Expectations ran high when the German Transplant Law (TPG) was introduced in 1997. The government felt it had done its part to ensure more legal certainty for the donation, removal and transplantation of organs: the population could feel encouraged to sign up for organ donation and was supposed to follow suit. However, this did not occur.
Waiting lists for organ transplants are lengthening in most European countries, forcing the need to increase donations higher up the medical and political agenda, Mark Nicholls reports. Spain continues to lead the way in organ donation with the so-called Spanish Model approach, while other countries, e.g. the UK, are debating whether to adopt 'presumed consent' and an 'opt-out' rather than…
One of the key topics at the EFORT Congress, held recently in Vienna, was on opportunities offered by computer-aided surgery (CAS) to achieve better results for many orthopaedic interventions. Within the next decade CAS will lead to the routine use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for knee prosthetics, hip replacement and osteotomy.
Nine years ago surgeon Ulrich Matern, engineer Martin Scherrer and theatre nurse Diana Hagen, suggested a project aimed at improving work practices and efficiency in the operating theatre (OT) and a means to teach, from science-based knowledge, the correct operation of equipment.
Hardly any other area demands such complex lighting solutions as healthcare and nursing, given that it is essential to create optimal conditions to fulfil an extremely wide range of requirements.
Faced with death, what are the wishes of terminally ill patients? Does a request for euthanasia disappear with good palliative care? How invasive should medicine be at this final stage of life? Is comprehensive palliative care financially affordable? Can studies on those who are dying be ethically justified? Difficult questions, but all posed during the 11th European Association of Palliative…
robuLAB10, a service robot designed to assist the elderly in their own homes, went on show this spring at Robobusiness 2009, in Boston, Mass. Produced by the French firm Robosoft and SRI International in the USA, the robot integrates SRI's Karto navigation software that enables it to navigate, follow, and assist a person from room-to-room.
In many ways the brain works like a hard disk. If the plug is pulled, important data is damaged and the system has to be rebooted.
In July 2007, Bernat Soria Escoms, one of the world's leading experts in stem cell research, became Spain's new Health Minister, when his predecessor Elena Salgado was moved to Public Administration.
A rapid rise in 'altruistic donations', i.e. strangers having a kidney removed for an unknown patient, has been reported by the UK's Human Tissue Authority (HTA). Although there have been just 15 stranger donations (three still await surgery),
In current USA debates on healthcare reform referrals to IT use in Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK are frequent and well supported by studies performed by the Commonwealth Fund.
CardioPod will be installed in pharmacies and GP surgeries across England, allowing patients easy access to an NHS Health Check carried out by a trained professional, who will give expert advice on their cardiovascular risk score and what action they can take to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes and kidney disease.
Robot-assisted surgery can be used to successfully repair abnormal openings between the uterus and the bladder, according to a report by Ashok K. Hemal, M.D., a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center urologist who is the world's most experienced surgeon in the procedure.
Mit dem Beschluss des Gesetzes zum Assistenzpflegebedarf, das es Menschen mit Behinderung erlaubt, Hilfen ihres ambulanten Pflegepersonals auch während eines stationären Krankenhausaufenthalts in Anspruch zu nehmen, wurde auch die Aufnahme eines neuen Querschnittbereichs in das Medizinstudium beschlossen: Künftig gehört die Palliativmedizin zur Ausbildung für angehende Ärzte dazu.
In den altehrwürdigen Mauern von Schloß Waldhausen bei Mainz diskutieren vom 2. bis 4. Juli 2009 renommierte deutschsprachige Experten über zukunftsweisende Trends in der Informationstechnologie und -technik in der Medizin. Das Event DICOM 2009 bietet die optimale Plattform, sich praxisnah über RIS, PACS sowie DICOM- und IHE-Standards zu informieren.
The latest statistics regarding the use of pacemakers and implantable cardiac devices in Europe was presented at EUROPACE 2009, the meeting of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)1 which takes place in Berlin, Germany from 21 to 24 June. The data show that there is a disparate coverage of diseases and treatments within the EU and the European Society of Cardiology member countries outside…
The use of phone and internet between patients and healthcare providers is an effective way to reduce risk factors for coronary heart disease and the risk of further events after a heart attack, according to new research published in June issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation.
European healthcare facilities are turning to vendor-neutral, multi-modality breast imaging workstations to streamline reading of digital breast exams. The KODAK CARESTREAM Mammography Workstation enables diagnostic review of all breast imaging exams (FFDM, ultrasound, MR, CR and others) as well as all general radiology exams.
According to the WHO, some 3 million people across the world require artificial hips as primary joint replacement surgery. Increasingly, surgeons are using minimally-invasive procedures to implant artificial hips, with direct anterior access. It is an ideal extension to the conventional method as the deployment of these procedures for suitable patients, usually results in a significant shortening…
Testing people for heart disease might be just a finger prick away thanks to a new credit card-sized device created by a team of researchers from Harvard and Northeastern universities in Boston.
By putting the obeliscPRO on the market, ulrich medical is launching the next generation of its proven obelisc vertebral body replacement system. With an expanded range of implants and more customized anatomical adjustment options, this new product from ulrich is a worthy successor to the previous version
Fifteen new research projects aimed at bringing innovative medicines to market faster have been selected to receive 246 million Euros from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The projects will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders while increasing medicine safety.
Healthcare in Germany will suffer if doctors and nurses cannot delegate certain tasks to others. So warned Udo Janssen MD MBA, speaking at the recent Gesundheitsnetzwerker (health network) congress held in Berlin. Blaming the inflexibility of new labour models that make them difficult to implement, Dr Janssen believes they need to be reviewed.
Senology is fast becoming a medical specialty that utilises methods and knowledge from various medical disciplines specifically to treat breast cancer. Based in Dusseldorf, the European Academy of Senology (EAoS) aims to close the gap between theory and practical applications.
Non-smokers live longer and have less cardiovascular disease than those who smoke, according to a 30-year follow-up study of 54,000 men and women in Norway. Smoking, say the investigators, is “strongly” related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality from various causes.
