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Statisticians learn how to analyze huge quantities of genetic data

In a conceptual breakthrough, a team of researchers led by statisticians at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has figured out how to analyze huge quantities of genetic data, surpassing the capabilities of traditional techniques and speeding the quest for understanding the genetic basis of complex diseases such as asthma and diabetes.

6 Jun 2005

Scientists create digital bacteria to advance biomedical research

Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have constructed a computer simulation that allows them to study the relationship between biochemical fluctuations within a single cell and the cell's behavior as it interacts with other cells and its environment.

5 Jun 2005

High-tech imaging software locates more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart arrhythmias

Loyola University Health System is one of the first hospitals in the United States to employ new high-tech imaging software - in conjunction with a three-dimensional cardiac mapping and navigation system - to locate more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). This technology represents a major breakthrough in treating complex arrhythmias.

3 Jun 2005

ESP will open new doors into music for non-musicians

A new University of Southern California computer system lets a user "drive" a piece of music, using a wheel and foot controls. The Expression Synthesis Project (ESP) interface, devised by a team led by Elaine Chew of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, could be in the hands of consumers within two years.

3 Jun 2005

Go-ahead for HIV computer game

A ground breaking computer game developed by a University of Salford lecturer to help educate young South Africans about the dangers of HIV and AIDS will be piloted in July.

1 Jun 2005

Fluorescence device to diagnose atherosclerosis and tumors

In a presentation at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Biophotonics Research and Technology Development Laboratory described recent progress on a device that stimulates, collects and measures light emissions from body tissues to diagnose critical atherosclerotic plaques (vulnerable plaques) and aggressive brain tumors.

29 May 2005

CAD system makes breast MRI more effective, efficient

A computer-aided detection (CAD) system is helping radiologists to more quickly and accurately determine the sizes and locations of cancers found on breast MRI—information that could change patients’ treatment, a new study shows.

20 May 2005

Cameras and MP3 players are fun, but the next wave of add-ons for cell phones and laptops may help users keep track of their health

A University of Florida engineer has built a working prototype for a small, portable system that can monitor a person’s breathing and heart rate automatically via wireless signal, with no need for cords or plugs. The goal is to make it easy for people to check their own vital signs, and then transmit them in real time to medical personnel through a cell phone or Internet connection, all with little more than a press of a button.

18 May 2005

"Streaming detection" ultrasound could reduce number of diagnostic procedures for breast lumps

"Streaming detection" ultrasound accurately differentiated fluid-filled cysts from solid masses in a recent pilot study and has the potential to reduce the number of cyst aspirations and imaging follow-ups for breast masses that are indeterminate at conventional ultrasound, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.

17 May 2005

Whole-body MRI takes less than twenty minutes to accurately scan a patient’s entire body for cancer spread to the bone

Whole-body MRI with an automatic moving table is effective for evaluating the entire skeleton in patients with suspected bone metastasis (cancer that has spread to the bone from other parts of the body) in a single imaging scan-and it only takes between 15 and 18 minutes, say two different European studies.

17 May 2005

Polypill improves survival rates for heart disease sufferers

A ‘polypill’ made up of a combination of drugs could extend the lives of thousands of patients with coronary heart disease, say researchers at The University of Nottingham.

10 May 2005

Doctor voices concerns over new NHS IT system

The political drive to implement the NHS's national programme for information technology is failing to take account of professionals' anxieties, argues a GP in this week's BMJ.

5 May 2005

Fusing physics with medicine to fight cancer

Everyone’s lives are touched by cancer - it is a disease that affects 1 in 3 of us throughout our lifetime. Future developments that lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective therapy lie in further successful collaboration between high energy physicists and the healthcare industry.

2 May 2005

Mobile phones join the fight against youth depression

Mobile phones are to be used in a 400 person study to determine how youth depression starts and develops. The researchers hope to use the results to create a mobile phone program to act as an early warning system for at-risk young people.

28 Apr 2005

Portable device to check for concussions

A player just took a hard knock to the head and is lying on the field. A coach rushes to his side, but the player sits up and seems fine.

27 Apr 2005

“Virtual Colonoscopy” effective in finding most polyps but may miss small ones

A type of noninvasive “virtual colonoscopy” can diagnose medium to large polyps as well as traditional colorectal probes can, but it may miss some smaller yet potentially cancerous growths, according to a new review of studies.

21 Apr 2005

Johns Hopkins ACG risk adjustment system to be used in Spain, Portugal

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have signed a four-year agreement with Iasist of Barcelona, Spain, which will give Iasist distribution rights to the JHU Adjusted Clinical Groups® Case-Mix System (ACG System) in Spain and Portugal. Iasist is currently assisting the Basque National Health Service (Osakidetza) in using the ACG System to allocate resources among primary care clinics.

20 Apr 2005

Scientists reveal the shape of a protein that helps retroviruses break into cells

Retroviruses are among the trickier and more malicious disease agents, causing AIDS and cancers such as leukemia. The viruses manage to sneak into cells with the help of special protein assemblies scattered all over their surfaces. These retrovirus surface proteins cause the membrane envelope of the virus to fuse with the membrane of the cell, spilling virus RNA into the cell to wreak damage.

13 Apr 2005

Framework agreement creates safe blood for China

In an important step to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in China, The People's Republic of China's Ministry of Health signed a groundbreaking framework agreement with Washington, D.C.-based Safe Blood International Foundation (Safe Blood International), an organization dedicated to providing a safe blood supply for developing countries to help them stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases at the Ministry of Health in Beijing.

12 Apr 2005

Germany leads the way with e-health

Germany is poised to introduce its next generation e-health card in 2006. The new version, set to replace the existing insurance card – holding only the patient’s name, address and insurance number – will be the latest example of smart card technology to hit the market in Europe. It will be able to store prescription information and might even be used as the standard card for a digital signature – the key to modern eGovernment applications.

12 Apr 2005