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NICE recommends Bispectral Index EEG-based monitor for measuring depth of anaesthesia

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products and recognized innovator in patient monitoring and respiratory care devices, today announced that the UK-based National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends the use of electroencephalography (EEG)-based monitors, specifically the Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor, as an option for measuring depth of anaesthesia.

23 Nov 2012

Researchers create 3D map of rod sensory cilium architecture affected by mutation

Using a new technique called cryo-electron tomography, two research teams at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) have created a three-dimensional map that gives a better understanding of how the architecture of the rod sensory cilium (part of one type of photoreceptor in the eye) is changed by genetic mutation and how that affects its ability to transport proteins as part of the light-sensing process.

23 Nov 2012

DiscoGnosis project aims to develop rapid malaria test

An estimated 500 million people become infected with malaria each year. The disease is often lethal - particularly in tropical developing countries with insufficient health care services. The infected suffer from a high fever. As this is also the case with other germs, however, it is important to conduct a rapid and precise analysis to determine the cause of the disease for a successful therapy.

22 Nov 2012

Tirofiban effectively prevents strokes in high risk patients

Scientists may have discovered a new way to prevent strokes in high risk patients, according to research from the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).

22 Nov 2012

Researchers stream braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina

For the very first time researchers have streamed braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina, allowing him to read four-letter words accurately and quickly with an ocular neuroprosthetic device.

22 Nov 2012

Medgenics’ EPODURE Biopump technology for EPO delivery receives U.S. patent

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of BiopumpTM a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced a patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) protecting the use of Medgenics' EPODURE Biopump technology for delivery of erythropoietin (EPO).

22 Nov 2012

New approach could help orthopaedic surgeons better deal with battlefield injuries

Bones are resilient and heal well after most fractures. But in cases of traumatic injury, in which big pieces of bone are missing, healing is much more difficult, if not impossible. These so-called "large segmental defects" are a major clinical problem, and orthopaedic surgeons struggle to treat them, especially among the military in places like Afghanistan.

22 Nov 2012

CHKD surgeons use vacuum bell device to treat pectus excavatum

Surgeons at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) have fitted a patient with a device that might eliminate the need for surgery in some patients with one of the world's most common chest deformities, pectus excavatum, often called sunken chest syndrome.

22 Nov 2012

Max Planck Institute develops neural event-triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging

While in deep dreamless sleep, our hippocampus sends messages to our cortex and changes its plasticity, possibly transferring recently acquired knowledge to long-term memory. But how exactly is this done? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have now developed a novel multimodal methodology called "neural event-triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging" (NET-fMRI) and presented the very first results obtained using it in experiments with both anesthetized and awake, behaving monkeys.

22 Nov 2012

Human Food Project, University of Colorado Boulder launch American Gut

Ever wondered who is living in your gut, and what they're doing? The trillions of microbial partners in and on our bodies outnumber our own cells by as many as 10 to 1 and do all sorts of important jobs, from helping digest the food we eat this Thanksgiving to building up our immune systems.

22 Nov 2012

Hitachi Aloka Medical introduces new advanced versatile ultrasound

Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd. announced that they have introduced an Advanced Versatile Ultrasound, Noblus.

22 Nov 2012

Study demonstrates memory-enhancing effects of low-level light therapy

It's called the "Silver Tsunami" - the swelling number of baby boomers surpassing age 65. As medical advancements extend their lives, they're expected to live well into their 80s and 90s - outlasting any generation in American history.

22 Nov 2012

UH professor named American Mathematical Society fellow for 2013

From a field of mathematical scientists from more than 600 institutions around the world, University of Houston (UH) professor Roland Glowinski has been named a fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for 2013, the program's inaugural year. The prestigious program recognizes AMS members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics.

21 Nov 2012

Electrophysiology: an interview with Dr Kaylene Young

Bioelectricity is an essential part of our make-up. All cells in our body communicate by electrical activity. If an electrical charge is applied to one of our muscles it will interpret that electrical activity as a signal telling it to contract.

21 Nov 2012

Sectra OneScreen can effectively identify people at high risk for osteoporosis

A research team at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm has conducted a study that shows how Sectra's online service, Sectra OneScreen, provides an efficient and inexpensive method for early identification of people in the "at-risk group" for osteoporosis. Sectra OneScreen can be combined with routine mammography examinations.

21 Nov 2012

UNSW-developed nanoparticle could improve effectiveness of chemotherapy for neuroblastoma

In a world-first, researchers from the Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney have developed a nanoparticle that could improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy for neuroblastoma by a factor of five.

21 Nov 2012

New polymer nanoparticles can generate heat and kill colorectal cancer cells

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have modified electrically-conductive polymers, commonly used in solar energy applications, to develop revolutionary polymer nanoparticles (PNs) for a medical application. When the nanoparticles are exposed to infrared light, they generate heat that can be used to kill colorectal cancer cells.

21 Nov 2012

BRIGHTs bind to biomarkers of disease and light up to reveal their location

Called BRIGHTs, the tiny probes described in the online issue of Advanced Materials on Nov. 15, bind to biomarkers of disease and, when swept by an infrared laser, light up to reveal their location.

21 Nov 2012

Health professionals may soon have new method to diagnose Parkinson's

Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson's disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time.

21 Nov 2012

Sharp decline in ECT availability and use in the U.S. general hospitals

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered the most effective treatment option for patients with severe depression who cannot find symptom relief through antidepressant medications or psychotherapy. In a new study, researchers at Butler Hospital and Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island found a sharp decline in the availability and use of ECT in general hospitals across the U.S.

21 Nov 2012