General practitioners, often turn out to be correct when they suspect serious
How often is the general practitioner correct in his suspicion that the patient is suffering from a serious disease such as cancer
IBA (Ion Beam Applications SA), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer recently announced that it had received combined clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that will enable IBA to market-launch the proton therapy specific Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) system. IBA has received clearance from the FDA for its imaging platform adaPT Insight* (FDA 510(k) K132847) and for the Compact Gantry Beam Line (FDA 510(k) K132919). Those combined clearances will enable the CBCT to be marketed in IBA’s two Proton Therapy versions, Proteus®PLUS and Proteus®ONE, in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
As a component of IBA’s Image Guided Proton Therapy (IGPT) system, CBCT provides 3D imaging for increased accuracy in patient treatment. It is fully integrated with IBA’s imaging platform adaPT Insight to offer fast 6D corrections of patient positioning for the Proteus®PLUS and Proteus®ONE proton therapy systems. IBA’s first CBCT is at the validation phase and the first clinical use is expected for the second half of 2014.
Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA commented: “We are delighted to be the first company to receive marketing authorization from the FDA for the proton therapy specific CBCT technology. The development of imaging capabilities is critical to the expansion of the use of proton therapy in new cancer indications and IBA has developed advanced radiation therapy solutions that improve the overall treatment experience for both clinicians and patients. CBCT is just one example of the latest technological advancements achieved by IBA as we maintain our unrivalled position as the world’s leader in the innovation and delivery of proton therapy.”
On September 11 IBA announced the signing of a global collaboration with Philips Healthcare. The collaboration covers sales, marketing, research and development (R&D) of imaging and therapy solutions in oncology. By merging their respective expertise in therapy and image guidance systems, IBA and Philips will innovate with an integrated vision for more efficient, personalized cancer care. Leveraging high quality imaging and proton therapy offers the potential to increase confidence in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, reduce short- and long-term side-effects and potentially enhance the quality of life of the patient before, during and after treatment, while reducing the cost of treatment for the healthcare system. The collaboration will also enable both organizations to mutually leverage technologies and solutions: IBA will benefit from Philips diagnostic imaging products offered to oncology care centres, while Philips will leverage IBA proton therapy solutions within its offering for customers in select markets around the world. The commercial collaboration also includes an integrated offering for Molecular Imaging Centres, combining IBA’s expertise in PET radioisotope production centres with Philips’ imaging and diagnostics expertise.
www.iba-worldwide.com
Injuries, birth defects (such as cleft palates) or surgery to remove a tumour can create gaps in bone that are too large to heal naturally. And when they occur in the head, face or jaw, these bone defects can dramatically alter a person
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center used two relatively simple tactics to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary blood tests to assess symptoms of heart attack and chest pain and to achieve a large decrease in patient charges.
The team provided information and education to physicians about proven testing guidelines and made changes to the computerized provider order entry system at the medical centre, part of the Johns Hopkins Health System. The guidelines call for more limited use of blood tests for so-called cardiac biomarkers. A year after implementation, the guidelines saved the medical centre an estimated $1.25 million in laboratory charges.
In this case, part of the focus was on tests to assess levels of troponin, a protein whose components increase in the blood when heart muscle is damaged. Frequently, troponin tests are repeated four or more times in a 24-hour period, which studies have suggested is excessive, and they are often done along with tests for other biomarkers that are redundant.
In a report the research team describes how these interventions reduced overuse of troponin and other biomarker testing without compromising patient care. If adopted widely, the team says, cost savings could be substantial.
A patient at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has become the first in Europe to receive a kidney using keyhole surgery.
Brian Blanchfield, 51, a print company director from New Brighton, received his sister
This week, a team of researchers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering will share results from a pilot study on the effects of using humanoid robots to help children with autism practice imitation behaviour in order to encourage their autonomy.
The pilot study was led by Maja Matarić, USC Viterbi Vice Dean for Research and the Chan Soon-Shiong Chair in Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics, whose research focuses on how robotics can help those with various special needs, including Alzheimer
A multi-center study including University of Kentucky researchers found that a new nerve repair technique yields better results and fewer side effects than other existing techniques.
Traumatic nerve injuries are common, and when nerves are severed, they do not heal on their own and must be repaired surgically. Injuries that are not clean-cut
A team of engineers and scientists is developing a gel to help protect cells from the trauma of being injected into an injury site. The work could help speed cell-based therapies for spinal cord injuries and other types of damage.
It is a turbulent and sometimes deadly life for cells injected to heal injuries. The act of being squirted through a thin needle into the site of an injury jostles the delicate cells against each other and against the needle walls. Then, once in the site of injury, they face a biological war zone of chemicals. It’s no wonder, then, that treating spinal cord injuries and other damage with injected cells has been a challenge.
Solving this problem takes more than biological know-how; it takes padding
Fecal colour and consistency are well-known markers of digestive health in both children and adults, but paying attention to a newborn
A new transformative point-of-care diagnostic which gives instant results for the detection of genetic material from the HIV virus is being rolled out across Africa. The small, highly portable machine – known as SAMBA II – will help transform the lives of millions, especially HIV exposed infants who have a one in two chance of early death if HIV infection is not diagnosed within the first six weeks of life and if they are not immediately initiated on treatment.
Already available in Uganda and Malawi, SAMBA II has just received product approval in Kenya, making available for the first time rapid, accurate and cost-effective DNA point-of-care diagnosis in even the most environmentally challenging and resource-limited settings.
Developed by Diagnostics for the Real World, a spin-out company from the University of Cambridge, the new SAMBA II instrument and chemistry has been a decade in the making.
SAMBA II makes use of innovative technology to offer an effective sample-in-results-out test without the need for centralised laboratories or specialist technicians. It integrates the whole testing process within a single instrument using ready-made disposable cartridges. Easy to read results are obtained in less than two hours and indicated by a simple blue line similar to a pregnancy test.
Until now nucleic acid based HIV tests have taken many hours to perform and required specialist facilities and highly-trained personnel. The necessity of transporting samples over long distances to centralised laboratories creates numerous logistical problems including long delays. In the meantime, many patients may be lost before they can be initiated on treatment. By bringing rapid testing to the point-of-care, SAMBA II solves these difficulties.
Dr Helen Lee, Director of Research at the Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge and CEO of Diagnostics for the Real World said:
April 2024
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