Live from the operating theatre - via Google Glass: First ever live stream of surgery while U.S. doctor uses wearable computer

This is the first ever U.S. live stream of an operation via Google Glass

It showed doctor's vantage point via the internet to audiences miles away

It also allowed the doctor to consult in real-time with a distant colleague

The surgeon used Google Glass to consult with a distant colleague using live, point-of-view video from the operating room.

The live stream was part of the exclusive Google Glass Explorer Program, which invited only 1,000 people in the U.S to test the device. 

A surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is the first in the United States to consult with a distant colleague using live, point-of-view video from the operating room via Google Glass

GE recalls gamma cameras after fatal accident - Patient at Bronx VA Hospital Killed After Equipment Collapses

A patient at a veteran's hospital in the Bronx was killed Wednesday when a large piece of diagnostic equipment fell on him in what experts called a rare accident.

The 66-year-old victim was undergoing a procedure using a gamma camera at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center when the apparatus apparently collapsed and crushed him, officials said.

In a statement, a spokesman for the medical center said the camera was installed in 2006 and was maintained by its manufacturer. "This is a very tragic and unusual event and the details are still unfolding," said Jim Connell, a hospital spokesman.

He declined to identify the patient, citing privacy laws.

According to the New York Fire Department, a 911 call for an ambulance came from the hospital on West Kingsbridge Road at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but was quickly called off. A spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner said an autopsy hadn't yet been completed and that the victim hasn't been formally identified by next of kin.

An official with knowledge of the matter said the camera was a Infinia Hawkeye 4 model, manufactured by General Electric Co. The Hawkeye line is one of the largest on the market and can weigh more than 5,000 pounds.

Mr. Connell said the camera had been used in diagnostic procedures "without incident."

fMRI of brain at rest reveals early signs of Alzheimer's

Functional MRI (fMRI) scans of the brain at rest show disruptions in neural networks in patients with early Alzheimer's disease at about the same time as chemical markers of the disease begin to appear in cerebrospinal fluid, according to a study published online August 19 in JAMA Neurology.

The researchers from Washington University in St. Louis assessed resting-state brain fMRI along with the presence of beta-amyloid plaque and tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid to detect the early onset of Alzheimer's disease.

The findings are among the first to show how resting-state fMRI may be an equally effective and less invasive way to detect early development of the disease, according to Dr. Liang Wang, from the department of neurology, and colleagues.

A set of brain areas that are active at rest and share a similar timecourse of activity is shown. The top row represents the average “resting state network” from a group of 15 healthy controls, the middle row 14 schizophrenia patients, and the bottom row 17 bipolar disorder patients. It is clear that there are broad similarities in the brain areas in this network across conditions, but there are also subtle differences, which we are currently investigating.

PET/MRI helps with pulmonary nodule detection -- to a point

Simultaneous PET/MRI performs better than PET and MRI performed separately for the detection of FDG-avid pulmonary nodules and lesions at least 0.5 cm in size. However, it has problems with non-FDG-avid nodules and smaller lesions, researchers report in the September issue of Radiology.

Simultaneous PET/MRI identified 86 (96%) of 90 FDG-avid pulmonary nodules and 78 (89%) of 88 nodules with a diameter of 0.5 cm or larger, in the study from NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

PET/MRI was less proficient in finding lesions smaller than 0.5 cm, achieving a sensitivity of only 38% (19 of 50 nodules), and it had a sensitivity of only 23% (11 of 48) for nodules that were not FDG-avid (Radiology, Vol. 268:3, pp. 874-881).

PET/MRI of a 63-year-old man with a history of lung cancer who underwent diagnostic PET/CT to assess tumor burden. Image shows a left upper lobe lesion (large arrow). A right upper lobe lesion was also found due to FDG avidity. Image courtesy of Radiology.

Functional Maps of Fetal Brain Activity Created Using RSfMRI

Researchers from Wayne State University and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the NIH reported the success- ful mapping of the functional connectivity (FC) networks of fetal brains. Using rest- ing state functional MRI (fMRI) techniques, the team imaged 25 pregnant women during the second and third trimesters. With these techniques, researchers are for the first time able to observe the networks within the brain as they develop.

Breast MRI

In the detection of breast cancer, MRI offers high sensitivity while exposing the patient to no ionizing radiation. It is a painless exam, as minimal or no compression is needed, yet it provides both morphological and functional data.

MR is commonly indicated to:

■ Identify clinically or mammographically occult tumor

■ Stage and plan treatment

■ Detect recurrent tumor

■ Screen high-risk women

■ Evaluate the integrity of breast implants

It is also a valuable tool for guided breast biopsy.

 

Extremities MRI scanners: exquisite, fast and comfortable imaging

The ONI MSK Extreme® 1.5T/ Optima MR430s is a high-field, open MR system delivering the most powerful gradients commercially available. This enabling technology produces high-quality images of cartilage and soft tissue of the extremities, fast scan times, and robust pulse sequences.

The system utilizes a unique spectrometer, proprietary software, six transmit/receive RF coils (80mm, 100mm, 123mm, 145mm, 160mm, 180mm) and sweet spot imaging which provide excellent SNR and exquisite image quality.

The ONI MSK Extreme® 1.5T/ Optima MR430s can offer patients a comfortable, non-claustrophobic experience due to the open, quiet design.

From image quality to patient comfort the ONI MSK Extreme® 1.5T/ Optima MR430s delivers. It is a powerful solution to perform premium musculoskeletal imaging.

Multiparametric MR Enterography

MR Enterography is commonly requested in many MR suites across the world, and the benefits of this exam are substantial to patients. Patients affected by inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis will often undergo many CT scans in their lifetime. Since these diseases primarily affect people between the ages of 15 to 35, the repeated exposure to ionizing radiation comes at significant risk.

MRI and neurodegenerative diseases.

Introduction 

The MRI is a Sophisticated diagnostic and noninvasive method to extract valuable quantitative and qualitative characteristics that can provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of brain function.Neurodegeneration is the generic term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons.Many neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease can occur as a result of neurodegenerative processes.As research progresses, many similarities appear which relate these diseases to one another at a subcellular level. Discovering these similarities offers hope for therapeutic progress that could improve the outcome of many diseases.But for better understanding of these processes, the clinical diagnosis and the development of therapy is necessary to display these degenerative changes.In clinically acceptable time (less than one hour)  is possible to study the situation by applying multiparametric MRI (anatomical imaging, DTI, DWI, PWI, fMRI, p1, p2, p2 *) a diagnostic method that provides information functional, biochemical and structural data for the brain. The ultimate goal of this method is the individualized treatment of each incident and the time of treatment to maximize the desired effect and halt disease progression. These techniques are described below and based on the literature are unique and highly effective diagnostic methods to better manage the disease.

 

Η MR / PET στην απεικόνιση του πνεύμονα

Μια πιλοτική μελέτη διεξήχθη από ερευνητές στην Γερμανία και θα δημοσιευθεί στο τέλος Αυγούστου στο περιοδικό Radiology δείχνει ότι η τεχνική MR/PET παρέχει διαγνωστικές εικόνες υψηλής ποιότητας για την εκτίμηση πνευμονικών εξεργασιών με ταυτόχρονη μείωση της δόσης ακτινοβολίας κατά τουλάχιστον 75%.
Η μελέτη αυτή προσφέρει δεδομένα που αποδεικνύουν την κλινική χρησιμότητα της υβριδικής απεικονιστικής μεθόδου MR/PET, καθώς όπως ευρέθη παρατηρήθηκε παρόμοιος χαρακτηρισμός των βλαβών και σταδιοποίηση των καρκινικών όγκων σε επτά από τους δέκα ασθενείς σε σύγκριση την κλασσική PET / CT.
Η MR/PET θα μπορούσε να προσφέρει μια σημαντική εναλλακτική επιλογή για την απεικόνιση του θώρακα, μαζί με μια δραματική μείωση στην έκθεση σε ιονίζουσες ακτινοβολίες από περίπου 28 mSv για την μέση δόση μίας εξέτασης PET / CT σε 7 mSv απεικόνιση με MR/PET για ολόκληρο το σώμα, όπως αναφέρει στην μελέτη η επικεφαλής συγγραφέας δρ  Ν. Schwenzer, από τμήμα την πανεπιστημιακή κλινική ακτινολογίας του πανεπιστημίου Eberhard-Karls University στην Tübingen (Radiology, Vol. 264:2, σελ. 551-558).

Molecular Imaging

Molecular Imaging targets the biochemical changes of diseases, which often occur a long time before the morphological expressions. Early detection of these biochemical changes provides many more choices and chances for therapeutic intervention during the early stages of a disease. This is the type of power that can and will transform daily medical practice from a system that reacts to disease and treats symptoms, often after it is too late for a cure, to one that detects disease at the beginning and treats its root cause. Ultimate goal with molecular imaging is to enable disease detection much earlier than is currently possible, which ultimately will obviate unnecessary surgeries and treatments. If an intervention is necessary nonetheless, molecular imaging may also be of help. E. g. by detecting tumor borders during the procedure. And in the best-case scenario, it will also result in more cost-effective treatments.
Molecular imaging holds the potential of simultaneously being able to locate, diagnose, and treat disease in vivo as well as the ability to depict how well a treatment is working early after therapy onset.