Archive for category: E-News

E-News

Ovarian removal to prevent ovarian cancer should not be an option for most premenopausal women

, /in /by

A Mayo Clinic research team has found evidence suggesting that the controversial practice of ovary removal in premenopausal women to prevent ovarian cancer should be discontinued in women who are not at high risk of cancer. The study showed that women under 46 who had both ovaries removed experienced a significantly elevated risk of multiple chronic health conditions that included depression, hyperlipidemia, cardiac arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and osteoporosis.

Bilateral oophorectomy is the formal term for removal of both ovaries, often used as a preventive measure against ovarian cancer. For the first time, the team of nine Mayo researchers from multiple disciplines linked bilateral oophorectomy to a marked increase in 8 of the 18 chronic health conditions that were measured.

‘This study provides new and stronger evidence against the use of bilateral oophorectomy for prevention in young women,’ says Walter Rocca, M.D., lead author of the study. ‘Bilateral oophorectomy should not be considered an ethically acceptable option for the prevention of ovarian cancer in the majority of women who do not carry a high-risk genetic variant.’

The study followed two groups of women for a period of approximately 14 years. There were 1,653 women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy and an equal number of women of the same age who did not. The study was made possible by using the records linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project.

Results showed that women under 46 who underwent bilateral oophorectomy experienced a higher incidence of the 18 chronic conditions considered one at a time, except cancer, and an accelerated rate of accumulation of combined conditions, or multi-morbidity. Oestrogen therapy reduced some of the risk in women who had undergone the procedure.

The investigators suggest that the premature loss of oestrogen caused by the oophorectomy may affect a series of aging mechanisms at the cellular and tissue level across the whole body leading to diseases in multiple systems and organs. In summary, the effects of oophorectomy in premenopausal women are much broader and more severe than previously documented.

‘The clinical recommendation is simple and clear,’ Dr. Rocca concludes. ‘In the absence of a documented high-risk genetic variant, bilateral oophorectomy before the age of 50 years (or before menopause) is never to be considered and should not be offered as an option to women.’

Mayo Clinic newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ovarian-removal-to-prevent-ovarian-cancer-should-not-be-an-option-for-premenopausal-women-mayo-research-finds/

One-third of patients with low flow aortic stenosis do not improve with transcatheter aortic valve replacement

, /in /by

Aortic stenosis (AS), the narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart which causes restricted blood flow, is one of the most common and serious valve disease problems. For patients with one type of AS – low flow – transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive procedure which corrects the damaged aortic valve, is often the best option for restoring the heart’s normal pumping function. However, approximately one-third of low flow AS patients treated with TAVR continue to suffer persistent low flow AS even after the procedure, ultimately increasing their risk of death. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have examined this high-risk patient population to determine the cause of this persistent low flow AS and to evaluate their risk of dying during the year following the procedure.
‘There has been a lot of interest in these patients with low flow AS, as their surgical mortality is higher than other patients. TAVR is often a good option, but not all of them will be able to normalize flow following the procedure and these persistently low flow patients have a 60 percent higher rate of mortality at one year,’ said Howard C. Herrmann, MD, FACC, MSCAI, John W. Bryfogle Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery, and director of Penn Medicine’s Interventional Cardiology Programme. ‘Low flow before TAVR is one of the most important predictors of mortality following TAVR, but it is one of the harder qualities to measure. This presents a challenge to properly treating patients with low flow AS, and can leave some patients at higher risk.’
To better understand the potential benefits of TAVR for low flow AS, researchers conducted an analysis of 984 patients with low flow AS from the PARTNER trial and continued access registry from April 2014 through January 2016. A baseline and followup echocardiogram, evaluation of post-TAVR hemodynamics – blood flow – and one year outcomes were assessed.
Through this analysis, researchers identified the large subgroup of patients who, following TAVR, failed to regain normal flow despite a successful procedure. In the first six months following TAVR, flow improved in roughly 66 percent of the patients evaluated. However, those with severe low flow AS had the highest mortality rate – 26 percent – at one year, as compared to approximately 20 percent for those with moderate low flow and even less for those with normal flow.
‘Unfortunately, many centres do not routinely measure flow, but rather focus more on a patient’s pressure gradient or valve area when evaluating aortic stenosis pre-and post-TAVR,’ said Herrmann. ‘While low flow is more challenging to monitor, this measurement can better inform the patient’s risk of mortality, and in turn lead to better treatment.’
The researchers noted that the identification of remedial, or treatable, causes of persistent low flow following TAVR, such as severe mitral regurgitation and atrial fibrillation, may represent an opportunity to improve the outcomes of these patients.

Penn Medicine http://tinyurl.com/htz5gvj

New imaging technique in Alzheimer’s disease

, /in /by

Tau PET is a new and promising imaging method for Alzheimer’s disease. A case study from Lund University in Sweden now confirms that tau PET images correspond to a higher degree to actual changes in the brain. According to the researchers behind the study, this increases opportunities for developing effective drugs.
There are several different methods of producing images showing the changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The tau PET method reveals the presence of a protein in the brain, tau, with the help of a gamma camera and a specially selected radioactive molecule (F-AV-1451).
Tau has an important function in assisting the transport of various substances within the brain’s nerve cells. People with Alzheimer’s disease have raised levels of tau, leading to accumulation of the protein in the brain cells and gradually to cell death.
Until now, no one has had precise knowledge of how well the new imaging method reproduces the actual changes in a brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The current case study, however, shows that image and reality match up well. The study has enabled researchers to compare tau PET images and brain tissue from the same person for the first time. The brain tissue came from a person who died having recently undergone examination with the new imaging method.
‘Tau PET can improve diagnosis, but above all, the imaging method can be of great significance in the development of new drugs to combat Alzheimer’s disease’, explains Ruben Smith, researcher at Lund University and physician at Skane University Hospital. He continues:
‘There are new candidate drugs which aim to reduce the accumulation of tau. The imaging method opens up opportunities to investigate the development of the disease at a detailed level, and to observe how tau aggregates are affected by the drugs.’
‘The person who was examined had a mutation which led to the same type of accumulation of tau in the brain as in Alzheimer’s disease. A single case study might seem insignificant, but since there are areas with a lot of tau stored and others with less tau in the same brain, it is sufficient to examine one person in order to verify whether the imaging method works’, explains Oskar Hansson, professor at Lund University and consultant at Skane University Hospital.
Interest from the research community in imaging methods focusing on tau is strong and growing. A reliable reproduction of tau protein in the brain is considered a more relevant marker and a better diagnostic tool than competing methods which are already in use.

Lund University http://tinyurl.com/hvbyfgw

Study finds hospital ICUs overused

, /in /by

Intensive Care Units (ICUs), which provide the most expensive and invasive forms of care in a hospital setting, are being used too often for patients who don’t need that level of care, according to a new study by LA BioMed and UCLA researchers .
The researchers studied 808 ICU admissions from July 1, 2015 to June 15, 2016 at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and found that more than half the patients could have been cared for in less expensive and invasive settings.
Of the patients in the study, 23.4percent were in need of close monitoring but not ICU-level care. Another 20.9percent of the patients were critically ill but unlikely to recover because they had underlying illnesses or severity of acute illness. For another 8percent, death was imminent or the same outcomes were expected in non-ICU care.
‘Our study found over 50percent of patients admitted to the ICU were categorized into groups suggesting that they were potentially either too well or too sick to benefit from ICU care or could have received equivalent care in non-ICU settings,’ said Dong W. Chang, MD, an LA BioMed researcher and the corresponding author for the study. ‘This research indicates that ICU care is inefficient because it is devoting substantial resources to patients who are less likely to benefit from this level of care. These findings are a concern for patients, providers and the healthcare system because ICU care is frequently invasive and comes at a substantial cost.’
The researchers added up the number of days each of the patients in the study spent in ICU and found nearly 65percent of the total number of days those patients spent in ICU were allocated to care that was considered discretionary monitoring, had a low likelihood of benefit despite critical illness or would have been manageable in non-ICU settings.
‘While this is a study of just one hospital and results may differ at other medical centres, we suspect that these characteristics of ICU utilization are commonplace and prevalent in many institutions,’ said Dr. Chang.
The researchers also noted that in other hospitals, the ICU may be the most appropriate level of care because the hospitals don’t have appropriate levels of care for those patients outside the ICU.
‘However, there is likely to be a subset of patients in which ICU care leads to unwanted, invasive care without significant clinical benefit,’ said Dr. Chang. ‘Refining our ability to identify these patients and developing approaches to improve ICU utilization for those patients are important steps to assure the best care for patients and the most efficient use of the healthcare system’s limited resources.’

LA BioMed http://tinyurl.com/ztppu5j

New Cystic Fibrosis device to reduce antibiotic usage

, /in /by

A medical device for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) sufferers which lessens their exposure to infections resulting in fewer doctors’ visits, reduced antibiotic usage and shorter hospital stays, is expected to be market ready within two years.
University of Limerick (UL) inventors recently secured funding for the new percussion device that helps remove mucus from the airways and will, they hope, greatly improve the quality of life for cystic fibrosis patients.
Ireland has the highest incidence of CF in the world and CF is the most common, fatal hereditary disease in the United States.
Professor Colum Dunne, who is Foundation Chair and Director of Research at UL’s Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS), explained the background to the development of the product.
‘Patients with respiratory diseases use various devices, which help the removal of mucus from the airways and the improvement of pulmonary or lung function. One example that we have focused on here is the CF patient airway, which is defective in ciliary function; resulting, due to ineffective removal, in a mucus-rich environment favouring growth of bacteria. These bacteria include potential pathogens, associated with chronic infection, decreased lung function and accelerated respiratory disease’.

Currently, there are percussion-based chest physiotherapy devices on the market, but according to Professor Dunne, these ‘can sometimes become reservoirs for the bacteria that cause infections in Cystic Fibrosis patients’. Because the new device, SoloPep, is disposable, it poses no threat of reinfection.
‘In our research, we have observed that compliance with hygiene practices for reusable devices, by patient, is potentially poor. As such, despite even excellent compliance with prescribed antimicrobial regimens, the devices may become colonised with problematic or opportunistic pathogenic microbes,’ Professor Dunne outlined.

‘The devices may, therefore, function as a reservoir that does not come into contact with the antimicrobial agents. Subsequently, re-infection may occur post-antimicrobial cessation by microbes present in the reservoir. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel inexpensive, single-use devices,’ he added.

‘Ireland has the highest per capita incidence of Cystic Fibrosis globally. Because of this, it is reasonable to expect treatment innovations generated by Irish researchers and carers. In this case, our studies included patient involvement from the outset and allowed us to develop something that is truly technologically disruptive. The design of this new positive expiratory pressure (PEP) device is clever and focused on the end user from the beginning. It removes significant risk for patients by improving their microbiology hygiene and safety,’ Professor Dunne added.

Dr Leonard O’Sullivan from UL’s School of Design is co-principal investigator for this device.
‘SoloPEP is a good example of user-centred design and it will have a dramatic impact on the quality of life of cystic fibrosis patients in a sector with significant commercial opportunity,’ he said.
‘This product has the potential to improve the lives of Cystic Fibrosis and other patients. But for that to happen the product must actually be available to them,’ Professor Dunne concluded.

University of Limerick www.ul.ie/gems/news/new-cystic-fibrosis-device-reduce-antibiotic-usage

Faster and better healing of infected wounds using negative pressure technique

, /in /by

Shorter wound healing time, fewer dressing changes and the opportunity for earlier discharge from the hospital. These are some of the benefits of negative pressure wound therapy to treat wound infections in connection with vascular surgery at the groin. The method, which has become increasingly common, is also cost-effective. This is shown in a thesis from Lund University in Sweden in which the method has undergone its first major scientific evaluation in deep perivascular groin infections after vascular surgery.

In connection with surgery, the patient is at risk of an infection in the surgical wound, and this is the second most common form of healthcare -associated infections in Sweden. However, despite the fact that wound therapy is a fundamental and crucial part of healthcare, there are relatively few scientific studies on the subject, and the level of expertise among healthcare practitioners is insufficient. This is argued by Christina Monsen, doctoral student at Lund University and registered nurse, specialising in wound therapy at the Skane University Hospital.

‘Personal experience is not enough to determine whether a certain wound therapy method actually works. But this is a difficult field of research, randomized trials in particular, especially when there is already strong beliefs and attitudes favouring one wound therapy among personal staff’, says Christina Monsen.

Christina Monsen’s current thesis compares the use of negative pressure wound therapy of infected wounds at the groin after vascular surgery with a previously established method: alginate dressings. The study is the first more extensive scientific evaluation of negative pressure techniques to treat infected wounds, and it has taken several years to execute.

‘On average, the wound healing time was almost cut in half for patients who received negative pressure wound therapy – from 104 days to 57. The in-hospital care time was also reduced by a week, to an average of 13 days compared to 20’, says Christina Monsen.

The negative pressure technique entails placing a foam sponge inside the cleaned wound, which is then covered by a tightly sealed plastic film. Through a small opening, a portable vacuum pump is attached, sucking up all the excess exudates while allowing the wound to gradually contract during the time of healing.

The groin is a commonly used point of entry during vascular surgery as it allows surgeons to reach several vital bodily systems and organs. At the same time, it involves an increased risk of infection because of its proximity to the intestinal bacterial flora. Refractory infections at the groin can in serious cases lead to amputation of the patient’s leg or even death.

Negative pressure wound therapy was introduced in Swedish hospital clinics just before the turn of the millennium, and has gradually grown. However, despite increasing use it has remained poorly scientifically evaluated.

The thesis also finds that negative pressure wound therapy requires fewer dressings and is cost-effective and timesaving for staff. The comparative studies, based on patient data from Skane University Hospital (SUS) in Malmo, were supplemented with interview studies. From these studies it emerged that the patients wanted to receive more knowledge and be more prepared on how to care for themselves after being discharged from the hospital, something which the clinic at SUS will now review.

Lund University www.med.lu.se/english/news_archive/161018_healing

Laser-based camera improves view of the carotid artery

, /in /by

Michigan Medicine researchers employ novel technology to monitor vulnerabilities for cardiovascular events, aid in diagnosis and treatment
Strokes and heart attacks often strike without warning. But, a unique application of a medical camera could one day help physicians know who is at risk for a cardiovascular event by providing a better view of potential problem areas.

‘The camera actually goes inside the vessels,’ says first author Luis Savastano, M.D., a Michigan Medicine resident neurosurgeon. ‘We can see with very high resolution the surface of the vessels and any lesions, such as a ruptured plaque, that could cause a stroke. This technology could possibly find the smoking gun’ lesion in patients with strokes of unknown cause, and may even be able to show which silent, but at-risk, plaques may cause a cardiovascular event in the future.’

The scanning fibre endoscope, or SFE, used in the study was invented and developed by co-author and University of Washington mechanical engineering research professor Eric Seibel, Ph.D.. He originally designed it for early cancer detection by clearly imaging cancer cells that are currently invisible with clinical endoscopes.

The Michigan Medicine team used the instrument for a new application: acquiring high-quality images of possible stroke-causing regions of the carotid artery that may not be detected with conventional radiological techniques.

Researchers generated images of human arteries using the SFE, which illuminates tissues with multiple laser beams, and digitally reconstructs high-definition images to determine the severity of atherosclerosis and other qualities of the vessel wall.

A unique application of a medical camera could one day help physicians know who is at risk for a cardiovascular event by providing a better view of potential problem areas.

‘In addition to discovering the cause of the stroke, the endoscope can also assist neurosurgeons with therapeutic interventions by guiding stent placement, releasing drugs and biomaterials and helping with surgeries,’ Seibel says.

In addition, the SFE uses fluorescence indicators to show key biological features associated with increased risk of stroke and heart attacks in the future.

‘The ability to identify and monitor the biological markers that render a plaque unstable and at risk for rupture could enable the detection of individuals within high-risk populations who are most likely to suffer from cardiovascular events, and therefore benefit the most from preventive treatment during the asymptomatic stage,’ says B. Gregory Thompson, M.D., professor of neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical School and a senior author on the new paper.

University of Michigan www.uofmhealth.org/news/archive/201702/laser-based-camera-improves-view-carotid-artery

Precise nerve stimulation via electrode implants offers new hope for paralysis

, /in /by

Patients with spinal cord injuries might one day regain use of paralyzed arms and legs thanks to research that demonstrates how limbs can be controlled via a tiny array of implanted electrodes.

The work focused on controlling electrical stimulation pulses delivered to peripheral nerve fibres. When a patient is paralyzed, one of the possible causes is damage to the spinal cord, which along with the brain makes up the central nervous system. The brain is working, and so are motor and sensory nerves in the peripheral nervous system, but electrical signals can’t flow between those nerves and the brain because of the spinal cord injury.

That communication problem is what researchers sought to address, through experiments that involved transmitting precisely controlled electrical pulses into nerves activating plantar-flexor muscles in an ankle of an anesthetized cat.

V John Mathews, professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the Oregon State University College of Engineering, lead researcher Mitch Frankel, then a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, and three other researchers, all faculty members at Utah, conducted the study.

Researchers sent the pulses using an optimized PIV controller – proportional-integral-velocity – and the cat’s nerves received them via a 100-electrode array whose base measured just 16 square millimeters; it’s known as the Utah Slanted Electrode Array, named for where it was developed and the angled look produced by the electrode rows’ differing heights.

Thanks to specific electrodes being able to activate the right nerve fibres at the right times, the controller made the cat’s ankle muscles work in a smooth, fatigue-resistant way.

The results suggest that someday a paralyzed person might be equipped with a wearable, smartphone-sized control box that would deliver impulses to implanted electrodes in his or her peripheral nervous system, thus enabling at least some level of movement.

‘Say someone is paralyzed and lies in bed all day and gets bed sores,’ Mathews said. ‘Early versions of this technology could be used to help the person get up, use a walker and make a few steps. Even those kinds of things would have an enormous impact on someone’s life, and of course we’d like people to do more. My hope is in five or 10 years there will be at least elemental versions of this for paralyzed persons.’

While this particular study focused on helping the paralyzed, a related research area involves amputees: neuroprostheses that can be controlled by thought based on decoding what goes on electrically inside a person’s brain when he or she wants to, for example, move his or her arm or leg.

‘We can learn from the brain what the intent is and then produce the signals to make the movement happen,’ Mathews said. ‘Another way to get the control information is from the peripheral nerves,’ via electromyography, a diagnostic procedure for evaluating muscle and nerve health.

Generally, Mathews said, an electromyogram can produce the necessary control information.

Putting sensors in a person’s brain, either by deep brain implant or just inside the cranium, is another way to crack the intent code. Electroencephalography – electrode plates attached to the scalp that upload the brain’s electrical activity to a computer – can be used as well.

‘There are a lot of things going on right now in the prosthetic arena,’ Mathews said.

OSU College of Engineering oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2016/nov/precise-nerve-stimulation-electrode-implants-offers-new-hope-paralysis-patients

New wireless heart pump makes no contact with blood

, /in /by

EPFL researchers have developed an innovative cardiac support system in
the form of a small ring placed on the aorta. This device is less invasive than traditional methods and avoids problems of hemolysis and the need for
regular transfusions because it does not come into direct contact with the blood.
The heart is sometimes in a weakened state when recovering from certain diseases or while waiting for a transplant. To help the tired heart pump blood, researchers at EPFL’s Integrated Actuators Laboratory (LAI) came up with a clever solution. Their device is made up of three tiny rings made out of a material with special electrical properties. The device, called a Dielectric Electro Active polymer (DEAP), dilates when a current is applied and contracts when it is switched off . Because the reactions are immediate, the back-andforth movement can be controlled in real time.
The researchers’ innovation was to place these rings around the aorta – the body’s main artery – at the exact spot where it exits the left ventricle. Each ring has two electrodes that are drawn together by an electrostatic force whenever the electric field is activated. ‘The electrodes squeeze the polymer as they come together,’ said Jonathan Chavanne, a PhD student at the LAI. ‘Yet because this material is incompressible, its volume remains constant. So its surface area increases and stores up elastic energy.’
The electrical pulse is provided to the device by magnetic induction. Each of the three rings contracts in turn, in a movement reminiscent of an earthworm. This series of contractions, called peristalsis, creates a wave that moves the liquid inside the artery. This double action – simultaneously vertical and horizontal – helps the heart pump and transport blood.
‘This method does not require us to enter the heart,’ said Yves Perriard, he director of the LAI. ‘This means it is significantly less invasive
than other cardiac support systems, which work by implanting valves or screw pumps inside the ventricle.’
In addition, by avoiding direct contact with the blood, this new solution eliminates the risk of excessive hemolysis, in which enough red blood cells are destroyed that regular transfusions may be required. And because the system is powered by magnetic induction, there are no wires coming out of the body.
The invention is currently in the prototype stage and has several more hurdles to overcome. The researchers plan to improve the device’s performance before testing it on a liquid with similar fluidic properties to those of the blood, such as glycerol. The team has been in contact with the University Hospital of Bern, where clinical trials could be conducted.

EPFL http://tinyurl.com/hxa53ss

How a small implanted device could help limit metastatic breast cancer

, /in /by

A small device implanted under the skin can improve breast cancer survival by catching cancer cells, slowing the development of metastatic tumours in other organs and allowing time to intervene with surgery or other therapies. These findings, reported in Cancer Research, suggest a path for identifying metastatic cancer early and intervening to improve outcomes.

‘This study shows that in the metastatic setting, early detection combined with a therapeutic intervention can improve outcomes. Early detection of a primary tumour is generally associated with improved outcomes. But that’s not necessarily been tested in metastatic cancer,’ says study author Lonnie D. Shea, Ph.D., William and Valerie Hall Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

The study, done in mice, expands on earlier research from this team showing that the implantable scaffold device effectively captures metastatic cancer cells. Here, the researchers improve upon their device and show that surgery prior to the first signs of metastatic cancer improved survival.

‘Currently, early signs of metastasis can be difficult to detect. Imaging may be done once a patient experiences symptoms, but that implies the burden of disease may already be substantial. Improved detection methods are needed to identify metastasis at a point when targeted treatments can have a significant beneficial impact on slowing disease progression,’ says study author Jacqueline S. Jeruss, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and biomedical engineering and director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Jacqueline Jeruss and Lonnie SheaThe scaffold is made of FDA-approved material commonly used in sutures and wound dressings. It’s biodegradable and can last up to two years within a patient. The researchers envision it would be implanted under the skin, monitored with non-invasive imaging and removed upon signs of cancer cell colonization, at which point treatment could be administered.

The scaffold is designed to mimic the environment in other organs before cancer cells migrate there. The scaffold attracts the body’s immune cells, and the immune cells draw in the cancer cells. This then limits the immune cells from heading to the lung, liver or brain, where breast cancer commonly spreads.

‘Typically, immune cells initially colonize a metastatic site and then pave the way for cancer cells to spread to that organ. Our results suggest that bringing immune cells into the scaffold limits the ability of those immune cells to prepare the metastatic sites for the cancer cells. Having more immune cells in the scaffold, attracts more cancer cells to this engineered environment,’ Shea says.

In the mouse study at day 5 after tumor initiation, the researchers found a detectable percentage of tumor cells within the scaffold but none in the lung, liver or brain, suggesting that the cancer cells hit the scaffold first.

At 15 days after tumour initiation, they found 64 percent fewer cancer cells in the liver and 75 percent fewer cancer cells in the brains of mice with scaffolds compared to mice without scaffolds. This suggests that the presence of the scaffold slows the progress of metastatic disease.

The researchers removed the tumours at day 10, which is after detection but before substantial spreading, and found the mice that had the scaffold in place survived longer than mice that did not have a scaffold. While surgery was the primary intervention in this study, the researchers suggest that additional medical treatments might also be tested as early interventions.

In addition, researchers hope that by removing the scaffold and examining the cancer cells within it, they can use precision medicine techniques to target the treatment most likely to have an impact.

This system is early detection and treatment, not a cure, the researchers emphasize. The scaffold won’t prevent metastatic disease or reverse disease progression for patients with established metastatic cancer.

The team will develop a clinical trial protocol using the scaffold to monitor for metastasis in patients treated for early stage breast cancer. In time, the researchers hope it could also be used to monitor for breast cancer in people who are at high risk due to genetic susceptibility. They are also testing the device in other types of cancer.

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. www.mcancer.org/news/archive/how-small-implanted-device-could-help-limit-metastatic-breast-cancer

Latest issue of International Hospital

April 2024

Digital edition
All articles Archived issues

Free subscription

View more product news

Get our e-alert

The medical devices information portal connecting healthcare professionals to global vendors

Sign in for our newsletter

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.