Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sound of Melanoma: Ultrasound Can Help Doctors Find Cancer More Accurately

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — Knowing the stage of a patient's melanoma is important when choosing the best course of treatment. When the cancer has progressed to the lymph nodes, a more aggressive treatment is needed. Examining an entire lymph node for cancer takes much effort and time. Now, a new technique might help make the process more efficient.

University of Missouri researchers in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center are studying how photoacoustics, or a laser-induced ultrasound, could help scientists locate the general area of the lymph node where melanoma cells could be residing. This new technology could help doctors identify the stage of melanoma with more accuracy.

"This method can be used to determine if the cancer has spread from stage 2, where the melanoma is still just in the skin lesion, to stage 3, where the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes," said John Viator, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Engineering and Department of Dermatology.

source: Science Daily release

Monday, February 22, 2010

GE Healthcare Introduces Vscan™ Pocket-Sized Visualization Tool for Point-of-Care Imaging

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Healthcare today announced the availability of Vscan, a new, pocket-sized visualization tool developed to provide physicians with imaging capabilities at the point-of-care. Roughly the size of a smart phone, Vscan houses powerful, ultra-smart ultrasound technology that provides clinicians with an immediate, non-invasive method to help secure visual information about what is happening inside the body. Vscan is portable and can easily be taken from room to room to be used in many clinical, hospital or primary care settings.

The Vscan imaging device received 510(k) clearance in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the CE Mark by the European Union, as well as the Medical Device License from Health Canada and is now commercially available in the U.S., Europe, India and Canada.

"Having Vscan at my disposal at all times has allowed me to use ultrasound in a number of settings and with patients that I wouldn't have anticipated before – from the ICU, to the outpatient clinic as well as with ambulatory patients," said Anthony N. DeMaria, MD, Professor of Medicine, Judith and Jack White Chair in Cardiology and Director, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

source: GE Medical

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Toshiba Receives FDA Clearance for VIAMO Ultrasound System

New Portable Laptop System Offers Best-In-Class Imaging Capabilities in a Laptop Size

TUSTIN, Calif., Feb. 4, 2010 – Designed to meet the needs of today’s hospitals by combining portability with high-end radiology features, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.’s new ViamoTM laptop ultrasound system has received FDA clearance. The Viamo is the industry’s no-compromise ultrasound system with advanced radiology capabilities, previously unavailable on hand-carried systems. Toshiba’s Viamo provides the best value in the hand carried class by offering the same premier image quality as larger, more expensive ultrasound systems, but at a lower price point for hospitals. The Viamo was introduced at the 2009 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting.

The Viamo combines the portability of a laptop system with advanced radiology features to deliver outstanding image quality, enhance diagnostic confidence and improve ease of use. Developed from a radiology foundation, Toshiba’s Viamo provides the confidence to image patients at bedside, which generally requires larger, more expensive cart-based systems. When an immobile patient needs a high-end ultrasound exam, the portable Viamo ultrasound is brought to the patient to improve the patient’s comfort without compromising exam quality. It is also ideal for a variety of patient exams, including general radiology, pediatric, emergency, OB/GYN and vascular.

source: Toshiba Medical

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Prostate Cancer Biopsy Effective but Lacks Practice Standards

TORONTO, ONTARIO, NEWS RELEASE--(Marketwire - Feb. 9, 2010) - In the first, long-term study of its kind, Sunnybrook researchers provide compelling evidence to support much-needed practice standards in transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy.

The 10-year, Canadian population-based study of serious complication rates requiring hospital admission after transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy reports a significant four-fold increase in hospital admission rates over the study period, with over 70 per cent of cases caused by infection. The findings from this study, which is the largest conducted to-date, are published today in The Journal of Urology.

Transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy is the most common method to confirm a prostate cancer diagnosis by obtaining tissue from the prostate gland using a small probe and echoes of ultrasound waves to form a picture through the wall of the rectum. The procedure is not standardized despite the test's diagnostic effectiveness.

"Data from this study add critical momentum for the development of standards to make transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy as safe as possible for patients," says Dr. Robert Nam, lead investigator and urologic oncologist, Sunnybrook's Odette Cancer Centre.

source: Sunnybrook Press Release

Monday, February 8, 2010

Siemens Showcases New Dedicated Women’s Imaging Ultrasound Platforms at SMFM

Chicago, Ill., February 3, 2010 – Featuring the new release of its premium ACUSON S2000™ ultrasound system – Women’s Imaging and ACUSON X300™ ultrasound system, premium edition (PE) – Women’s Imaging, Siemens Healthcare (booth #813) will highlight the latest innovations in OB/GYN imaging at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) 30th Annual Meeting in Chicago. Siemens will be showcasing advanced clinical applications that bring a new dimension of diagnosis and workflow enhancements to fetal ultrasound.

The ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system – Women’s Imaging represents the pinnacle of innovative technologies and workflow-enhancing clinical applications, which dramatically improve the efficiency and quality of ultrasound exams. Latest acoustic technologies deliver a powerful system optimized for superb 2D, Doppler and 3D/4D imaging for the most demanding requirements in maternal-fetal medicine. The system features Siemens-exclusive knowledge-based workflow applications, such as eSieScan™ workflow protocols, enhancing examination processes and increasing the consistency of exams, while at the same time reducing keystrokes to enable shorter exam times and improve patient throughput.

The ACUSON S2000 system – Women’s Imaging also features Fetal Heart STIC (Spatio-Temporal Image Correlation) imaging, which captures data over multiple heart cycles and creates a 3D fetal heart volume, allowing sonographers to view the fetal heart in multiple planes.

source: Siemens Healthcare

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Scientists Issue Comprehensive Report Into Health Effects Of Ultrasound, UK

The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), which reports to the Health Protection Agency, has reviewed the latest scientific evidence on the health effects of ultrasound (frequencies above 20 kilohertz) and infrasound (below 20 Hz).

The report finds that the available evidence does not suggest that diagnostic ultrasound affects mortality of babies during pregnancy or soon after birth. The evidence also does not suggest any effect on childhood cancer risk. There have, however, been some unconfirmed reports suggesting possible effects on the developing nervous system - for instance, on handedness of the child.

AGNIR concluded that there is no established evidence that diagnostic levels of ultrasound are hazardous. However, further research is needed to determine whether there are any long-term adverse health effects, especially following exposure of the unborn child.

soure:Medical News Today