IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy solutions and radiation therapy integrated quality assurance (QA) for the treatment of cancer, announces the acceptance and beam model validation of the first Varian Halcyon machine in Europe to go clinical, at the hospital UZ Leuven in Belgium, using IBA Dosimetry’s Blue Phantom water phantom system.
Cancer therapies including radiation and chemotherapy seek to treat the disease by killing tumor cells. Now a team including researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown that the dead and dying cancer cells generated by chemotherapy and targeted cancer therapy paradoxically trigger inflammation that promotes aggressive tumor growth. In a study published today in the…
Selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) is often only looked at from a palliative perspective. However, the procedure is now also increasingly moving into the curative field, as Prof. Dr. Jens Ricke, Chair of Radiology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich and Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology at the University Hospital of the LMU reports. “As a locoregionally used…
Liver disease is widespread in Germany. It is, in fact, the most common cause of death in patients under the age of 40, with liver cirrhosis, which can develop into liver cancer, playing a major role here. These days, modern, comprehensive treatment concepts are unimaginable without interventional radiology, for liver cirrhosis as well as liver cancer. Prof. Dr. Christian Stroszczynski, Director…
Testing for fever, high pulse rate, crackly breath sounds, and low oxygen levels could be key to helping GPs distinguish pneumonia from less serious infections, according to a large study published in the European Respiratory Journal. Pneumonia is a severe lung infection that can be life-threatening and often requires treatment with antibiotics. However, it is notoriously difficult to…
A study published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases demonstrated that physicians elected to perform fewer biopsies when Prostate Health Index (phi) testing was included in their overall, routine, clinical assessment. Phi testing is recommended for men presenting with elevated serum total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the 4-10 ng/mL range and a non-suspicious digital rectal exam…
Progressive treatments offer new chances for cancer patients, but also could result in as yet unknown complications. The number of cancer patients transferred to the ICU for cancer-specific and internal medicine related reasons is on the increase. Caring for them on the ICU is a complex challenge, with interdisciplinary cooperation playing an essential part. Certain criteria need to be met for…
A pioneering single-use Diathermy Abbey Needle with suction that helps surgeons improve performance and outcomes during a range of procedures is on show at this year’s Medica.
A major addition to Ikegami’s range of surgical monitors is being launched at Medica this year. ‘The new MLW-2750HD is a 27-inch 4K UHD display in a shallow-profile configuration, fully optimised for use in operating rooms,’ the manufacturer reports. ‘With its 800 cd/m2 high brightness IPS 8 megapixel display panel, this new monitor improves the efficiency of medical teams by enabling…
Manufactured in Italy, the STARLED3 NX lamp, based on next generation LED technology, provides cold, shadowless light, long life and low energy consumption, and directs light beams according to needs, so is suitable for diagnosis, gynaecology, dermatology, general medicine and surgery.
Everyone is unique – and so is human anatomy. Thus orthopaedics or implantology call for medical products that provide a perfect fit and demand is high for one-off components, or small production runs. At the same time, the materials used and manufacturing standards applied must fulfil extremely stringent quality control. This also holds for specialised surgical instruments and medical devices,…
If you have a heart attack or stroke, it’s important to get your “bad” cholesterol measured by your doctor on a follow up visit. Researchers have found that one step is significantly associated with a reduced risk of suffering another serious cardiovascular episode. The new research, conducted by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, found that…
A new Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch featuring a low profile jaw was ‘designed to provide specialists with better access to the transformation zone,’ DTR Medical reports, adding that the punch offers a 360° rotation for flexible positioning and the sharp metal jaw to ensure a clean cut, delivering the clinician with the best possible view and the assurance of achieving biopsies first time.
Award-winning UK manufacturer of sterile single-use surgical instruments, DTR Medical are showcasing their new House Curette and Rosen Needle at Medica this year. ‘The House Curette includes sharp, dual action tips that scrape and scoop tough cortical bone during middle ear procedures,’ the firm explains. ‘The double-ended stainless steel instrument has clearly labelled 2.0 and 3.0mm ends,…
To coincide with Pressure Injury Prevention Day on 16 November, United Kingdom manufacturer Rober LTD is again at Medica highlighting how advanced technology can help ‘stop the pressure’.
A clinical trial involving hundreds of participants has shown that one of the most frequently prescribed antidepressants may not benefit millions of patients who also have chronic kidney disease (CKD). “These results provide evidence that could change clinical practice,” said Dr. Susan Hedayati, Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and first author of the study, which was…
Patients with advanced breast cancer who are treated with a combination of drugs that target specific molecules important for cancer development and also the hormones that are driving it are at increased risk of suffering adverse side effects. In new research presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4), researchers have shown that combining targeted…
Taking part in regular exercise can reduce fatigue and pain, and improve cardiovascular health and quality of life in women being treated for advanced breast cancer, according to new research presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4). Hundreds of thousands of women around the world are being treated for advanced breast cancer, where the tumour has…
Patients with advanced breast cancer have a better quality of life for longer if the progression of their disease can be delayed, according to new results presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4) in Lisbon. Professor Nadia Harbeck, head of the Breast Cancer Centre at the University of Munich (Germany), told the meeting that analysis of results from…
Heart surgery significantly decreases in-hospital mortality among infants with either of two genetic disorders that cause severe physical and intellectual disabilities, according to a new study by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Trisomy 13 and 18, which result from having extra chromosomes, often…
A new study found that increased utilization of split liver transplantation could decrease the number of children who die awaiting liver transplantation without decreasing liver transplantation access for adult patients. “Among children listed for liver transplant in the United States, more than one in 10 infants and one in 20 older children die while waiting for a liver,” says Emily Perito,…
University of Alabama at Birmingham biomedical engineers report a significant advance in efforts to repair a damaged heart after a heart attack, using grafted heart-muscle cells to create a repair patch. The key was overexpressing a gene that activates the cell-cycle of the grafted muscle cells, so they grow and divide more than control grafted cells.
There is no “one size fits all approach” when it comes to treating breast cancer. The disease is made up of several subtypes, and ideally each type should be treated with therapies that target the unique underlying biological problems. Fortunately, for the past 25 years, long-term survival and cure rates have significantly improved for women with breast cancer. This is due in large part to…
The majority of cancer drugs approved in Europe between 2009 and 2013 entered the market without clear evidence that they improved survival or quality of life for patients, finds a study published by The BMJ. Even where drugs did show survival gains over existing treatments, these were often marginal, the results show. Many of the drugs were approved on the basis of indirect (‘surrogate’)…
Today, many congenital heart defects can be diagnosed in the unborn child – and even treated in utero. Monique Haak (46), gynaecologist-perinatologist and fetal surgeon at Leids University Medical Center (LUMC) in Leiden, The Netherlands, is an expert in the diagnosis and surgery of fetal heart defects.