Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week articles from March 2001

Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week archives from March 2001

Computer Program Lends New Precision To Gamma Knife Surgery.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a promising new research effort, a mathematical program is helping automate and fine tune the arduous process of treating brain tumors with radiation surgery. Currently the procedure...

American Heart Association Calls For Check-Up On Modern Blood Pressure Instruments.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The "gold standard" mercury manometer should not be replaced by electronic or aneroid devices used to take blood pressure measurements, according to an editorial in Hypertension, one of the...

FDA Approves U.S. Clinical Trials for Penn State/Arrow Heart Assist Device.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first series of U.S. clinical trials for a new kind of heart assist device, called the Arrow LionHeart, developed by Pennsylvania State...

Targeted Clot-Busting Stops Damage.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An experimental technique that delivers clot-busting medication directly to a brain artery blockage may limit damage done by strokes. The technique, known as intra-arterial thrombolysis,...

Study Finds Radiosurgery More Effective Than Previously Reported.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Radiation oncologists defend gamma knife radiosurgery for acoustic neuromas in the January 2001 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. J.C. Flickinger and colleagues say current radiation-based...

Procedure Not As Effective As Endarterectomy.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Carotid stenting, in which a metal mesh tube is inserted into the main neck artery feeding the brain, is less effective than surgery as a treatment for carotid blockages that can lead to stroke, a...

Combining Treatments Reduces Side Effects.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A two-pronged technique can significantly reduce common side effects during and following kidney dialysis, researchers say. Elevating dialysate sodium...

PET Scans Accurate For Identifying Malignant Lesions.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Positron emission tomography (PET) is an accurate non-invasive imaging test for diagnosis of pulmonary nodules and larger mass lesions, although few data exist for nodules smaller than 1 cm in...

Flap Closure Is Reconstruction Option After Tumor Excision In Head And Neck.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Plastic surgeons report that the use of flap closure after removal of melanomas in the head and neck can improve not only functional outcomes for patients, but appearance, as well. Primary...

Tiny Silicon Devices Measure, Count, And Sort Biomolecules.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Up to now, most biologists have studied the molecules of life in test tubes, watching how large numbers of them behave. But now researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, are using...

Optical Imaging Techniques Save Language Function In Bilingual Patients.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As the population of bilingual patients in the United States is on the rise, physicians are searching for new methods of treating those patients. Primarily, there is a need to optimally treat...

Intercostal Nerve Block Reduces Postoperative Pain.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Intercostal nerve block via thoracoscopy relieves the significant postoperative pain subsequent to video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). ...

Advanced Programming Techniques Improve Brachytherapy.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A merger of advanced mathematical techniques with cutting-edge computer technology may give doctors a powerful new weapon in the battle against prostate cancer. Researchers have developed a...

Overnight Procedure Effective For Sleep Disorder Induced By Renal Failure.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Overnight blood filtration can prevent sleep apnea in patients with malfunctioning kidneys. Sleep apnea "is common in patients with chronic renal...

Brain Imaging May Extend Clot-Buster Time Limit.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2001... 2001 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new use for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may reduce brain damage from stroke and save lives, according to a study led by a scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...

Automated External Defibrillators Appear Efficient, Effective For Cardiac Arrest.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The automated external defibrillator (AED) represents an efficient method for delivering defibrillation to people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital, and studies on its use by both...

Electrosurgical Incision Causes Fewer Complications than Traditional Scalpels.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from Ireland, diathermy midline incision has definite advantages over traditional scalpel incision. Fears of excessive scarring...

Laser Irradiation Treatments Limit Scar Tissue Formation After Heart Attack.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Scientists suggest that one way to limit scar tissue formation after heart attack is to apply low-energy laser irradiation to the damaged tissues. ...

Second Generation Of Radiation Devices Being Tested For Treatment.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cardiologists at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, have begun treating patients with a new catheterization procedure that might eliminate restenosis in arteries...

Crescendo Catheter Delivers Adenoviral Vectors Without Losing Infectivity.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- Biocompatibility is critical when it comes to viral vectors for gene therapy and the catheter that delivers them. Without it, viral infectivity may be...

Combined Spinal And Epidural Does Not Save Time, Incurs More Block Failures.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from Finland, new technology is not always better when it comes to spinal/epidural anesthesia techniques. In a comparison of...

Hotz Appliance Works Best In Infants With Complete UCLP.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from Japan, the usefulness of Hotz appliances for infants with cleft lip and palate may depend on the type of defect. K....

Parotid-Sparing Radiotherapy Preserves Salivary Output.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Paratid-sparing radiotherapy improves quality of life (QOL) for head and neck cancer patients, according to a study from the United States,. ...

Monoclonal Antibody Scintigraphy Assesses Colitis Damage In Rats.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- A new imaging technique may be a useful tool in the assessment of damage from inflammatory bowel disease. Radiolabelling with I-123 anti-vascular...

Thoracic Imaging A "Cornerstone" In Diagnostics And Therapeutics.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The European Respiratory Journal is presenting a series of articles on current topics in thoracic imaging - "one of our key partners in clinical and experimental respiratory medicine,"...

Epidural 2-Chloroprocaine Facilitates Faster Discharge For Ambulatory Knee Arthroscopy Than Lidocaine.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Epidural drugs are not equal when it comes to expediting postoperative discharge. J.M. Neal and colleagues at the Virginia Mason Medical Center,...

Femoral Nerve Block Improves Postoperative Pain Relief In ACL Patients.(Brief Article)(Buyers Guide)
March 25, 2001... 2001 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- A femoral nerve block can reduce the need for intravenous pain medication for patients after undergoing outpatient arthroscopic anterior cruciate...