All articles by julian turner
julian turner
In cold plasma – new therapy frontiers
Cold plasma therapy is generating a buzz across multiple areas of medicine. According to a recent study, it could hold significant promise in treating chronic wounds, regenerating cells and killing the bacteria responsible for infection. Abi Millar talks to Dr Elena Petersen, a co-author of the paper and head of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Technologies at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, to learn more about the technology’s potential.
Bone of contention – does ultrasound help to heal fractures?
Ultrasound is performed to help speed the healing of bone fractures, but a randomised trial reports the procedure is actually ineffective and we may have been engaging in junk science for decades. Dr Jason Busse, an associate professor of anaesthesiology at McMaster University, who led the study, explains to Andrew Putwain how the imaging community should go forward.
Model children – 3D foetal imaging using Occulus Rift
Virtual reality could soon let us see inside a growing foetus. Using Oculus Rift headsets, a Brazilian team has developed new technology to create a 3D model from ultrasound and MRI, helping to spot birth defects to then communicate to parents. Lead researcher Dr Heron Werner from the Clínica de Diagnóstico por Imagem in Rio de Janeiro explains its benefit to Eleanor Wilson.
Screening: put to new use
The medical imaging community is debating the ethics of breast-cancer screening programmes worldwide after studies have shown that results from mammograms may be misinterpreted. Some countries say they are giving results that unnecessarily prompt invasive treatment, rather than as a tool to see if the patient needs monitoring further. We speak to Dr Karsten Juhl Jørgensen from the Nordic Cochrane Centre, who co-authored a study that showed why we should change the way we use mammograms.
Less is more – revolutionary new X-ray detection
A revolutionary new X-ray detector could significantly reduce the radiation dose given to patients. Elly Earls meets the man behind the research, Professor Jinsong Huang, to find out how.
In sync: phase-contrast imaging
A team of engineers at University College London have developed an X-ray method using phase-contrast imaging technology set to improve cancer detection and reduce reoperation rates. Team leader Professor Alessandro Olivo speaks to Bradford Keen about bringing the X-ray capabilities of a synchrotron to clinical settings and the challenges that lie in his path.
Heart of the matter – PET/CT scanning
For more than a decade, emergency-room patients have been informed as to their cardiac health by a standard stress test of their arterial blood flow. However, new research at the Intermountain Heart Institute, Salt Lake City, indicates that this may only be providing a snapshot of the patient’s cardiac health and, in fact, could provide little long-term prognosis on the likelihood of a heart attack. Greg Noone talks to Viet Le, whose work conducting coronary calcium tests using the facility’s PET/CT scanner is revealing more about the long-term odds of cardiac events.
From outer space to life science – compact gamma cameras
Gamma cameras are traditionally large devices that are situated in nuclear medicine departments, but technology from the world of astrophysics has enabled the production of compact gamma cameras that allow nuclear imaging at the patient bedside and in the operating theatre. Professor John Lees, of the Bioimaging Unit at the University of Leicester, tells Medical Imaging Technology more about it.
Switched-on healthcare – cognitive computing
IBM’s Watson supercomputer, which can answer questions posed in natural language, first came to wide public attention in 2011, when it won the US television quiz-show Jeopardy!. But this crowd-pleasing feat gave just a hint of what this cloud-based technology, known as cognitive computing, can achieve. Applications are now being created for sectors such as retail, education and banking, but the area in which Watson is having its biggest impact is healthcare. Dale Potter, healthcare transformation partner of IBM Watson Group, tells Kim Thomas how its ability to provide physicians with access to a vast database of clinical knowledge may turn out to be transformative.
Open sesame – medical research in the Middle East
The SESAME Project is constructing the Middle East’s first major international research centre, a cooperative venture by the scientists and governments of the region that is under the umbrella of UNESCO. We speak to Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith, the president of the SESAME council, which governs the project, about the set-up for the organisation and what this could mean for public-health research in the region.