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Doctors disagree on new prostate cancer screening guidelines

One doctor suggests the problem is the rush to treatment, not the screening; another suggests that a failure to screen men could be more costly in the long run.

25 May 2012

Silver nanoparticles have high affinity for E. coli bacteria

Porous ceramic water filters are often coated with colloidal silver, which prevents the growth of microbes trapped in the micro- and nano-scale pores of the filter. Other metals such as copper and zinc have also been shown to exhibit anti-microbial activity.

25 May 2012

IUDs, implants far more effective at preventing pregnancy than the pill

A large study of birth control methods in the U.S. found that women using pills, skin patches or vaginal rings were 20 times more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy than women who used intrauterine devices (IUDs) or implants placed under the skin of the upper arm.

25 May 2012

Experts address main barriers to hearing aid use

The main barriers to hearing aid use are being addressed by experts in Nottingham as part of an innovative research project.

25 May 2012

Changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain

Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. In addition, the study found that this rewiring involves fibers that supply the primary input to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for sensory perception, motor control and cognition.

25 May 2012

UofL receives Helmsley Charitable Trust grant to develop technology for paralyzed people

The University of Louisville has received $6.3 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to support research in the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at UofL developing the next generation of technology to help paralyzed people regain movement in their limbs and enhance their quality of life.

25 May 2012

Philips, GE Healthcare applaud FCC for Medical Body Area Networks

GE Healthcare and Royal Philips Electronics applaud the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today for its action allocating protected spectrum for wireless medical devices, called Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs), which could revolutionize the way patients are monitored and help eliminate the restrictive cables that tether patients to hospital beds.

25 May 2012

WSU introduces web-based decision support system to select wheeled mobility devices

A Wayne State University researcher has introduced computer technology that makes it easier for people who need wheelchairs to select one that best suits their needs.

25 May 2012

IUDs and implants effectively reduce risk of unintended pregnancy

A study to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.

24 May 2012

LVRC safe and effective choice for patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema

A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients.

24 May 2012

NYU Langone surgeons perform robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy in New York

A team of urological surgeons from NYU Langone Medical Center performed a robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy in New York and beamed the procedure from New York via high definition satellite to more than 400 participants attending the American Urological Association's (AUA) 2012 Annual Meeting in Atlanta earlier this week.

24 May 2012

Positive Results for Pulsar Stent in Clinical Study – BIOTRONIK announces

The six-month results from the prospective, multicenter, single-arm 4EVER study demonstrate efficacy and safety of BIOTRONIK's Pulsar Stent System in 120 superficial femoral artery (SFA) patients. Analysis of the 120 patients showed excellent device performance, very promising patency rates and convincing evidence of the benefits of lower limb intervention on a 4F platform. Although only the interim results were presented at the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC 2012) in Leipzig, Germany, analysis of the full cohort has recently been made available.

24 May 2012

Halo Healthcare acquires assets of NeoMatrix

Halo Healthcare, Inc. announces it has acquired the assets of NeoMatrix, LLC and has restructured the Company, including engaging a new CEO and management team, appointing a new Board of Directors, and relaunching the HALO diagnostic device for breast cancer risk assessment.

24 May 2012

USP announces two new standards related to elemental impurities

As part of its ongoing efforts to help ensure the quality of medicines, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has announced two new standards related to elemental impurities: General Chapters <232> Elemental Impurities-Limits and <233> Elemental Impurities-Procedures. The new standards provide procedures for the detection of selected impurities in drug products based on modern analytical methods, as well as acceptable limits for their presence based on toxicity data and exposure levels.

24 May 2012

Cepheid’s Xpert CT/NG system receives European CE marking

Cepheid today announced that both Xpert CT/NG and Xpert CT have received CE marking, with shipments expected to begin immediately.

24 May 2012

Optimi prototype effectively predicts people at risk of depression

The computing tool, developed by researchers at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, the Universitat Politècnica of València and the Universitat de València, along with professionals from the company everis, is able to predict if a person with a high-stress level is at risk of becoming depressed, based on the study of a series of physiological and psychological variables in which artificial intelligence techniques are used.

24 May 2012