Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week articles from May 2001

Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week archives from May 2001

"Heart Block" With Pacemaker Is Safe Treatment.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For patients who have not responded to medications, treating atrial fibrillation by permanently blocking a key portion of the heart's electrical system and replacing it with a pacemaker leads to...

Core Needle Biopsies Can Reduce Unnecessary Surgical Breast Biopsies.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Unnecessary surgical breast biopsies can be dramatically reduced if women with abnormal mammograms undergo core needle biopsies first, a new study shows. Core needle biopsies - which don't...

New Imaging Technique Could Improve Outcome Of Popular Heart Procedure.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Harvard Medical School may have found a way to give patients peace of mind after undergoing stent angioplasty to open up a coronary artery partially blocked with plaque. At a...

New Biopsy Technique is Safe and Effective.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new ultrasound-guided biopsy technique allows a radiologist to remove all or nearly all of a mass in the breast thus helping to better diagnose whether the mass is cancer or not. The new...

Implanted Mirrors Could Signal When Cancer Recurs.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mirrors could soon reflect the health of cancer patients, according to a report in the April 14, 2001, issue of New Scientist. Instead of running regular blood tests to see if a tumor is...

Microchip Module Can Simplify Blood Screening.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Researchers in Pennsylvania have developed a microchip module which they say makes nucleic acid blood analysis quicker and more convenient. L.J. Kricka...

Duke Surgeon Develops Unconventional Technique For Broken Collarbones.(Duke University)(Carl Basamania)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When Dan L. broke his collarbone 24 years ago during a sandlot football game, doctors told him they could only offer a sling and hope for the best. That was the longstanding medical treatment for...

New Blood Purifying Device Reduces HIV Significantly In Preclinical Trials.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (AEMD) is developing a promising new technology for treating HIV. The HIV-HemopurifierT is a modified dialysis cartridge that has demonstrated the ability to rapidly...

Computed Tomography Is Excellent Diagnostic Tool For Overweight Patients.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Computed tomography (CT) is an excellent technique to diagnose suspected appendicitis if the patient is overweight, preliminary results of a study indicate. CT was 100% accurate in determining...

Intervention Lowers Insulin Resistance, Plasma Leptin Levels.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Susan Hasty, senior medical writer - A three-year follow-up of patients who underwent stomach stapling has shown that the surgery was good for more than just weight loss. Researchers at...

Cow Hemoglobin Product Cleared For Use In South Africa.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A product that can emulate the work of red blood cells, transporting oxygen throughout the body, has been approved for use in South Africa, the products' developers announced April 10, 2001. ...

Three Equally Effective Surgical Procedures May Not Produce Equal Quality Of Life.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women treated for breast carcinoma may experience a different quality of life depending on the type of surgery used to treat the disease, according to a study published in the April 1, 2001 issue...

Ultrafilter More Effective Than Capsule Filter For Detecting Oocysts in Water.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A hollow-fiber ultrafilter system is more effective than the capsule filter currently used with method 1622 for detecting Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in...

Brain Imaging Helps Distinguish Alzheimer's From Less Common Types Of Dementia.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain can aid physicians in distinguishing semantic dementia from Alzheimer's disease, two neurodegenerative disorders that are hard to differentiate in...

NewsRx.net Is Preferred Site for Cancer, Malaria, AIDS, Other Health Searches, Audience Measurement Shows.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, announced on April 17, 2001, the results of audience measurements based on its...

Higher Death Rates Reported For Surgery Patients Who Missed Appointments.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The death rate soared to 27% for lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) patients who canceled two or more follow-up appointments in a study at the University of Washington, as compared to 3% for...

Designer Molecules Link Together To Make Nanotubes A Snap.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inspired by nature's own building blocks, Purdue University researchers are using the same principle that makes DNA strands link together to create tiny structures that may someday be used to...

Antifibrinolytics Not Recommended To Reduce Blood Loss After Total Knee Arthroplasty.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Researchers in Germany argue that antifibrinolytic drugs are not the best method for preventing excessive blood loss after knee replacement surgery. ...

Study Says More, Not Less, Surgery Improves Outcomes For Children With Ear Infections.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Toronto researchers have found that children who are hospitalized with ear infections are much less likely to need further surgery if they undergo a two-part procedure - an...

Treatment With Granisetron Reduces Vomiting After Tonsillectomy.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, staff medical writer - Granisetron is effective at reducing postoperative vomiting (POV) after tonsillectomy in children with a history of motion sickness, anesthesiologists...

Common Ear Surgery For Children Does Not Measurably Improve Development At Age Three.
May 13, 2001... 2001 MAY 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study indicates that, in most cases, inserting tubes in the eardrums - tympanostomy - of children under age three years who have fluid in the middle ear has no measurable effect on improving...

Device Provides Alternative Way Of Breathing, Gives Comprised Lungs A Rest.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Pittsburgh researcher who has developed a device that functions like a temporary set of lungs says such technology could have a tremendous impact for the nearly 750,000 patients...

Negative Abdominal Pressure Device Alleviates Symptoms.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Susan Hasty, senior medical writer - Researchers have tested a device that relieves the debilitating headache and ringing in the ears associated with pseudotumor cerebri (PTC), a condition that...

Implantable Devices And Drugs Might Be Able To Short Circuit Seizures.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center studying epilepsy are finding a pattern of human brain activity that indicates the conditions triggering seizures can take hours to...

New Ultrasound Technique Provides Clear Look At Hard-To-Diagnose Breast Cysts.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Breast harmonic imaging, a new ultrasound technique, can be successfully used to diagnose hard to see breast cysts, which could eliminate the need for some biopsies, a study shows. A study of...

Laser Myringotomy Is Safe And Convenient.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Researchers at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Israel successfully treated adults, children, and infants suffering from otitis media with...

Mushroom Derivative Sacchachitin Is Effective Treatment.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan report the mushroom derivative Sacchachitin safely and effectively promotes wound healing in animals. These same effects may be...

FDA Approves Pacemaker The Size Of Two Quarters.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) announced May 2, 2001, it has received pre-market approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release the St. Jude Medical Microny(R) II SR+...

Collection Method Can Affect Cytokine Expression.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Cytokine levels in whole blood samples are significantly affected by collection and preparation techniques, researchers in Germany warn. "The interest...

Future Of Diagnosis Includes MR Screening Of High Risk Women And MR-Guided Biopsy.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The future of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast includes screening women at high risk of developing breast cancer, and the development of MR-guided core needle biopsy, predicts Carol...

Clinical Trials Start For Ventricular Assist Device.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MicroMed Technology, Inc., announced April 18, 2001, that it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin its pivotal multi-center clinical study of...

Cardiac And Pregnancy Assays Are Being Tested For Emergency Room Use.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Quantech Ltd. (QQQQ) announced May 2, 2001, that Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) has begun clinical studies of the Quantech FasTraQ(TM) instrument system and PrePaQ(TM) cardiac and...

Study Finds Much Variability In Reading And Use Of Echocardiograms.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many cardiologists say that if an echocardiogram is to be used reliably to diagnose heart problems, it's best to go to a doctor trained in its use. But a Johns Hopkins University research team has...

Blood Assay Can Be Modified To Test Saliva.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have successfully modified an HIV blood test for use with saliva, increasing its feasibility for use in developing...

Researchers Combine Two Novel Methods To Improve Success Of Radiation Treatment.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, combined two novel techniques of assessing locally advanced tumors in order to...

Zinc May Improve Blood Cell Proliferation.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Israel have shown that zinc can enhance proliferation of blood cells from chronic hemodialysis patients. J. Weissgarten and colleagues...

Data Indicate Vagas Nerve Stimulation Effective For Depressed.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cyberonics, Inc. (CYBX) announced May 2, 2001, that results of a preliminary study show vagas nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy may effectively normalize sleep abnormalities in depressed patients ...

Grant Awarded To Develop Diagnostic Device.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sequella, Inc., announced on April 23, 2001, that it received a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Grant from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that will...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Is A Useful Diagnostic Aid.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears to be useful for distinguishing tuberculous meningoencephalitis from other forms of the disease. Two...

Tissue-Engineered Product Introduced At Symposium.(Brief Article)
May 20, 2001... 2001 MAY 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ortec International, Inc. (ORTC), announced that its lead product, Composite Cultured Skin (CCS), was introduced to the wound healing community at The 14th Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care...

Ultrasonic Microprobe May Detect, Identify Cancer Rapidly.
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surgical biopsies can be painful, and waiting for lab results unnerving. New ultrasonic sensor technology being developed at the University of Illinois may permit the rapid and accurate detection...

Hypotensive Epidural Anesthesia Reduces Blood Loss.
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hypotensive epidural anesthesia (HEA) can safely reduce blood loss for patients undergoing total knee replacement, researchers in Denmark report. ...

Study Illustrates Abnormal PAT Signal Patterns In Heart Disease Patients.(peripheral arterial tone)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients with coronary artery disease showed significantly different patterns in their exercise-induced Peripheral Arterial Tone, or PAT, signal compared to normal individuals, according to a...

Adjustable Refractive Surgery Effective For Nearsightedness.
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study in the May 2001 issue of Ophthalmology reports good results in the correction of high myopia through use of adjustable refractive surgery (ARS), a technique that combines LASIK and the...

Ultrasound More Accurate For Liver Cancer Detection In Hepatitis Patients.
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - U.S. researchers report ultrasound examination is better than another commonly used screening test for diagnosing primary liver cancer in chronic viral...

Similar Long-Term GERD Outcomes Reported For Surgery And Medical Treatment.(gastroesophageal reflux disease)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly two-thirds of patients who underwent surgery for severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) still used anti-reflux medications, and had similar rates of esophageal disease as patients who...

Digital Optical Technique Can Be Used To Track Transgene Expression.(green fluorescence protein expression)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - In experimental models for gene therapy, researchers can assess the effects of transgene expression after vector delivery; however, it is...

NewsRx Network Chosen As Source For 'Information Therapy'.
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, now is a major source for "information therapy." NewsRx databases are derived...

Tube Type Affects Storage Stability Of HCV In Blood Samples.(nucleic acid stabilization tubes for the collection of blood samples containing hepatitis C virus)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Nucleic acid stabilization tubes (NASTs) may be the best type of tubes to use for collecting and transporting whole blood samples containing hepatitis C...

New Treatment Option For Inoperable Cancer Delivers Radiation Via Tiny Beads.(ThereSphere targeted therapy for inoperable liver cancer)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cancer specialists from the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center report that early results of a new treatment for inoperable liver cancer, known as TheraSphere, are promising. They...

Immunoplatelet Testing Accurate For Low Counts.(blood platelet measurement in thrombocytopenia treatment)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Biochemists in Germany say that immunoplatelet testing provides accurate platelet counts even at extremely low levels, information necessary to provide...

Anti-Thrombin Protein Enters Preclinical Testing.(MPC-1203)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (MYGN) reports that it has begun preclinical testing of its proprietary protein drug MPC-1203 for the treatment of acute thrombotic events such as those due to inflammation...

MRI Helps Characterize Extraspinal Musculoskeletal TB.(tuberculosis diagnosis)
May 27, 2001... 2001 MAY 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cannot be relied upon as the sole diagnostic tool for extraspinal musculoskeletal tuberculosis (EMT), but it may be highly...