Novel geometrically encoded magnetic sensors (GEMs), developed by researchers from NIST and NIH, respond to local biochemical conditions
A new medical imaging method being developed at Rutgers University could help physicians detect cancer and other diseases earlier than before, speeding treatment and reducing the need for invasive, time-consuming biopsies.
The potentially lifesaving technique uses nanotechnology to reveal small cancerous tumours and cardiovascular lesions deep inside the body. It is showing promise in early tests by Rutgers researchers in the schools of engineering and pharmacy.
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).
An international team of scientists including researchers from the U. of Granada find that the speed of saccadic movements (rapid eye movements) is an excellent way to objectively measure the level of fatigue in a physician.
Results prove that after a 24-hour medical shift, the speed of saccadic movements diminishes and the subjective perception of fatigue augments. However, the execution of simulated laparoscopic tests is not affected by this type of fatigue.
An international team of scientists which includes researchers from the U. of Granada has demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to establish in an objective way the level of fatigue in physicians after long shifts through their eye movement.
This research reveals that the speed of saccadic movement (mostly voluntary rapid eye movements which we use to focus our gaze upon an object that attracts our attention) is an excellent index to measure objectively the level of fatigue in the medical profession.
Results proved that after long hours, the speed of saccadic movements effectively diminished, while their subjective perception of fatigue increased. However, in the simulated laparoscopic tests after the shift, the execution was not affected in any significant way by their fatigue.
This means that
The preliminary results of a groundbreaking trial into the use of tablet-based ultrasound in emergency services vehicles have been released in late October. A total of six emergency services vehicles at Bedford, Hurst and DFW Airport Fire Departments in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area have been equipped with Samsung
A new technology that may assist in the treatment of brain cancer and other neurological diseases has recently been described
According to the authors, the current medical use of chemotherapy to treat brain cancer can be inefficient because of the blood-brain-barrier that impedes the delivery of drugs out of blood vessels and into the tumour.
The researchers from the Virginia Tech
New expert guidance by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) outlines recommendations for developing policies regarding the use of animals in healthcare facilities, including animal-assisted activities, service animals, research animals and personal pet visitation in acute care hospitals.
‘Animals have had an increasing presence in healthcare facilities,’ said David Weber, MD, MPH, a lead author of the recommendations. ‘While there may be benefits to patient care, the role of animals in the spread of bacteria is not well understood. We have developed standard infection prevention and control guidance to help protect patients and healthcare providers via animal-to-human transmission in healthcare settings.’
Since evidence on the role animals play in the transmission of pathogens in healthcare facilities is largely unknown, the SHEA Guidelines Committee comprised of experts in infection control and prevention developed the recommendations based on available evidence, practical considerations, a SURVEY of SHEA members, writing group opinion and consideration of potential harm where applicable. The guidance was also endorsed by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), a professional association of more than 15,000 infection preventionists.
Guidance is grouped by the role of animals
For patients experiencing non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS), a rapid invasive strategy (within 24 hours) using coronary angiography and other interventions is beneficial for high-risk as well as low-risk patients. However, this treatment may be constrained on weekends by the need to mobilize on-call catheterization teams. A new study evaluated costs associated with an early versus delayed invasive intervention strategy for patients presenting on weekdays and weekends. Investigators determined that early invasive strategy for Canadian NTSE-ACS patients significantly reduced costs, even on weekends, because of resulting shorter length of hospital stays (LOS).
According to lead investigator Andre Lamy, MD, MHSc, Population Health Research Institute, and Professor in the Department of Surgery and Department of Clinical Epidemiology, McMaster University, ‘Hospitals that currently tend to delay stable patients in favour of weekday catheterization instead of mobilizing the on-call team for an earlier invasive management of NSTE-ACS patients should consider the latter as the savings from adhering to the timing of an early intervention approach would outweigh additional costs.’
The research team analysed data from 479 Canadian patients from the Timing of Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndromes (TIMACS) multinational trial, which included 238 in the early strategy group and 241 in the delayed strategy group in order to assess the impact from the perspective of the Canadian healthcare system.
By the end of the trial patients who had received a strategy of early coronary angiography and intervention saved CAN $2,938 per patient compared to those who underwent a delayed strategy. These significant savings were driven by lower costs associated with LOS ($9,761 for those who underwent an early strategy compared to $12,569 for delayed; a savings of $2,808), especially in ICU/CCU and ward units. There was no significant difference in cost for study percutaneous coronary interventions, drugs, procedures or diagnostic procedures.
‘The results of our Canadian-led multinational trial shows that early intervention is a cost saving strategy for all patients with acute coronary syndromes. In higher risk patients, early intervention also appears to improve clinical outcomes,’ added TIMACS lead investigator Shamir R. Mehta, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine, McMaster University, and Director, Interventional Cardiology, Hamilton Health Sciences. EurekAlert
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
Researchers at Tufts University, in collaboration with a team at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, have demonstrated a resorbable electronic implant that eliminated bacterial infection in mice by delivering heat to infected tissue when triggered by a remote wireless signal. The silk and magnesium devices then harmlessly dissolved in the test animals. The technique had previously been demonstrated only in vitro.
‘This is an important demonstration step forward for the development of on-demand medical devices that can be turned on remotely to perform a therapeutic function in a patient and then safely disappear after their use, requiring no retrieval,’ said senior author Fiorenzo Omenetto, professor of biomedical engineering and Frank C. Doble professor at Tufts School of Engineering. ‘These wireless strategies could help manage post-surgical infection, for example, or pave the way for eventual ‘wi-fi’ drug delivery.’
Implantable medical devices typically use non-degradable materials that have limited operational lifetimes and must eventually be removed or replaced. The new wireless therapy devices are robust enough to survive mechanical handling during surgery but designed to harmlessly dissolve within minutes or weeks depending on how the silk protein was processed, noted the paper’s first author, Hu Tao, Ph.D., a former Tufts post-doctoral associate who is now on the faculty of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Each fully dissolvable wireless heating device consisted of a serpentine resistor and a power-receiving coil made of magnesium deposited onto a silk protein layer. The magnesium heater was encapsulated in a silk ‘pocket’ that protected the electronics and controlled its dissolution time.
Devices were implanted in vivo in S. aureus infected tissue and activated by a wireless transmitter for two sets of 10-minute heat treatments. Tissue collected from the mice 24 hours after treatment showed no sign of infection, and surrounding tissues were found to be normal. Devices completely dissolved after 15 days, and magnesium levels at the implant site and surrounding areas were comparable to levels typically found in the body.
The researchers also conducted in vitro experiments in which similar remotely controlled devices released the antibiotic ampicillin to kill E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. The wireless activation of the devices was found to enhance antibiotic release without reducing antibiotic activity. Tufts University
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