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Contec - bringing innovation to patient monitoring devices

While Contec’s broad range covers 13 product categories, the accent over the past year has been on enhancing patient-centred devices with fresh features developed by the firm’s research & development team. For example, while the typical screen size for patient monitors is 12-inches, Contec recently introduce models that both increase and reduce that size in response to customer demand.

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2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention review

"Some progress, but the big challenges remain". This was the verdict after the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) hosted the 2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention on 30 November. The summit was attended by a broad cross-section of medical experts, healthcare organisations, national societies, regulators and representatives from the European Union (EU). The aim of this bi-annual event is to…

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Europe's inconsistent use of device therapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death

Even though the use of implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure and heart rhythm disturbances has increased enormously in Europe in recent years, there still remain large differences between countries. Indeed, a report last year in the European Journal of Heart Failure found that there is an underuse of devices in many of the European countries surveyed.(1) This is especially so in…

Colon Cancer-Detecting Blood Test Previewed at Medica

The future of colon cancer screening may be surprisingly simple. ColoMarker™, an innovative blood test to detect the early stages of colon cancer is generating plenty of attention from a wide audience, including from some of the world’s leading researchers in cancer biomarkers and gastrointestinal medicine.

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An integrated system for LESS surgery

Olympus Deutschland GmbH (http://www.olympus.de) is at Medica showing its integrated system for LESS surgery. Laparoscopic surgery involves an insufflation of the abdomen with carbon dioxide gas, Olympus explains.

Combining techniques advances endoscopic diagnosis and treatment

Endoscopy has advanced dramatically in the past 10 years with innovative technologies introduced by industry and novel procedures pioneers by physicians. Given a choice among the broad range of new tools and techniques, endoscopic surgeons have decided they want it all. And they are asking for more.

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Hybrid operating theatres

In technical terms ‘hybrid’ is a system that connects two technologies so they may benefit from each other. This also applies to the newest generation of operating theatre*: hybrid OTs combine diagnostic and surgical facilities that are usually found in separate locations. Thus procedures can be carried out in less time and involve less discomfort and risk for the patient.

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Diabetics must lower their risk of CVD

Diabetics can face a five times increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than non-diabetics. This leads to a seven to ten year reduction in life expectancy and a higher probability of suffering a fatal heart attack. These sad statistics have prompted the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to mark World Diabetes Day on 14 November by emphasising the simple measures that…

Linde Healthcare launches new funding for healthcare innovation

The Linde Group’s global business unit Linde Healthcare today announced it has launched the Linde Healthcare REALfund in September. The fund is intended to support and stimulate novel and innovative ideas, research and projects relating to the use of gases in certain therapeutic focus areas of healthcare.

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Ventilation-associated pneumonia

Every year in German hospitals about 15,000 patients acquire ventilation-associated pneumonias (VAP). This number, and the associated mortality, is striking enough to make it one of the topics at HAI 2010, the annual conference of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI). Like many physicians, Dr Maria Deja, senior physician at the Charité Clinic for…

A Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine

Critical care, worldwide, has been closely related to anaesthesia and traditionally considered the role of anaesthetist. However, about 30 years ago critical care expanded and intensive care unit (ICU) teams increasingly spread expertise to critically ill patients in other hospital wards, ultimately to become intrinsic in decisions on patients with co-morbities.

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No more machines!

For many ICU patients, entering the Kloster Grafschaft, in Schmallenberg, Germany, a hospital specialised in pneumology and allergology, is a last resort. On average, they have been in an ICU for seven weeks and have failed three attempts to be weaned from the ventilator. They have been deemed ‘unweanable’.

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Europe’s first fully digitised hospital

He was among the pioneers of hospital digitization. Way back in 1988, Professor Walter Hruby, Chair of the Institute for Radiological Diagnostics at the Donauspital Vienna, in Austria, decided that, when his hospital opened its doors, state-of-the-art technology would be implemented. Thus, in 1992, the Donauspital became Europe’s first, fully-digitised hospital. Today, recollecting that…

World Stroke Day

With the “World Stroke Day” the World Stroke Organization (WSO) aims to communicate a unified message to the world: stroke is a preventable and treatable catastrophe, and together we can fight this growing epidemic. This year’s theme is “Stroke‐What can I do?” The answer is ‐ a lot. The WSO prompts individuals, groups and governments to take action against stroke either at a…

The notable risks in the use of bone cement

Used in numerous orthopaedic medical procedures, PMMA is a self-curing two component system that includes liquid and powder components. The liquid is methylmethacrylate monomer, a known deadly toxin, and PMMA toxicity is well documented in medical journals and regulatory publications. After many years of reported patient issues related to PMMA, doctors began calling these surgical complications…

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Successful operating theatre re-structuring

The new surgical wing at Knappschafts Hospital in Bottrop, Germany, has exceeded all expectations. In four years the concept has increased available operation times by over 30%. We asked the project supervisor, Dr Peter Hügler, who heads the Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy Clinic, how such a significant success was realised.

Implementing shared decision making in the NHS

The British government’s plans to introduce wider choice and shared decision making within the NHS may be challenging to implement, says an expert on bmj.com. In its new plans for the NHS, the government wants to extend the offer of choice beyond what is currently available to include choice of specialist team, choice of general practice, and choice of treatment. But do patients want a choice…

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„OMICS“ – new buzzword for health policy

“The current shift of healthcare towards a systemic and holistic understanding of the causes of diseases is a true scientific revolution,“ Prof. Dr. Angela Brand said today at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG). Prof. Brand, Director of the European Centre for Public Health Genomics hosted at Maastricht University, added that the “next-generation sequencing technologies are opening…

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Cardio-Thoracic Center of Monaco is the first Siemens European Reference Center Cardiovascular Medicine

Siemens Healthcare and the Cardio-Thoracic Center of Monaco (CCM) signed a partnership contract in Monaco. Within the framework of this contract, CCM was nominated the first “Siemens European Reference Center Cardiovascular Medicine". The strategic partnership is dedicated to the entire spectrum of cardiovascular medicine with the objective to develop innovative solutions for the treatment…

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Supporting role in the OR

Whenever a clinic sets up a new operating room or intensive care unit, the equipment should be able to meet all requirements for the next 20 years. At the same time, however, tight budgets increasingly restrict many hospitals’ freedom to act.

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