News
Boston Medical Pioneering New Incisionless Surgery
October 26, 2009 6:38 am | CommentsBoston Medical Center (BMC) surgeons are now offering patients an incisionless alternative to laparoscopic and traditional surgery in the treatment of acid reflux, or GERD. Using a new procedure known as EsophyX TIF (Transoral Incisionless Fundaplication), surgeons can repair or reconstruct the valve between the esophagus and stomach, effectively stopping GERD.
"Phantom of the Opera" Composer Diagnosed With Cancer
October 26, 2009 6:37 am | CommentsAndrew Lloyd Webber is undergoing treatment for early-stage prostate cancer October 26, 2009 LONDON (AP) — Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his spokeswoman said Sunday. The 61-year-old Lloyd Webber's condition is in its early stages, a statement from his publicists said.
Clock Ticking On Democrats' Health Care Reform
October 26, 2009 6:37 am | by by David Espo, AP Special Correspondent | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Time growing short, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate still face key decisions if they are to achieve President Barack Obama's goal of passing legislation to remake the nation's health care system by year's end. In the House, that means setting conditions under which the federal government would sell coverage in competition with private industry.
Microsoft Hopes For Fresh Start With Windows 7
October 23, 2009 6:32 am | CommentsJessica Mintz, AP Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer celebrated the arrival of Windows 7 in New York yesterday with a few hundred people who had helped test early versions of the software. One of them, technology consultant, Jonathan Kay, flew from Toronto to attend. “Windows 7 will redeem Windows,” said Kay.
Obesity - It Must Be Mom's Fault
October 23, 2009 6:13 am | CommentsMalcolm Ritter, AP When Kathy Perusse had weight-loss surgery and shed 120 pounds, she may have done more than make her own life easier. She went on to have two daughters, and she may have boosted their chances of avoiding becoming obese, like her two older children are. That's the implication of research suggesting that something in an obese woman's womb can program her fetus toward becoming a fat child and adult.
Swine Flu Scams Picking Up Speed
October 23, 2009 5:40 am | CommentsMarilynn Marchione, AP Medical Writer Air sterilizers. A photon machine. Supplement pills to boost the immune system. Protective shampoos and face masks. Even fake Tamiflu. These and other products making bogus claims to prevent or treat swine flu are flooding the Internet as scam artists prey on the public's fears during vaccine delays and real Tamiflu — made by Switzerland's Roche Group — is rationed.
ICU Stays More Prevalent Amongst U.S. Patients
October 23, 2009 5:20 am | CommentsKeely Savoie, American Thoracic Society ksavoie@thoracic.org Patients who die in the hospital in the United States are almost five times as likely to have spent part of their last hospital stay in the ICU, when compared to patients in England. What's more, over the age of 85, ICU usage among terminal patients is eight times higher in the U.
ClearCount Medical Solutions Closes Series B Financing Round
October 22, 2009 1:52 pm | CommentsClearCount Medical Solutions, an innovator of patient safety solutions for the operating room, announced today the close of its $3.4M Series B financing round. The company plans to use the funds to drive sales and product development of its RFID-based solutions designed to prevent retained surgical sponges.
Med School Enrollment Up For 11th Straight Year
October 21, 2009 5:56 am | CommentsU.S. medical school enrollment is up for the 11th consecutive year as colleges seek to meet a growing demand for physicians. According to an American Medical Colleges report: First-year enrollment climbed 2 percent over 2008, and now totals nearly 18,400 students. The number of applicants remained mostly stable at around 42,000.
Your Voice Tells Me You Have 17 Minutes To Live
October 21, 2009 5:49 am | CommentsJapanese researchers have developed a computer program which may be able tell from an emergency call if you are about to die. Research published in the open access journal BMC Emergency Medicine shows that a computer algorithm is able to predict the patient's risk of dying at the time of the emergency call.
Gore Implant Sees First Use
October 21, 2009 5:36 am | CommentsW. L. Gore & Associates recently announced the first human implants of their next generation Conformable GORE TAG® Thoracic Endoprosthesis for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms(TAAs). The devices were used to treat patients with a TAA, which is an enlargement that develops in weakened areas of the thoracic aorta.
Seguro Acquires Johns Hopkins Abdominal Surgery Device
October 21, 2009 5:08 am | CommentsSeguro Surgical, Inc., a medical device development company specializing in the commercialization of surgical instrumentation, today announced that it has acquired, from The Johns Hopkins University, the global marketing rights to a new abdominal surgery product. Over two million abdominal surgeries are performed annually in the United States, with the current practice of using cotton towels or sponges to reposition the bowel in order to access the surgical area.
Tech Spending, Including Medical Device Development, Will Rebound
October 20, 2009 6:05 am | CommentsThe research group Gartner, Inc. says the information technology industry is closing its worst year on record, with worldwide tech spending on track to decline 5.2 percent in 2009. But the tech industry is expected to return to a growth pattern next year. Gartner is forecasting a 3.3 percent year-over-year increase in 2010, to $3.
Medical Miracle: Toddler Survives 30' Fall
October 20, 2009 5:55 am | CommentsTalk about a tough kid – a California toddler is alive after falling 30’ from an apartment window and landing on concrete and rocks. Contra Costa County Fire Captain Charles Thomas said the 22-month-old boy was alert and crying after a three-story plunge that left him with just a cut on his abdomen, a bruised lung and a bump on his head.
Nurse Investigated For Cheerleading Suicide
October 20, 2009 5:47 am | CommentsChris Williams, AP Investigators said William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, feigned compassion for those he chatted with, while offering step-by-step instructions on how to take their lives. “Most important is the placement of the noose on the neck ... knot behind the left ear and rope across the carotid is very important for instant unconciousness and death,” he allegedly wrote in one web chat.
