News
U.S. Approves Human Stem Cell Research
December 4, 2009 4:11 am | CommentsThe batches, known as lines, were made by two researchers at Harvard University and Rockefeller University using private funds, said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. In March, Obama lifted restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor.
Best Practices Project Improves ER Heart Attack Success
December 4, 2009 3:55 am | CommentsLauran Neergaard, AP Hospitals are giving faster care to lots more heart attack patients, which translates to more lives being saved. Better than three-quarters of people suffering major heart attacks are getting their blocked arteries reopened within 90 minutes of arriving in the emergency room, says a Yale University study of 831 hospitals.
More Minority Doctors Needed
December 4, 2009 3:23 am | CommentsMike Stobbe, AP The new U.S. Surgeon General has called for increased efforts in growing the number of minority physicians. In one of her first speeches to a large crowd since she was sworn in Nov. 3, Dr. Regina Benjamin noted that only six percent of U.S. physicians are minorities — the same as it was a century ago.
Joining Forces For The Smallest Patient
December 4, 2009 3:09 am | CommentsSTERIS Corporation and NeoForce Group, Inc. have agreed to jointly promote the world’s first dedicated surgical system for term and preterm newborns. The new system includes a dedicated neonatal surgical table, customized visualization and integration technology, full procedural capabilities and enhanced connectivity to families and medical professionals outside the room.
Capsa Acquires Artromick Mobile Solutions
December 4, 2009 2:57 am | CommentsCapsa Solutions, a leading provider of storage, processing and transport products, has announced the acquisition of Artromick Mobile Solutions Group and their comprehensive line of medication, medical and mobile computing carts. Artromick Mobile Solutions Group was previously owned by Sterling Partners, a Chicago and Baltimore-based private equity firm.
Blood-Clotting Foam Wins Award
December 2, 2009 7:38 am | CommentsRemedium Technologies Inc., a company developing a shaving cream-like foam that stops severe bleeding, won $10,000 in the Most Promising Security Idea category of the Global Security Challenge 2009. Selected from more than 100 entries from around the world, Remedium is developing a high-pressure foam that can be sprayed into an injured body cavity, adhering to tissue and rapidly stopping bleeding as it expands.
Needle Injuries Going Unreported
December 2, 2009 7:19 am | CommentsMegan Brooks, Reuters The problem, Dr. Martin A. Makary of Johns Hopkins University notes, is that hospitals are not creating a “culture of speaking up. If people are not speaking up regarding their own safety concerns, it's probably a surrogate marker of people not speaking up about patient safety concerns.
H1N1 Generates New Disaster Plans
December 2, 2009 7:07 am | CommentsMaggie Fox, Reuters Stung by the continuing struggle to make a vaccine against the swine flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday her department would review its approach to disaster preparedness. The goal, Sebelius said, will be streamlined regulations that speed the approval of new technologies being promoted through government contracts with private companies.
Mind Control For Robotic Hand
December 2, 2009 6:56 am | CommentsA group of European scientists say they have successfully connected a robotic hand to a man who had lost an arm, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial hand and control it with his thoughts. The experiment lasted a month. Scientists say it was the first time an amputee has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanical hand connected to his nervous system.
ICU Infections Common Worldwide
December 2, 2009 4:35 am | CommentsAn international study that examined the extent of infections in nearly 1,300 intensive care units (ICUs) in 75 countries found that about 50 percent of the patients were considered infected, with infection associated with an increased risk of death in the hospital. The full study will appear in the December 2 issue of JAMA.
Nashville Invest $250 Million For Medical Trade Center
December 2, 2009 4:23 am | CommentsErik Schelzig, AP Market Center Management has announced plans to build and operate a $250 million Nashville Medical Trade Center on the site of the city's existing convention center. Officials say it could create 2,700 jobs. The 12-story structure would be built on top of the largely underground facility that would become available if the Metro Council approves the construction of a new $585 million convention center a few blocks away.
Study: MRSA On The Rise In Hospital Outpatients
December 1, 2009 2:27 pm | CommentsA recent study reveals a seven-fold increase in the potentially lethal superbug in outpatient hospital units between 1999 and 2006 The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA—an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics—poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Nurse Abuse Could Involve Over 100 Victims
December 1, 2009 5:24 am | CommentsA metro Atlanta nurse anesthetist has been charged with molesting and sodomizing anesthetized patients in dental and medical offices, and police say the videotaped abuses could involve 100 or more victims. Paul Patrick Serdula, 47, who worked in dental and medical offices across metro Atlanta, was arrested on child molestation and sodomy charges.
Ambulatory Surgical Centers Best Hospitals In Some Procedures
December 1, 2009 5:11 am | CommentsMeasuring five quality-based performance areas, an ambulatory surgical center out performed a standard hospital in otolaryngic surgeries, according to new research in the December 2009 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery . The cross-sectional study analyzed a total of 486 cases at a pediatric ambulatory surgical center (ASC) and a hospital-based facility (HBF).
Flight Risks
December 1, 2009 4:52 am | CommentsThe first ever published study of aviation-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. finds that more than 1,013 patients are admitted to U.S. hospitals with aviation-related injuries annually, and that 753 aviation-related deaths occur each year. The study, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy and Columbia University, also reports that the largest categories of patients were occupants of civilian, noncommercial powered aircraft.
