical oncologist and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia.
A partnership between the Royal Stoke University Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, and a UK industry-leading medical devices company have been rewarded for its use of an innovative bioelectronic technology to prevent life-threatening blood clots in acute stroke patients – winning in the category: Best use of technology (acute care), at the Building Better…
Unlike other surgical specialties, ear nose and throat (ENT) has been poorly served by the introduction of robotic platforms to enhance procedures. Since the da Vinci system first gained FDA approval in 2000, robot-assisted surgery has become commonplace in many specialties, including neurology, urology, etc. with numerous other general surgical applications. However, existing systems including…
Scientists of Jena University Hospital, Germany, conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate benefit and risk of paclitaxel-coated balloon angioplasty compared to conventional balloon angioplasty as therapy of intermittent claudication. The study confirms an increased all-cause mortality, which has formerly been stated, and found a broad heterogeneity in the effectivity of the procedure depending on…
It is an important step towards fighting one of the deadliest viruses known to man: The human medicines committee (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation in the European Union for Ervebo (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP), the first vaccine for active immunisation of individuals aged 18 years and older at risk of infection with the Ebola virus.…
Heart patients using a smartphone app reminder are more likely to take their medication than those who receive written instructions, according to a study presented at the 45th Argentine Congress of Cardiology (SAC 2019) in Buenos Aires. ‘We hypothesised that the app would increase adherence by 30%, but the impact was even greater,’ said study author Dr Cristian M. Garmendia, of the…
Scientists have uncovered a novel antibiotic-free approach that could help prevent and treat one of the most widespread bacterial pathogens, using nanocapsules made of natural ingredients. Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen carried by 4.4 billion people worldwide, with the highest prevalence in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Although the majority of infections show no symptoms,…
