Medical Engineering

In response to concerns from hospitals to prepare for eventual pandemic flu outbreaks, the French company AirInSpace, with support from ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme, has successfully adapted technology developed to protect astronauts for use in critical care centres to protect immune-deficient patients against airborne pathogens such as the avian flu virus.

Independent tests conducted at the Laboratory of Virology and Viral Pathogenesis in Lyon, France, by Professor Bruno Li

Orthopedic Surgeons at Rush Are Co-Developers of Implant That Focuses on Shape, Not Size

The first knee replacement shaped to fit a woman’s anatomy has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and will be distributed to orthopedic surgeons to use next week. Dr. Aaron G. Rosenberg and Dr. Richard A. Berger, orthopedic surgeons at Rush University Medical Center, were two of the 10 developer surgeons who sought to address shape-related differences of a wo

Innovations for society

Imaging techniques are increasingly at the forefront of progress in science and technology. The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) is among the leaders in this development. Imaging techniques turn objects visually inside out, allowing ever greater precision– for instance in medical diagnosis. They also contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of certain diseases, like Alzheimer’s or osteoporosis. Further applications occur in materials resea

A new radiation protection technique can significantly reduce physician radiation exposure during coronary angiography, according to a researcher at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.

Using the new device, physicians monitor patients’ angiograms and control exam table movement from behind a lead plastic shield. A newly developed extension bar allows the physician to remain safely behind the shield and still retain table control for panning, acco

A promising new technique to ensure complete tumor removal at breast cancer excision is introduced in the May issue of Radiology.

Researchers used light waves in a newly explored region of the electromagnetic spectrum–the terahertz region–to examine excised breast tissue and determine if the removed tissue margins were clear of cancer, with good results. This technology has the potential to eliminate the need for multiple surgeries and tissue samples to get clear surgical margins.

A new technology for implants that may improve construction or repair of bones in the face, skull and jaw, has been developed by researchers from the American Dental Association Foundation (ADAF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Described in recent and upcoming journal articles,* the new technology provides a method for making scaffolds for bone tissue. The scaffold is seeded with a patient’s own cells and is formed with a cement paste made of mi