The liver transplant team at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found, based on 12 years of experience, that more than half of patients receiving a new liver can be
A simple point-of-care testing device for anemia could provide more rapid diagnosis of the common blood disorder and allow inexpensive at-home self-monitoring of persons with chronic forms of the disease.
The disposable self-testing device analyses a single droplet of blood using a chemical reagent that produces visible colour changes corresponding to different levels of anemia. The basic test produces results in about 60 seconds and requires no electrical power. A companion smartphone application can automatically correlate the visual results to specific blood hemoglobin levels.
By allowing rapid diagnosis and more convenient monitoring of patients with chronic anemia, the device could help patients receive treatment before the disease becomes severe, potentially heading off emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Anemia, which affects two billion people worldwide, is now diagnosed and monitored using blood tests done with costly test equipment maintained in hospitals, clinics or commercial laboratories.
Because of its simplicity and ability to deliver results without electricity, the device could also be used in resource-poor nations.
Using a two-piece prototype device, the test works this way: a patient sticks a finger with a lance similar to those used by diabetics to produce a droplet of blood. The device
Scientists in Cambridge have found hidden signatures in the brains of people in a vegetative state, which point to networks that could support consciousness even when a patient appears to be unconscious and unresponsive. The study could help doctors identify patients who are aware despite being unable to communicate.
There has been a great deal of interest recently in how much patients in a vegetative state following severe brain injury are aware of their surroundings. Although unable to move and respond, some of these patients are able to carry out tasks such as imagining playing a game of tennis. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, which measures brain activity, researchers have previously been able to record activity in the pre-motor cortex, the part of the brain which deals with movement, in apparently unconscious patients asked to imagine playing tennis.
Now, a team of researchers led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, have used high-density electroencephalographs (EEG) and a branch of mathematics known as
MSC Cruises has become the first cruise line to offer a 24/7, multilingual pediatric telemedicine service on board its entire fleet thanks to an agreement with the renowned Instituto Giannina Gaslini Children
Unfors RaySafe, acquired by Fluke Biomedical in February 2014, has signed an exclusive agreement with Philips to license out the Patient Dose Management System RaySafe S1. The RaySafe S1 is a cloud-based patient dose tracking system launched in 2013 that helps healthcare institutions lower patient dose, improve process quality and increase productivity in imaging workflow while reducing costs. In an effort to accelerate market reach and better support healthcare institutions to avoid unnecessary radiation RaySafe has searched for a strong partner. Philips is launching groundbreaking initiatives to provide solutions that lower dose and create a safer environment for patients as well as medical staff.
Each year approximately 3.6 billion X-ray examinations are performed worldwide, leading to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of medical diseases. However, considerable concern has been voiced regarding the stochastic and even deterministic impact on both patients and medical staff. It is critical to ensuring the proper performance of X-ray equipment and of keeping the dose to medical staff and patients as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA).
A study of portable ultrasound carried out in the USA, Canada and India has revealed the potential of this technology for detecting plaques in peripheral arteries that can lead to heart attacks and stroke before symptoms arise, in both developed and developing country settings, allowing preventive treatment in those affected. The study is by Dr Ram Bedi, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, and Professor Jagat Narula, Editor-in-Chief of Global Heart and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA, and colleagues.
Numerous research studies have shown that it is possible to assess subclinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) using ultrasound imaging. Since more portable and lower cost ultrasound devices are now entering the market, along with increased automation and functionality, it may be possible in future to routinely examine people with ultrasound to establish any ASCVD present before symptoms emerge, so that future disease can be prevented, for example using medication. In this study, ASCVD was determined using ultrasound of both the carotid arteries (those in the neck) and the ileofemoral arteries (entering the top of the leg). The findings were conveniently summarised in an easy to understand index called the Fuster-Narula (FUN) Score.
Data were gathered from 4 cohorts, 2 Indian and 2 North American. In India, a medical camp setting was used, and screening with automated ultrasound imaging was conducted over 8 days in 941 relatively young (mean age 44 years, 34% female) asymptomatic volunteers recruited from the semiurban town of Sirsa (Haryana) and urban city of Jaipur (Rajasthan) in northern India. The cohort from Sirsa was specifically recruited because all participants had already undergone aggressive lifestyle changes (smoking cessation, no alcohol, vegetarian diet, physically active lifestyles, daily meditation), Radiology resident doctors who had no prior training in vascular ultrasound were trained on the spot to perform the ultrasound examinations.
To compare the imaging findings with traditional risk factors, 2 cohorts (481 persons) were recruited from primary care clinics in North America (one in Richmond, Texas, USA, the other in Toronto, Canada). As well as the same ultrasound examinations given in the Indian cohort, comprehensive ASCVD risk factor data was gathered from these participants, all of whom were self-referred asymptomatic individuals (mean age 60 years, 39% female). Data collected included cholesterol levels, blood pressure, glucose level, weight, height, smoking and family history. These people were attending clinics for routine health examinations in most cases. Effectiveness of established ASCVD prevention guidelines was then compared to results from direct imaging. Ultrasound was performed by trained experts at each centre.
In India, ultrasound revealed plaques in at least one artery in almost a quarter (24%) of those examined; 107 (11%) had plaques in only the carotids, 70 (7%) in both the carotids and iliofemoral arteries, and 47 (5%) had plaques in only the iliofemoral arteries. If just the carotids had been examined, 177 (19%) of the asymptomatic subjects would have been identified with plaques; by adding the iliofemoral examination, 47 additional individuals (5% of the total) were identified with plaque. Older age and male sex were associated with the presence of plaque both in urban and semiurban populations (the much higher levels of smoking in men could account for their higher risk).
Data from the American and Canadian clinics showed that 203 subjects (42%) had carotid plaque; 166 of these (82% of those with plaque) would not have qualified for lipid-lowering therapy such as statins under the most widely used guidelines known as ATP III (Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults [Adult Treatment Panel]) guidelines. Using the recently published more stringent ATP IV guidelines, 67 people (one third of those with plaque and 14% of the total US/Canadian cohort) individuals with carotid plaque would also have failed to qualify for treatment.
In addition, the study revealed 34 people in the USA/Canada setting who qualified for treatment under ATP III but did not have any plaques, and this number increased to 81 under ATP IV (if receiving treatment such as statins, these people could be said to be overtreated, since no plaques were evident).
The authors say: ‘Our study shows that automation in ultrasound imaging technology allows even non-expert users to rapidly evaluate the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis in a large population. Detection of subclinical atherosclerosis is further enhanced by inclusion of the iliofemoral artery examination.’ EurekAlert
A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found, for the first time, evidence of neuroinflammation in key regions of the brains of patients with chronic pain. By showing that levels of an inflammation-linked protein are elevated in regions known to be involved in the transmission of pain, the study paves the way for the exploration of potential new treatment strategies and identifies a possible way around one of the most frustrating limitations in the study and treatment of chronic pain
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, has been called one of the biggest advances in cardiac surgery in recent years. The procedure delivers a new, collapsible aortic valve through a catheter to the valve site within the heart – a repair that otherwise requires open heart surgery. While a boon for many patients who would not have been a candidate for conventional surgery, Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that marketing for TAVR does not accurately portray the risks associated with undergoing the procedure.
‘We were struck by the amount of marketing that surrounded this new procedure,
As the rate of children with autism in the U.S. continues to grow, a new study shows that medical professionals can
A study of more than 2,000 patients by researchers at Mayo Clinic
Beukenlaan 137
5616 VD Eindhoven
The Netherlands
+31 85064 55 82
info@interhospi.com
PanGlobal Media IS not responsible for any error or omission that might occur in the electronic display of product or company data.
