What is an “open foramen ovale”? The open foramen ovale medical abbreviation PFO for “patent foramen ovale”) is a usually small, only a few millimeter thick, membrane-covered slit in the septum between the atria of the heart. It is a remnant from human embryonic development that usually closes during the newborn period; however, in 10-25% of newborns a small opening remains that generally…
New treatment for patients suffering from Degenerative Disc Disease: Medtronic's Prestige Cervical Disc is the first artificial disc system for the neck that received approval from the FDA.
Professor Martin Raithel MD* works alongside medical devices manufacturer Bowa on the use of argon plasma coagulation in endoscopy. "The argon unit, in conjunction with the generators of the Bowa ARC range, is working very reliably in different disciplines", he says. "It is opening up new methods in flexible endoscopy with argon-assisted electrosurgery due to its outstanding…
A wearable cardiac telemedicine system based on Bluetooth technology could text the local hospital if a patient is about to have a heart attack, according to a publication of two Indian researchers of the Sathyabama University in Tamil Nadu, who developed the system.
Researchers at A Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center developed a tumor paint that will help surgeons see where a tumor begins and ends more precisely by illuminating the cancerous cells.
In recent years, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) has become increasingly important in the treatment of patients with impaired left ventricular contraction. Since this patient group is growing constantly experts estimate that by 2010 about 10 million people in Europe will be suffering from heart failure. Especially the “baby-boomers”, born just after World War II and in 2010 about…
The interest in using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) alongside conventional Western medical care has steadily increased among European physicians; it is no longer unusual, for example, for acupuncture to be suggested by a doctor to help fight tobacco addiction, or to ease a persistent musculoskeletal problem.
“Exelon Patch”, developed by Novartis is the first skin patch to treat patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease. The new therapy that has already been approved by the FDA, is said to be more compliant for it causes less incidents of nausea and vomiting.
For diagnostic and treatment purposes it is often crucial to obtain a clear picture of a patient's nutritional status. Once the body mass index (BMI) has been determined, further steps for a successful therapy can be initiated and the medication dose can be adjusted to underweight, overweight or normal-weight patients.
The well-known Whipple procedure, or pancreaticduodenectomy, recently underwent a transformation due to the skills of Nerijus Kaselis MD, Head of Abdominal and Endoscopic Surgery at Klaipeda District Hospital.
Dräger looks up to 100 years of innovation in ventilation technology worldwide. In 1907 Johann Heinrich Dräger invented the Pulmotor as the first short-term respirator and founded the first Draeger company in the United States.
seca GmhH & co. manufactures a non-calibrated platform scales that can take a maximum capacity of 360 kg.
For the first time in 33 years, wound healing was the focus of a dedicated session at the 33rd annual VEITHsymposium for vascular surgeons in New York (11/06). This underscores the fact that wound healing is heading increasingly towards a speciality that warrants the special attention of dedicated people willing to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to non-healing or complex wounds.
Nutrition-induced obesity is a physical and budgetary problem. For example, in Germany alone, an estimated €20 billion has been spent on obesity related health problems.
The European Medical Technology Industry Association, Eucomed, has launched the third in a series of educational publications on medical technology innovation, focusing on minimally invasive surgery (MIS).
Using the different shaped tips of ARC 350L and TissueSeal or Ligator instruments, made by Bowa, surgeons can permanently seal large veins, arteries or bunched tissue. All of these special tools gained a red dot award for ergonomics and practicality.
Celebrating his 71st birthday this year, Czech chemist Professor Antonin Holy will also be able to celebrate the launch of clinical testing of a drug to treat non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) - adding another to his 60+ registered patents.
About a year ago, gastroenterologist Professor Horst Neuhaus began to use a high definition TV (HDTV) system as an aid in the endoscopic procedures carried out at Dusseldorf's Evangelisches Krankenhaus, in the Medical Clinic and Reference Centre for Endoscopy, of which he is head.
By Beate M Stoeckelhuber MD, Associate Professor and Radiology (Interim) Director at the Department of Radiology, Luebeck University, Germany, with Smaragda Kapsimalakou MD, also at Luebeck
Although about 75% of biopsies are negative, the side effects of that invasive procedure, plus the length of time to results, disturbs patients. Now, however, a new technology might be able to differentiate benign and malignant tissue due to an adjunct of a normal breast ultrasound examination.
In Ireland, breast cancer is particularly virulent: 18.5% of all cancer related deaths among the women are due to breast cancer.
Paolo Belli MD, Carmen Malaspina MD and Professor Lorenzo Bonomo, of the Department of Radiology, UCSC, Policlinico A. Gemelli, Rome, discuss results from using computed tomographic laser mammography (CTLM) to detect cancers occult to mammography in dense breasts, and their comparison of CTLM with MRI to follow results of neo-adjunctive chemotherapy
Radiation oncologists and diagnostic radiologists will be encouraged to forge partnerships at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) congress in Chicago this November helped by a new programme, called Bolstering Oncoradiologic and Oncoradiotherapeutic Skills for Tomorrow (BOOST)
The Swedish IT and medical-technology company Sectra, together with clinical and industrial partners from six European countries, has been awarded EUR 3.6 million from the European Union to combat breast cancer through a research project for high-resolution, low-dose X-ray imaging.
The European Parliament voted for an EU Regulation on advanced therapies like gene therapy, cell therapy and tissue engineering. The decision, if adopted by the council, could open the door for innovative therapies which have a huge potential for curing diseases such as Parkionson´s, Alzheimer or cancer.