:: medical products report: news

MAMMOSCAN Full Field Digital Mammography System

November 14, 2008
• Intended to produce digital radiographic breast images for the purpose of screening and diagnostic mammography
• Intended to be used in the same clinical applications as traditional film-based mammography systems

DESIGN FEATURES:
- Anti-scatter grid free design, allowing patient dose reduction with no loss in image quality.
- Powerful X-ray tube with circulating oil-coolant system, providing long-term stable operation together with high throughput and efficient patient examinations
Compact and ergonomic system design.
- Motorized C-arm height and rotation adjustment
- Touch-screen interface at acquisition workstation
- Digital indication of breast compression force, compressed thickness and projection angle

ADVANTAGE ... more

CARDIOHELP :

November 13, 2008
The world´s smallest heart-lung machine offers hope for survival in travel-case format!
Is there hope for you? If someone suffers a heart attack, the clock starts ticking. And this is something that affects around 280,000 people every year in Germany alone. If they get professional help within an hour of heart failure, their lives can be saved. The world’s smallest heart-lung machine is there to ensure decisive time can be won.
In travel-case format it can be transported to and with the patient, thus allowing for action to be taken extremely quickly. In line with the motto: Time saves lives. Each day in Germany more than 100 people die of cardiovascular failure. The main cause of this is the fact that vital organs are not supplied with sufficient oxygen. If a ... more

Harnessing nature’s diagnostic tools for disease prevention

November 13, 2008
The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of effecting a cure. A revolutionary new hybrid technology offers the possibility of detecting this and other diseases right at inception.
Within a few years, when the technology comes to market, every doctor’s surgery could have a small, inexpensive device which can test blood on the spot and warn of impending illness before any symptoms become apparent.
With a head start of billions of years over human scientists, nature has developed incredibly complex organisms, tools and systems which we are still struggling to understand let alone emulate.

Put simply, there are things evolution has achieved that people can only dream of. And among these are natural diagnostic tools which help us to recognise ... more

TECNALIA investigates advanced biomaterials to make more reliable and hardwearing medical implants

November 13, 2008
The TECNALIA Technological Corporation is taking part in the Cénit Intelimplant project, the goal of which is to develop advanced biomaterials based on innovative technologies (microtechnologies, nanotechnologies, tissue and surface engineering) for the manufacture of a new generation of implants which have greater durability and reliability, need less recuperation time and that provide data on their state and progress.
The Cénit Intelimplant project (Development of Advanced Biomaterials for a New Generation of Implants), led by the Biotechnology Institute (BTI), was one of the 16 projects approved by the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) for the third CÉNIT programme announcement or call, within the Spanish Government INGENIO 2010 initiative ... more

Substance Tackles Skin Cancer from Two Sides

November 12, 2008
A single 'designer molecule' tackles malignant cells by two completely different routes

By playing it safe and using a two-pronged attack, a novel designer molecule fights malignant melanoma. It was created and tested by an international team of researchers led by the University of Bonn. On the one hand, the substance is similar to components of viruses and in this way alerts the immune system. The body's own defences are also strengthened against cancer cells in this process. At the same time, the novel molecule also puts pressure on the tumour in a different way. It switches off a specific gene in the malignant cells, thus driving them to suicide. With mice suffering from cancer, the researchers have thus been able to fight metastases in the lung. In Nat ... more

Central California Doctors Now Using Fast RapidArc™ Radiotherapy Technology to Battle Cancer

November 04, 2008
Doctors at Cancer Care Associates in Fresno, California have commenced treating cancer patients using RapidArc™ technology, a new advancement from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) that delivers accurate radiotherapy treatments very quickly. RapidArc treatments can be completed two to eight times faster than was possible with earlier forms of treatment.

Two patients battling advanced pituitary gland cancer and advanced lung cancer were among the first people to benefit from RapidArc treatments at Cancer Care Associates. "Our patient with pituitary gland cancer required a very tight, narrow margin of error because of the tumor's proximity to crucial structures like the optic nerve and the brainstem," said Jedidiah Monson, MD, medical director of radiation onc ... more

Cancer Patients in Southeastern Florida Now Benefiting From RapidArc™ Radiotherapy Treatments

November 03, 2008
Sabin Robbins, a 75-year old prostate cancer patient is among the first people in Southeastern Florida to benefit from treatment with new RapidArc™ radiotherapy technology now in use at Bethesda Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Center of Boynton Beach, Florida. RapidArc, which is made by Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), unleashes the precision of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) two to eight times faster than was previously possible. Robbins, a former director of the National Zoo in Washington, DC, is mid-way through his eight and one half weeks of treatment.

"I feel very healthy for my age," said Robbins, who swims over 70 laps in his pool each day. "When family and friends suggested that I go in for a physical, I didn't pay much atten ... more

MRI Can Eliminate Unnecessary Surgery for Children with Suspected Musculoskeletal Infections

November 3, 2008
Pre-treatment MRI can eliminate unnecessary diagnostic or surgical procedures for children with suspected musculoskeletal infections (septic arthritis and osteomyelitis) according to a study performed at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN.

A study was performed on 130 children with suspected musculoskeletal infections; 34 patients in the study group had an MRI after diagnostic or therapeutic intervention and 96 patients in the control group had an MRI prior to any procedure. Results showed that about 60% of patients had neither septic arthritis nor osteomyelitis suggesting that “the majority of the children in the study group had a diagnostic or surgical procedure which could have been avoided with early MRI evaluation,” said J. Herman Kan, MD, l ... more