Every fourth patient suffering from an irreversible heart defect and due for a heart transplant dies while waiting for a donor organ despite the use of extracorporeal blood pumps. A new ventricular assist device (VAD), currently under development at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), promises a new approach to help these patients. The fully implantable heart support device might be an effective…
Since the 1950s, the American Heart Association (AHA) has urged a large number of people to take antibiotics before dental work or other procedures that could flood the bloodstream with bacteria. This antibiotic intake was thought to prevent infective endocarditis.
A compact portable, easy-to-use ECG machine, the MAC 400, was launched in Europe by GE Healthcare at the recent European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…
The Argus Pro Telemetry TM-1, with small, strong casing and a brilliant 3.8-inch colour screen, is the first telemetry recorder to feature diagnostic 12-lead ECG - with real-time display of all 12 leads - as well as SpO2 monitoring.
The US firm Boston Scientific reports that it has received the Conformité Européenne (CE) Mark for its Confient implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the company's first branded cardiac rhythm management device to treat sudden cardiac death. Containing wireless capability, the Confient ICD has been designed to reduce right ventricular pacing.
Demanding design, sophisticated technique and constantly improved materials guarantee lasting osseo-integration, writes Norbert Kamps, consultant engineer for aid provision and medical technology in Germany
K U Brust, of the Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive biology and Anaesthetics, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK, and G Bontemps of the Fabricius Klinik, orthopedic department, Remscheid, Germany, report on mid- to long-term results
By Dr Sebastian Radmer, of the orthopaedics and rheumatic surgery department at Immanuel Hospital, Berlin
Despite the very varied nature of the scientific programme for The German Congress of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (Berlin, 24-27 October), Congress President Professor Joachim Hassenpflug, with Prof. Kuno Weise MD, President of the DGU, and Siegfried Götte MD, President of the BVOU, had ensured the presentations addressed representatives from both medical disciplines.
Surgery in the lower pelvic region often involves injury to or severing of nerve tissue. As in chronic diseases of the nervous system, the result can be pain, sensory disturbances or loss of function. Up to now the poor view of the nerves, partially formed of fine interwoven networks, has been one of the major problems – exacerbated by the strict division of skills between neurologists and…
In Europe, more than ten million people suffer from diabetes mellitus, 90 percent of whom have diabetes type II.
The uses of the internet in psychiatry have increased in recent years, and there is evidence that professionals, patients, families, institutions and other agents benefit from it.
By Dr J Larsen MD FRCR, Consultant Radiologist at Braunschweig Hospital, Germany
Hologic will be one of the biggest exhibitors at the 93rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Switzerland - European experts presented and debates that controversial topic - breast cancer screening programmes - during a September symposium organised by Carestream Health.
Over 15 million people are affected by strokes annually, and about five million of these (source: WHO 2004) are left with lasting damage.
Andalusía - Surgery and chemotherapy have overtaken radiotherapy for cancer treatments.
With the launch of its new LMD-2450MD monitor for use by medical professionals, Sony offers a its first high definition monitor that convinces with high image clarity and colour accuracy and therefore is ideal for endoscopic applications.
The British Midlands' University of Nottingham discovered a possible vaccine for use in the treatment of Hepatits C. At the 161st. meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Edinburgh, UK, a paper titled “Human Antibodies to Hepatits C Virus – Potential for Vaccine Design” was presented.
By Bodo E. Strauer (Düsseldorf, Germany) Russian summary and complete article in English.
The Vestfold County Study, performed by Norwegian researchers, is the first large scale study comparing the results of a particular full-field digital mammography system (FFDM) with that of conventional mammography. Einar Vigeland, Department of Radiology, Vestfold Hospital, Tønsberg, Norway, and his colleagues collected data over a period of two years.
Cordis Corporations' CYPHER stent is a Sirolimus-eluting coronary stent used for treatment of patients with coronary artery disease. The five-year results of the E-Sirius Trial show that in comparison to bare metal stents the CYPHER stent offers sustained clinical benefits.
Researchers from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK, presented a study at The British Pharmaceutical Conference, held from 10th to 12th September, 2007, at Manchester Central, showing that a chemical coating is able to encapsulate and protect insulin against enzymes that usually break down the hormone in the gastrointestinal tract.
An increased TWA (T-wave alternans) is a significant indicator of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, as well as of sudden cardiac death in patients with mostly normal ejection fraction, according to a recently published study by researchers led by Dr Tuomo Nieminen.
