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The invisible enemy Where there’s a chronic wound, there’s probably a biofilm. Where there’s wound care, however, there isn’t necessarily a strategy for addressing it. Natalie Healey talks to Karen...
True positives When they work, Covid-19 tests are good for one yes or no question. If only deciding how to use them were so simple. Repeatedly, mass testing programmes using lateral flow tests...
Personal touch Given the heterogeneity of patients and the broad definition of conditions like acute respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis, precision medicine is as applicable in the ICU as...
Trust in the machine Although AI diagnosis aids have made tangible differences to patient outcomes, recent technological developments in the operating room have focused more on manual dexterity than...
High intensity The equipment is the easy part. Beds are an important measure, but ICUs wouldn’t be needed at all if frames and mattresses alone saved lives. Unlike the people working around them,...
Time management It’s been decades since developers realised workflows dominated by hours of repetitive pipetting were market opportunities for pipetting robots, but automation has not impacted...
War on drugs resistance When a novel pandemic fills hospitals and stretches resources to breaking point, it’s hard to avoid overusing antibiotics – even if doing so might create even bigger problems...
The path to recovery With the lung-protective ventilation used to treat severe cases of Covid-19 associated with an ‘air hunger’ similar to that experienced by victims of waterboarding, and patients...
Sharp relief Needlestick accidents are a common cause of injury and can lead to psychological distress for healthcare workers. Natalie Healey explores the measures some hospitals are taking to...
Skin in the game Burns have traditionally been treated with skin grafts, but some burns are so extensive that it can be hard to find enough healthy skin for the procedure. At the University of...
Heroes cleaned these Before Covid-19, life down in the world’s sterile processing departments (SPDs) felt like a lot of pressure for little reward. Could the pandemic change that? Tim Gunn asks SPD...
In with both feet Until recently, research into chronic wound care was small scale, localised and largely uncoordinated. The Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC) is looking to change that. With an initial...
Double jeopardy Like they do every winter, health services across the northern hemisphere are gearing up for flu season – though this year, of course, they have to cope with rather more. With cases...
Put the world to the test In a bleak milestone, the global death toll for Covid-19 has passed one million people. It’s impossible to say how many of these deaths could have been prevented, but it is clear...
Web-side manner US Medicare claims for telemedicine jumped from ten thousand a week in March to well over a million a week in April. Most doctors weren’t trained for this. Tim Gunn asks Kevin Curtis...
More than meets the eye A simple blood test could soon become the latest monitoring tool for the early detection of melanoma in the eye. University of Queensland scientists have discovered markers in the...
Surgeon simulator Artificial intelligence using machine-learning-guided virtual reality simulators can help surgeons develop the skills they need before they step in the operating room, according to...
Breathe easy A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found broad variation in the way non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is delivered in hospitals across the US. Laura C Myers...
Skin in the game Scientists have designed a new method for post-operative wound closing and healing that is fast and effective. It revolves around engineered ‘cell sheets’, layers of skin-based cells....
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