Medical Engineering
The development of medical equipment, products and technical procedures is characterized by high research and development costs in a variety of fields related to the study of human medicine.
innovations-report provides informative and stimulating reports and articles on topics ranging from imaging processes, cell and tissue techniques, optical techniques, implants, orthopedic aids, clinical and medical office equipment, dialysis systems and x-ray/radiation monitoring devices to endoscopy, ultrasound, surgical techniques, and dental materials.
Alzheimer’s disease; new approach, new possibilities?
Scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) associated with the University of Antwerp have achieved a new breakthrough in their research on the origins of Alzheimer’s disease. Their alternative approach opens up new prospects for developing a treatment which can slow the disease’s progress. The researchers have shown that ´the plaques´ which form in the brain of patients are linked to damage to nearby blood vessels. Leakage appears to occur between the blood vesse
MR spectroscopy helps identify cancerous breast tumors
Measuring the biochemical changes in breast tumors with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy enables radiologists to more accurately distinguish benign tumors from cancerous ones, according to a study appearing in the August issue of the journal Radiology.
“Adding spectroscopy to breast MR examinations will not only reduce concern over possible missed cancers and unnecessary biopsy procedures, it may also improve the efficiency and quality of patient care,” said co-author Si
Statin therapy may lower mortality in heart failure patients
Cholesterol-lowering statin therapy may improve survival in patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF) according to a paper published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association by cardiologists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Currently, there are no treatments shown to improve survival in these patients, who make up about 40 percent of all heart failure cases. Systolic heart failure patients have hearts that don’t pump out enough blood. I
Portable molecular detection tool to revolutionise medical diagnosis
A portable, versatile and low-cost molecular detection tool being developed by a team of European researchers promises to revolutionise the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and open up new applications in sectors as diverse as environmental protection, chemical analysis and food safety.
Working in the field of micro- and nano-technologies, the IST programme-funded BioFinger project is due to begin testing its state-of-the-art system over the summer amid expectations for a c
New gene scanning technology marks a major advance in disease research
Gene scanning techniques developed by Professor Ian Day and colleagues at the University of Southampton are set to have a major impact on healthcare in the future.
One of two gene mutation scanning techniques devised by Professor Day and his team in the Human Genetics Division of the University’s School of Medicine has been successfully applied to search for rare genetic mutations in the population at large.
Their method, called meltMADGE, which combines thermal ramp el