All articles by Blatha
Blatha
Ahead of the game: smart CT scans
Contact sports like American football carry head injury risks and can lead to more CT scans on young players. But how do you make sure you scan only when it’s necessary? Dr Ernest Leva, physician chair of the New Jersey Council of Children’s Hospitals, discusses with Eleanor Wilson the research on offer and how to scan smarter instead of more often.
Tailor-made treatments: handling colorectal cancer
A team at MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, made a scientific discovery that identified a rare subtype of colon cancer. This can be found in 2.2% of patients and harbours newly identified Non-V600 BRAF mutations, which have very slow tumour growth. Dave Callaghan speaks to the study’s primary investigator, Dr Humaid al-Shamsi, associate professor of oncology at the University of Sharjah, UAE, about how this finding will improve survival rates for patients with advanced colon cancer.
Ending essential tremor with focused MR-guided ultrasound
Essential tremor robs its sufferers of the ability to conduct everyday tasks and, until now, treatments have involved moderate to severe side effects, or brain surgery. Professor Wladyslaw Gedroyc, a consultant radiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, discusses with Greg Noone how focused ultrasound therapy can provide effective, non-invasive relief.
Scanning the field: radiation management with CHA
The first large-scale radiation dose management repository for patients undergoing CT scans is under way in the US. Abi Millar speaks to Dr Mary Reich Cooper, senior vice-president of clinical services at the Connecticut Hospital Association, and Dennis Durmis, head of commercial operations for radiology Americas at Bayer, about this project and how it will help to shape patient care.
Efficacy and the path to a cure: treating cystic fibrosis
Proving the effectiveness of treatments for cystic fibrosis has traditionally been limited to basic lung function tests; however, a new MRI technique that was trialled at the University of Missouri has shown that new drugs may offer fresh hope to patients. Ross Davies speaks to Dr Talissa Altes, chair of the study, about her findings.
The beginning of the end for prostate cancer
MRI ultrasound fusion biopsies may sound like something from science fiction, but they are acutally a breakthrough in imaging technology, which help surgeons deliver a better quality of life to patients. Dr Gopal Gupta, associate profressor at Loyola Medicine, Chicago, speaks to Andrew Putwain about what this technology can offer to prostate cancer sufferers.
Rays of hope: advanced X-ray technology
Hospitals have been using X-ray machines for more than 100 years, but limitations remain in the size at which they work well. Andrea Valentino talks to Thierry Grosjean from the FEMTO-ST Institute in France about a possible solution that involves using a horn antenna, and how his work might allow doctors to get closer to tissue and tumours.
Ablate this: removing tumours with ultrasound surgical ablation
The use of high-intensity focused ultrasound surgical ablation methods has grown significantly over the past several years, with the technique now spreading to other types of surgery. One such treatment involves the removal of tumours that can cause seizures in children. Colin Castle talks to Dr Prasanna Jayakar, chairman of the Nicklaus Children’s Brain Institute in Miami, about the revolutionary new applications for the technology.
Going through the motions: medical imaging with robotics
Motor-control technology is rapidly expanding in the world of radiology machinery. Ergonomically advanced, automated machines, high-tech robotics with gesture recognition, and every other whizz and bolt you can think of are being introduced. Jay Hill, general manager of imaging technology and VCP at GE Healthcare, talks to Medical Imaging Technology about how motor and motion control is going to change the medical device industry with the use of robotics.
Surgical precision with elastography imaging probe
Andrew Putwain speaks to Paul Galluzzo, The Technology Partnership’s chief researcher, about a new imaging probe that is designed to give surgeons better vision during procedures. This tool can be used in various situations, including killing or removing cancerous or damaged tissue; navigating around the body during an operation; and working with catheters inside an organ.