25.12.09
OCULAR COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY
ONTARIO GOVERNMENT MEDICAL INSURANCE (OHIP) now pays for OCT tests by OPHTHALMOLOGISTS (not OPTOMETRISTS) for diagnosis and management of glaucoma & retinal diseases
18.11.09
D3 FASTPOINT detection of 8 viruses in < 25 min.
Using fluorescent microscope detect 8 viruses in < 25 min.
FLU A & B; RSV; MPV; PIV 1,2,3; Adeno.
DIAGNOSTIC HYBRIDS
www.dhiusa.com
866-344-3477
FLU A & B; RSV; MPV; PIV 1,2,3; Adeno.
DIAGNOSTIC HYBRIDS
www.dhiusa.com
866-344-3477
12.10.09
A/H1N1
AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE of SWINE FLU.
Severe attacks in OBESE, PREGNANT and the YOUNG. Extracorporeal oxygenation was required in some young adults. No N100 masks supplied in Ontario so far. No policy in place to compensate diseased or dead SELF-EMPLOYED MDs.
Severe attacks in OBESE, PREGNANT and the YOUNG. Extracorporeal oxygenation was required in some young adults. No N100 masks supplied in Ontario so far. No policy in place to compensate diseased or dead SELF-EMPLOYED MDs.
20.9.09
8.9.09
LITYNSKI-CONN SYNDROME
NEW FINDINGS SUGGEST GREATER PREVALENCE OF LITYNSKI-CONN SYNDROME IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH LOW POTASSIUM AND NOCTURAL POLYURIA. ALDACTONE (SPIRONOLACTONE) IS CHEAP, SIMPLE, DIAGNOSTIC/THERAPEUTIC TEST.
5.9.09
10.8.09
INOMED :www.inomed.com
IOM Intraoperative Neuromonitoring
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM or IOM) describes different procedures, where the integrity of nerves and neural paths or brain function is monitored during surgical interventions.
IOM is performed during interventions where motor or sensory nerves at risk. IOM helps the surgeon to identify and thus to protect nerve structures. " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
inomed's product range for IOM:
ISIS IOM Neuromonitoring System
Modulable IOM system for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring for different surgical fields " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
AEP USB Module
4 channel differential amplifier and 2 channel AEP stimulator " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
NeMo NeuroMonitor
High-end NeuroMonitor for universal applications in surgery with EMG, AEP and SEP functions " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
C2 NerveMonitor
Compact nerve monitor with 4 or 8 channels for daily use in OR " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
CLEO Nerve Monitor
2 channel EMG nerve monitor with integrated stimulator for monitoring and localisation of motor nerves " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Docubox
Thermal printer including EMG evaluate electronics for completing the 2 channel nerve monitors CLEO or Neurosign 100 " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
OSIRIS NeuroStimulator
Programmable constant current stimulator for universal applications in OR, ITS and diagnostic departments " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
OSIRIS Cortical Stimulator
Direct cortical stimulation for localisation of cortical and subcortical structures during tumour resection in the motor cortex and speech areas " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Stimulation Probes and Cables
Stimulation probes for use in all OR situations. Monopolar, bipolar or tripolar probes in different forms and lengths, single use or reusable " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Electrodes for Recording and Stimulation
Single use or reusable recording electrodes for electrophysiological signals " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Device Accessories
Accessories for connection to devices for intraoperative neuromonitoring, like stimulation or recording boxes " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Functional Neurosurgery
Products: Stereotactic systems with ZD and RM frames, IPS inomed planning software, ISIS MER (Micro Electrode Recording), MicroDrive, OSIRIS DBS Stimulator, Neuro N50 lesion generator, micro macro electrodes, TC electrodes and biopsy probes " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
IPS inomed Planning Software
Stereotactic 3D planning software for intraoperative verification of trajectories and support in functional stereotaxy, deep brain stimulation as well as thalamotomy " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Stereotactic Systems
ZD stereotactic frame according to the Center-of-Arc principle and RM stereotactic frame according to the polar coordinates principle " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
MicroDrive
Manual MicroDrive for the adaptation of micro electrodes to all stereotactic devices " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
ISIS MER System
Complete system for optimal stereotactic target localisation by extra-cellular recording with micro electrodes " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Neuro N50 Lesion Generator
Universal device for all conventional coagulation techniques in neurosurgery " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Accessories for Neurosurgery
inomed manufactures a wide range of different electrodes for applications like thermo-lesioning, micro recording and macro test stimulation " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Diagnostic
Products: ND System, OSIRIS NeuroStimulator, OSIRIS Cortical, Magstim 200², Magstim Bistim², Magstim Rapid², EEG System " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
ND System
System for neurophysiological function diagnostic with NLG, EMG, SEP, AEP, VEP and P300 " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
OSIRIS NeuroStimulator
Programmable constant current stimulator for universal applications in OR, ITS and diagnostic departments " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
OSIRIS Cortical Stimulator
Direct cortical stimulation for localisation of cortical and subcortical structures during tumour resection in the motor cortex and speech areas " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Pain Treatment
Pain treatment, especially chronicle pain, is always a challenge. Complex physiological procedures as well as individual specificity of the patient pain condition require a successful treatment, professional competence, experience and, in general, extensive integral therapy approach.
Products: SL2000 Cryoanalgesia Device, Neuro N50 Lesion Generator and RF Accessories " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Cryo Device SL2000
Freezing peripheral nerve fibres causes loss of pain sensation over a prolonged period " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
Neuro N50 Lesion Generator
RF lesion generator for temperature controlled lesioning " src="http://www.inomed.com/fileadmin/templates/images/linkpfeil.gif" width=32>
RF Thermo Probes
inomed RF cannulas can be used in for many applications in pain treatment
8.8.09
HARMONIC FOCUS(Ethicon) disposable curved shears.
DISPOSABLE
NOT RADIOFREQUENCY ACTIVATED
55,5000 vibrations/second causes heat through friction
Harmonic FOCUS™, the latest addition to the Harmonic® advanced energy family, is a curved shear specifically designed for fine and delicate dissections. It offers groundbreaking advantages in terms of efficiency, innovation, performance, and more.
Curved, tapered tips provide precise dissection, while an aluminum shaft minimizes heat
Improved comfort is the result of hand-activated triggers that reduce fatigue and increase concentration
A smaller, lighter handpiece enhances balance
Ergonomic, symmetrical finger rings provide the utmost versatility
NOT RADIOFREQUENCY ACTIVATED
55,5000 vibrations/second causes heat through friction
Harmonic FOCUS™, the latest addition to the Harmonic® advanced energy family, is a curved shear specifically designed for fine and delicate dissections. It offers groundbreaking advantages in terms of efficiency, innovation, performance, and more.
Curved, tapered tips provide precise dissection, while an aluminum shaft minimizes heat
Improved comfort is the result of hand-activated triggers that reduce fatigue and increase concentration
A smaller, lighter handpiece enhances balance
Ergonomic, symmetrical finger rings provide the utmost versatility
5.8.09
ONTARIO LAW REPORTS
ONTARIO LAW REPORTS published weekly
$285/year.
Published by LexisNexis Canada Inc.
ISSN 0030-3089
$285/year.
Published by LexisNexis Canada Inc.
ISSN 0030-3089
4.8.09
ORTHOPAEDIC BRACES
DME-Direct.com is a an orthopedic distributor/supplier for over 40 leading brace manufacturers. With over ten years of experience, we continue to be one of the fastest growing brace suppliers on the internet today for hospitals, orthopedic surgeons, the military, chiropractors, and allied health professionals. We work closely with our brace manufacturers to efficiently manage our inventories and pass the savings on to all our consumers. We continue to supply our customers with the largest selection of medical grade orthopedic products. M-F 7am - 5pm PST.
3.8.09
INSIGHT: Foot care scale
Insight Foot Care Scale
The Insight Foot Care Scale is a unique bathroom weight scale designed to help people with diabetes check their feet everyday.
- It has specially designed, magnified mirrors that allow you to see the bottoms of your feet without having to stretch or strain.
- The scale employs Cue Light Technology, a convenient feature that reminds you to check your feet everyday.
- Large, easy-to-read display
- Easy operation - just press the button to light up the mirrors!
- Convenient side handles
- Includes 5 glass wipes for easy cleaning
- The scale has a weight capacity of 400 pounds.
- The scale is approximately 14 inches long, 13 inches wide and 3 inches high, and weighs ~6 pounds.
- Operates on 4 AA batteries (included)
1.8.09
ALTRAZEAL:nanoflex hydrogel dressing (ULURU Inc.).
ULURU Inc. (NYSE AMEX: ULU) announced that clinical evidence utilizing Altrazeal™ Nanoflex Transforming Powder Dressing has been published in the respected peer-reviewed publication, International Wound Journal. The article, which is the first peer-review publication detailing clinical experience using Altrazeal™, was authored by a team of clinicians and scientists working at Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance ("SALSA") at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, located in Tucson, Arizona.
ALTRAZEAL
Transforming Powder Dressing with nanoflex technology
Sterile R • Sterile by Irradiation
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
The ALTRAZEAL Transforming Powder Dressing is a sterile dressing suitable for the covering and protection of exuding wounds such as burns, abrasions, skin graft donor sites, surgical wounds, and chronic, slow-healing wounds. The product consists of a sterile white powder in a single-use, sterile foil laminate pouch. The product is applied to an exuding wound by sprinkling the powder on the open wound. The particles then hydrate and aggregate to a final moisture content of approximately 65% by mass. The aggregated powder becomes a moist, flexible film over the surface of the open wound that provides an ideal moist wound environment supporting cellular function and tissue repair.
ALTRAZEAL is available in either 2-gram or 5-gram pouches. Each gram of the lyophilized powder consists of 84.8% poly-2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (pHEMA), 14.9% poly-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate (pHPMA), and 0.3% sodium deoxycholate.
Abrasions and lacerations
ALTRAZEAL may be used for: Exuding superficial acute wounds such as skin graft donor sites and second-degree burns (partial thickness burns with exudates, maximum 10% of body surface area) Surgical wounds, such as post-operative wounds or dermatological excisions (only as a primary dressing over wound, not to be used as replacement for sutures) Chronic, slow-healing wounds such as leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, and diabetic ulcers.
ALTRAZEAL
Transforming Powder Dressing with nanoflex technology
Sterile R • Sterile by Irradiation
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
The ALTRAZEAL Transforming Powder Dressing is a sterile dressing suitable for the covering and protection of exuding wounds such as burns, abrasions, skin graft donor sites, surgical wounds, and chronic, slow-healing wounds. The product consists of a sterile white powder in a single-use, sterile foil laminate pouch. The product is applied to an exuding wound by sprinkling the powder on the open wound. The particles then hydrate and aggregate to a final moisture content of approximately 65% by mass. The aggregated powder becomes a moist, flexible film over the surface of the open wound that provides an ideal moist wound environment supporting cellular function and tissue repair.
ALTRAZEAL is available in either 2-gram or 5-gram pouches. Each gram of the lyophilized powder consists of 84.8% poly-2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (pHEMA), 14.9% poly-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate (pHPMA), and 0.3% sodium deoxycholate.
Abrasions and lacerations
ALTRAZEAL may be used for: Exuding superficial acute wounds such as skin graft donor sites and second-degree burns (partial thickness burns with exudates, maximum 10% of body surface area) Surgical wounds, such as post-operative wounds or dermatological excisions (only as a primary dressing over wound, not to be used as replacement for sutures) Chronic, slow-healing wounds such as leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, and diabetic ulcers.
31.7.09
SHEERVISION: 81,000 LUX. FIREFLY INFINITY LED
During 2006 the first LED headlights entered the market that could even compete with fiber optic lights. Their greatest benefit is that they are completely portable (no box to hold you back – just a small battery pack).
They are solid state devices (rather than a bulb) with a life of approximately 50,000 hours. If you work 60 hours per week x 50 weeks per year that would equal 3,000 hours, so 50,000 hours is around 16 years in the future. So, the maintence problem was solved.
Plus, the advanced LED designs puts out a light with a pure white color, not with the blue-tinge common with the fiber optic lights.
The Original FireFly LED from SheerVision was one of the front-running designs when released in 2006. It offered all of the advantages of LED lights as I noted at a price just under $700. The only downside was that some users asked for a little more intensity from the light.
So when launch of the FireFly Infinity in February of 2007, it was the first head light for surgeons, dentists, and veterinarians that removed all of the limitations inherent in previous headlight designs.
Brightness (foot candles):
Standard LED 2,000-3,000 / Fiber Optic 3,000-4,000 / Infinity 7,500+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They are solid state devices (rather than a bulb) with a life of approximately 50,000 hours. If you work 60 hours per week x 50 weeks per year that would equal 3,000 hours, so 50,000 hours is around 16 years in the future. So, the maintence problem was solved.
Plus, the advanced LED designs puts out a light with a pure white color, not with the blue-tinge common with the fiber optic lights.
The Original FireFly LED from SheerVision was one of the front-running designs when released in 2006. It offered all of the advantages of LED lights as I noted at a price just under $700. The only downside was that some users asked for a little more intensity from the light.
So when launch of the FireFly Infinity in February of 2007, it was the first head light for surgeons, dentists, and veterinarians that removed all of the limitations inherent in previous headlight designs.
Brightness (foot candles):
Standard LED 2,000-3,000 / Fiber Optic 3,000-4,000 / Infinity 7,500+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORASCOPTIC DK: Oral cancer detection
Three In One Diagnostic Kit
Orascoptic DK is a versatile, 3-in-1 dental device that employs a battery-powered handheld LED light source and three unique, interchangeable diagnostic instruments.
The DK oral lesion screening instrument works in conjunction with a mild acetic acid rinse to improve the visualization of oral lesions. The DK exam enhances the ability to identify potentially cancerous tissue at its earliest stages. Early detection of pre-cancerous tissue can minimize or eliminate the disfiguring effects of oral cancer and possibly save a life!
The DK transillumination instrument emits an intense, focused beam of light to help visualize crown fractures and caries in teeth. This device makes it easy to identify anterior and posterior proximal caries.
A device every dental professional can use, the DK lighted mirror features a powerful LED light source to illuminate the mirror's reflection. This is the perfect instrument to increase visual acuity in those hard to see places within the oral
Transillumination
To help visualize anterior caries, place the probe on the labio-cervical region of the tooth and examine from the lingual with a mouth mirror.
Anterior Caries:
Clinical
Anterior Caries:
Transilluminated Technique
To help visualize posterior proximal caries, place the probe on the bucco-cervical area of the tooth. Light passes into the cervical region and then radiates occlusally. Caries may appear as a dark triangular or rectangular shadow on the occlusal.
Oral Lesion Screening
The reality of oral cancer*
Each year over 30,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer
1 out of 4 oral cancers detected are in patients who do not smoke or drink alcohol
When detected in later stages, the survival rate from oral cancer is just 50%
A glimmer of hope*
When detected in its earliest stages, oral cancers have an 80% - 90% cure rate.
Physicians do not include an oral lesion screening in their annual patient exams. It is up to the dentist to identify abnormal tissue, preferably during its earliest stages when it is highly curable. The Orascoptic DK oral lesion screening instrument augments a conventional examination by improving the visualization of oral lesions.
* Statistics provided by the Oral Cancer Foundation
3 Reasons Why You Should Perform the Orascoptic® DK Exam
Far-reaching patient health benefits. This advanced oral lesion exam can literally save lives!
Risk Management. Failure to diagnose oral cancer is the #2 cause of dental malpractice. Consistent and comprehensive standard of care helps minimize malpractice risk for dental practices.
Revenue. The 3-minute DK exam can be performed by either a dentist or hygienist. Each exam typically returns a $40 profit and is covered by some insurance plans.
Orascoptic DK is a versatile, 3-in-1 dental device that employs a battery-powered handheld LED light source and three unique, interchangeable diagnostic instruments.
The DK oral lesion screening instrument works in conjunction with a mild acetic acid rinse to improve the visualization of oral lesions. The DK exam enhances the ability to identify potentially cancerous tissue at its earliest stages. Early detection of pre-cancerous tissue can minimize or eliminate the disfiguring effects of oral cancer and possibly save a life!
The DK transillumination instrument emits an intense, focused beam of light to help visualize crown fractures and caries in teeth. This device makes it easy to identify anterior and posterior proximal caries.
A device every dental professional can use, the DK lighted mirror features a powerful LED light source to illuminate the mirror's reflection. This is the perfect instrument to increase visual acuity in those hard to see places within the oral
Transillumination
To help visualize anterior caries, place the probe on the labio-cervical region of the tooth and examine from the lingual with a mouth mirror.
Anterior Caries:
Clinical
Anterior Caries:
Transilluminated Technique
To help visualize posterior proximal caries, place the probe on the bucco-cervical area of the tooth. Light passes into the cervical region and then radiates occlusally. Caries may appear as a dark triangular or rectangular shadow on the occlusal.
Oral Lesion Screening
The reality of oral cancer*
Each year over 30,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer
1 out of 4 oral cancers detected are in patients who do not smoke or drink alcohol
When detected in later stages, the survival rate from oral cancer is just 50%
A glimmer of hope*
When detected in its earliest stages, oral cancers have an 80% - 90% cure rate.
Physicians do not include an oral lesion screening in their annual patient exams. It is up to the dentist to identify abnormal tissue, preferably during its earliest stages when it is highly curable. The Orascoptic DK oral lesion screening instrument augments a conventional examination by improving the visualization of oral lesions.
* Statistics provided by the Oral Cancer Foundation
3 Reasons Why You Should Perform the Orascoptic® DK Exam
Far-reaching patient health benefits. This advanced oral lesion exam can literally save lives!
Risk Management. Failure to diagnose oral cancer is the #2 cause of dental malpractice. Consistent and comprehensive standard of care helps minimize malpractice risk for dental practices.
Revenue. The 3-minute DK exam can be performed by either a dentist or hygienist. Each exam typically returns a $40 profit and is covered by some insurance plans.
30.7.09
DIAGNOdent(KaVo Dental Corp.) Detection hidden caries & subgingival calculus.
Detecting the invisible
Dentists often experience anxiety when attempting to diagnose the phenomenon known as hidden caries. A suspicious-looking tooth presents a treatment dilemma for dentists. Should the tooth be opened up? What if no caries is found? Should the tooth just be watched, or does that give caries more time to destroy the tooth's surface?
A changing caries model: due to floridation, caries has gone "underground". While helping to improve the oral health of many Americans, fluoridation has resulted in harder tooth enamel. Incipient caries lesions that once began on the tooth's surface have no migrated below the surface.
Proven clinical results: Treatment decisions require a higher degree of certainty. The DIAGNOdent laser caries detection aid removes the doubt from treatment decisions regarding hidden caries ore questionable stained grooves. The device's ability to see into occlusal pits and fissures enables dentists to treat sub-surface caries lesions with confidence.
The DIAGNOdent Perio probe aids your detection and treatment of periodontal disease.
Laser fluorescence of subgingival calculus allows quantification of calculus left behind by standard root planing and scaling. Calculus fluoresceses differently than healthy tissue. The device senses the difference and sends a signal to the display, indicating calculus has been identified.
Aids in detecting calculus concrements in periodontal pockets up to 9 mm deep.
Aids to detect calculus levels which are quantified acoustically and visually, allowing tracking over time.
Hygiene treatments become more effective, prompting the hygienist to continue root planing or scaling to remove missed calculus.
Audible and measurable values make more patients aware of their calculus levels, leading to increased patient compliance with the recommended treatment.
This technology is only available from KaVo.
Dentists often experience anxiety when attempting to diagnose the phenomenon known as hidden caries. A suspicious-looking tooth presents a treatment dilemma for dentists. Should the tooth be opened up? What if no caries is found? Should the tooth just be watched, or does that give caries more time to destroy the tooth's surface?
A changing caries model: due to floridation, caries has gone "underground". While helping to improve the oral health of many Americans, fluoridation has resulted in harder tooth enamel. Incipient caries lesions that once began on the tooth's surface have no migrated below the surface.
Proven clinical results: Treatment decisions require a higher degree of certainty. The DIAGNOdent laser caries detection aid removes the doubt from treatment decisions regarding hidden caries ore questionable stained grooves. The device's ability to see into occlusal pits and fissures enables dentists to treat sub-surface caries lesions with confidence.
The DIAGNOdent Perio probe aids your detection and treatment of periodontal disease.
Laser fluorescence of subgingival calculus allows quantification of calculus left behind by standard root planing and scaling. Calculus fluoresceses differently than healthy tissue. The device senses the difference and sends a signal to the display, indicating calculus has been identified.
Aids in detecting calculus concrements in periodontal pockets up to 9 mm deep.
Aids to detect calculus levels which are quantified acoustically and visually, allowing tracking over time.
Hygiene treatments become more effective, prompting the hygienist to continue root planing or scaling to remove missed calculus.
Audible and measurable values make more patients aware of their calculus levels, leading to increased patient compliance with the recommended treatment.
This technology is only available from KaVo.
FLORIDA PROBE: Automated periodontal assessment
The Florida Probe System with FP32 Software.Computerized probe (FP Handpiece) and Footswitch work with FP32 software to transform computer into a computerized probing station
Increased Productivity
The System acts as computerized assistant for the periodontal exam – only one examiner required. This ultimately increases office productivity.
Improved Accuracy
The System’s constant-force, computerized probe allows measurements to be consistent between examiners who likely probe with different amounts of force (which could mean different readings for the same patient). Probe’s precision is 0.2 mm., which also improves the accuracy of measurements and assists the clinician in determining the correct diagnosis and follow-up for the patient.
Automatic Charting
Instead of having to try and read the thin bands on a regular periodontal probe and estimate pocket depth, just bring the blue sleeve of the FP Handpiece down to the gingival margin, tap the Footswitch, and your numerical data is recorded. There is also no need to say the number – the System does this for both the patient’s benefit as well as your own (sound can also be turned off or customized).
Customizable Exam
The exam can be customized to record all or some of the following information: dentition, medical history, risk assessment, recession and hyperplasia, gingival attachment, pocket depth, bleeding, suppuration, furcation, plaque, mobility, MGJ, and diagnosis.
Practice Protection
The Florida Probe System provides exceptional clinical and legal documentation. Use the resulting periodontal chart to create a “treatment map” for scaling and root planing, subgingival antimicrobials or even laser use. When combined with the patient diagnosis sheet, the duo becomes a legal record and informed consent to protect your practice.
Increased Productivity
The System acts as computerized assistant for the periodontal exam – only one examiner required. This ultimately increases office productivity.
Improved Accuracy
The System’s constant-force, computerized probe allows measurements to be consistent between examiners who likely probe with different amounts of force (which could mean different readings for the same patient). Probe’s precision is 0.2 mm., which also improves the accuracy of measurements and assists the clinician in determining the correct diagnosis and follow-up for the patient.
Automatic Charting
Instead of having to try and read the thin bands on a regular periodontal probe and estimate pocket depth, just bring the blue sleeve of the FP Handpiece down to the gingival margin, tap the Footswitch, and your numerical data is recorded. There is also no need to say the number – the System does this for both the patient’s benefit as well as your own (sound can also be turned off or customized).
Customizable Exam
The exam can be customized to record all or some of the following information: dentition, medical history, risk assessment, recession and hyperplasia, gingival attachment, pocket depth, bleeding, suppuration, furcation, plaque, mobility, MGJ, and diagnosis.
Practice Protection
The Florida Probe System provides exceptional clinical and legal documentation. Use the resulting periodontal chart to create a “treatment map” for scaling and root planing, subgingival antimicrobials or even laser use. When combined with the patient diagnosis sheet, the duo becomes a legal record and informed consent to protect your practice.
29.7.09
CPSO failure to obey Coroner's inquest recommendations.
Dr. Tom Bell is a leading plastic surgeon in Toronto. For years, he and his colleagues have been pressing the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to regulate the profession. "As a person going into an office, you should not have to ask - are you a surgeon? Or, are you trained in this? You should rely on the regulatory bodies to have done that level of homework."
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has been told for years that meaningful regulations were needed. In 1989, another woman, Toni Sullivan died after undergoing liposuction. A coroner's inquest recommended stricter standards and guidelines for surgery in private clinics but the college let those recommendations gather dust for the past 17 years.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has been told for years that meaningful regulations were needed. In 1989, another woman, Toni Sullivan died after undergoing liposuction. A coroner's inquest recommended stricter standards and guidelines for surgery in private clinics but the college let those recommendations gather dust for the past 17 years.
LIPOSUCTION DEATHS
Death of Mrs Krista STRYLAND after liposuction by GP Behnaz YAZDANFAR is second known fatality in Toronto. First occurred in a private Victoria street Operating clinic some years ago.
August 25, 1997
THE RISKS IN LIPOSUCTION AREN'T SLIM; THREE DEATHS IN CALIFORNIA RAISE ALARM.
Jane E. Allen Associated Press
Judy Fernandez wanted the looks she had before she gave birth to three sons, and it seemed like an acceptable trade-off: 12 hours of surgery - at a cost of $20,000 - for a renewed face and body. She was 47 and in good health... But Fernandez never woke up from the Liposuction at A New You Plastic Surgery Medical Group in Irvine. She died March 17 from what the Medical Board of California called an overdose of anesthesia, fluid overload and a fatal dilution of the blood. The case is one of three liposuction deaths currently under investigation in California - just the tip of the iceberg experts say, in a burgeoning, unmonitored field driven by a quest for perpetual youth.
The risks of cosmetic surgery cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes, such as the improvement of the appearance of the face by removing wrinkles or reshaping the nose. are increasing as it becomes more accessible to the middle class, experts say. With more doctors in a variety of specialties offering the procedures, some are pushing the margins of safety - often in private, outpatient surgical suites hidden from scrutiny. It was in just such a setting that Rosemarie Mondeck, 39, of San Diego, died June 21, 1994, from cardiac arrest after tummy liposuction at a La Jolla dermatologist's office. Deputy Attorney General Steven Zeigen said Dr. Nina Su, working without an anesthesiologist administered too much epinephrine, a drug used to control local bleeding. ``Once Mondeck started to crash, (Su) didn't know what she was doing,'' Zeigen said. The board temporarily suspended Su's license on April 24 pending results of a disciplinary hearing. Says her attorney, Richard K. Turner of Sacramento: ``I don't think she did anything wrong.'' Tammaria Cotton, a 43-year-old municipal court clerk from Los Angeles, suffered massive blood loss and died of cardiac arrest June 22, 1996, hours after obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Patrick Chavis removed fat from her stomach, bottom and thighs. At one point, he left her to recover at his Lynwood office with only a nurse and a worried husband nearby. At the state board's request, a judge on June 19 temporarily suspended Chavis' license pending a disciplinary hearing. Chavis' attorney Robert D. Walker contends the state's case is based on incomplete records. Seems simple at first On its face, tumescent liposuction tumescent liposuction Cosmetic surgery A type of liposuction in which pressurized fluid–Klein/Hunstad formula is infiltrated into fat, distending, anesthetizing and exsanguinating the region; the TT allows for almost bloodless and painless excision of excess is simple: a doctor injects a combination of saline solution , a local anesthetic and epinephrine to reduce bleeding, until the area becomes taut. Then, the surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a tubelike device called a cannula to suction out fat. The procedure seemed so routine to Cotton, who'd heard about it from her beautician and church friends, that she didn't even tell her husband until the night before her surgery. ``It was just liposuction!'' cried Jimmy Cotton, a police officer, as his wife died in a hospital emergency room. No organizations track such incidents. But Dr. Richard Ruffalo, past chairman of the department of anesthesia at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, says, ``For every case in which a death occurs, there's at least 15 to 20 cases where severe injury has occurred.'' Dr. Frederick M. Grazer, a Newport Beach plastic surgeon plastic surgeon A surgeon specialized in reconstruction or cosmetic enhancement of various body regions, most commonly the face–nose, chin, and cheeks, breasts and buttocks; PSs remove fat deposits through liposuction; PSs reduce scarring or disfigurement , says money is the root problem, especially as doctors' fees are limited by managed care. ``Many doctors who were never interested in plastic surgery ... take a weekend course and become interested in things they can bill upfront without insurance,'' Grazer said. ``They have increased the envelope to see how much they can inject in a patient and how much they can take without killing them.'' Under the proper conditions, liposuction - now the No. 1 cosmetic operation in the country - is safe, says Grazer, past president of both the California Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is an organization devoted to the advancement of cosmetic surgery. It has approximately 2,400 members. U.S. members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. . By various estimates, anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 procedures are performed annually in the United States. Grazer is waging a campaign to alert colleagues to potential overdoses from too much lidocaine injected into patients also receiving intravenous anesthesi. Overloading these patients with fluids can create Pulmonary Edema . Grazer related the story of an East Coast doctor whose patient died at home hours after liposuction. Grazer explained that the lidocaine overdose was delayed because levels in the blood peak eight to 10 hours after surgery. Revoked licenses In response to Fernandez's death, the state has at least temporarily revoked the medical licenses of Dr. William Earle Matory Jr., an experienced plastic surgeon, and Dr. Robert Ken Hoo, an anesthesiologist nine months out of residency. The state says Matory injected 14 to 15 liters of anesthetic-laced fluids and suctioned nearly 10 liters of fat. Meanwhile, Hoo administered nearly 19 liters of intravenous fluids. The 5-foot-3 woman walked in at 150 pounds. She died at 183, swollen from forehead to toes. Her surgery - done by a surgeon whose lawyers cite a flawless 21-year record and an anesthesiologist whose lawyers say was taking his cues from the surgeon - has shaken the community of cosmetic surgeons. The irony is that Fernandez, of La Habra, did everything right. She found a reputable, board-certified plastic surgeon. So what went wrong? Some doctors say removing 10 liters of fat was excessive. Dr. Ronald Iverson of Pleasanton, president of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, says he never removes more than 8 liters. ``There really isn't any paper, any book or any set of guidelines ... out there that tell you what is proper,'' said Dr. Guillermo Castillo of Champaign, Ill., president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. Although Iverson and other plastic surgeons keep blood replacement nearby to counter blood loss, there was none in the Fernandez case, the Medical Board found. And Matory performed very complex surgery outside a hospital, which Grazer and several colleagues found to be ``showing very poor judgment.'' But it should be noted that no surgery is risk-free. Matory performed an ambitious combination of full-body liposuction, a mini-facelift, brow-lift and laser skin resurfacing of the face, neck and chest. ``The public can't expect absolute protection and perfection because when you operate on the human body, whether you're doing a gallbladder or a facelift, you're injuring the body's tissue,'' Grazer warned.
August 25, 1997
THE RISKS IN LIPOSUCTION AREN'T SLIM; THREE DEATHS IN CALIFORNIA RAISE ALARM.
Jane E. Allen Associated Press
Judy Fernandez wanted the looks she had before she gave birth to three sons, and it seemed like an acceptable trade-off: 12 hours of surgery - at a cost of $20,000 - for a renewed face and body. She was 47 and in good health... But Fernandez never woke up from the Liposuction at A New You Plastic Surgery Medical Group in Irvine. She died March 17 from what the Medical Board of California called an overdose of anesthesia, fluid overload and a fatal dilution of the blood. The case is one of three liposuction deaths currently under investigation in California - just the tip of the iceberg experts say, in a burgeoning, unmonitored field driven by a quest for perpetual youth.
The risks of cosmetic surgery cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes, such as the improvement of the appearance of the face by removing wrinkles or reshaping the nose. are increasing as it becomes more accessible to the middle class, experts say. With more doctors in a variety of specialties offering the procedures, some are pushing the margins of safety - often in private, outpatient surgical suites hidden from scrutiny. It was in just such a setting that Rosemarie Mondeck, 39, of San Diego, died June 21, 1994, from cardiac arrest after tummy liposuction at a La Jolla dermatologist's office. Deputy Attorney General Steven Zeigen said Dr. Nina Su, working without an anesthesiologist administered too much epinephrine, a drug used to control local bleeding. ``Once Mondeck started to crash, (Su) didn't know what she was doing,'' Zeigen said. The board temporarily suspended Su's license on April 24 pending results of a disciplinary hearing. Says her attorney, Richard K. Turner of Sacramento: ``I don't think she did anything wrong.'' Tammaria Cotton, a 43-year-old municipal court clerk from Los Angeles, suffered massive blood loss and died of cardiac arrest June 22, 1996, hours after obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Patrick Chavis removed fat from her stomach, bottom and thighs. At one point, he left her to recover at his Lynwood office with only a nurse and a worried husband nearby. At the state board's request, a judge on June 19 temporarily suspended Chavis' license pending a disciplinary hearing. Chavis' attorney Robert D. Walker contends the state's case is based on incomplete records. Seems simple at first On its face, tumescent liposuction tumescent liposuction Cosmetic surgery A type of liposuction in which pressurized fluid–Klein/Hunstad formula is infiltrated into fat, distending, anesthetizing and exsanguinating the region; the TT allows for almost bloodless and painless excision of excess is simple: a doctor injects a combination of saline solution , a local anesthetic and epinephrine to reduce bleeding, until the area becomes taut. Then, the surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a tubelike device called a cannula to suction out fat. The procedure seemed so routine to Cotton, who'd heard about it from her beautician and church friends, that she didn't even tell her husband until the night before her surgery. ``It was just liposuction!'' cried Jimmy Cotton, a police officer, as his wife died in a hospital emergency room. No organizations track such incidents. But Dr. Richard Ruffalo, past chairman of the department of anesthesia at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, says, ``For every case in which a death occurs, there's at least 15 to 20 cases where severe injury has occurred.'' Dr. Frederick M. Grazer, a Newport Beach plastic surgeon plastic surgeon A surgeon specialized in reconstruction or cosmetic enhancement of various body regions, most commonly the face–nose, chin, and cheeks, breasts and buttocks; PSs remove fat deposits through liposuction; PSs reduce scarring or disfigurement , says money is the root problem, especially as doctors' fees are limited by managed care. ``Many doctors who were never interested in plastic surgery ... take a weekend course and become interested in things they can bill upfront without insurance,'' Grazer said. ``They have increased the envelope to see how much they can inject in a patient and how much they can take without killing them.'' Under the proper conditions, liposuction - now the No. 1 cosmetic operation in the country - is safe, says Grazer, past president of both the California Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is an organization devoted to the advancement of cosmetic surgery. It has approximately 2,400 members. U.S. members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. . By various estimates, anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 procedures are performed annually in the United States. Grazer is waging a campaign to alert colleagues to potential overdoses from too much lidocaine injected into patients also receiving intravenous anesthesi. Overloading these patients with fluids can create Pulmonary Edema . Grazer related the story of an East Coast doctor whose patient died at home hours after liposuction. Grazer explained that the lidocaine overdose was delayed because levels in the blood peak eight to 10 hours after surgery. Revoked licenses In response to Fernandez's death, the state has at least temporarily revoked the medical licenses of Dr. William Earle Matory Jr., an experienced plastic surgeon, and Dr. Robert Ken Hoo, an anesthesiologist nine months out of residency. The state says Matory injected 14 to 15 liters of anesthetic-laced fluids and suctioned nearly 10 liters of fat. Meanwhile, Hoo administered nearly 19 liters of intravenous fluids. The 5-foot-3 woman walked in at 150 pounds. She died at 183, swollen from forehead to toes. Her surgery - done by a surgeon whose lawyers cite a flawless 21-year record and an anesthesiologist whose lawyers say was taking his cues from the surgeon - has shaken the community of cosmetic surgeons. The irony is that Fernandez, of La Habra, did everything right. She found a reputable, board-certified plastic surgeon. So what went wrong? Some doctors say removing 10 liters of fat was excessive. Dr. Ronald Iverson of Pleasanton, president of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, says he never removes more than 8 liters. ``There really isn't any paper, any book or any set of guidelines ... out there that tell you what is proper,'' said Dr. Guillermo Castillo of Champaign, Ill., president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. Although Iverson and other plastic surgeons keep blood replacement nearby to counter blood loss, there was none in the Fernandez case, the Medical Board found. And Matory performed very complex surgery outside a hospital, which Grazer and several colleagues found to be ``showing very poor judgment.'' But it should be noted that no surgery is risk-free. Matory performed an ambitious combination of full-body liposuction, a mini-facelift, brow-lift and laser skin resurfacing of the face, neck and chest. ``The public can't expect absolute protection and perfection because when you operate on the human body, whether you're doing a gallbladder or a facelift, you're injuring the body's tissue,'' Grazer warned.
VELscope system : detection of ORAL CANCER
The VELscope system emits a safe blue fluorescent light into the oral cavity that “excites” the oral tissue. The VELscope system’s tissue fluorescence takes advantage of the natural presence of FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) in healthy cellular activity. When healthy cellular activity is present, this FAD glows a candy apple green when viewed through the VELscope handpiece. If the tissue instead appears dark and irregularly-shaped, this can be an indication of abnormal cellular activity that could include dysplasia or even oral cancer. In many cases such abnormal activity will not have been apparent during the white light exam.
Cost:$8,000
Cost:$8,000
27.7.09
REMEDYUK: ACTION GROUP of UK DOCTORS
COMPULSORY HIV TESTING for Junior Doctors in UK
Consent for HIV testing
Q. When can you carry out an HIV test without proper counselling or consent? A. When you are testing a junior doctor.That is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics (Salkeld LR, McGeehan SJ, Chaudhuri E, Kerslake IM. HIV testing of junior doctors: exploring their experiences, perspectives and accounts. J Med Ethics. 2009 Jul;35(7):402-6) which looked at the experiences of junior doctors having HIV testing as part of their pre-employment screening.
The researchers looked at 4 different hospitals in the South West of England. They found that although the doctors who were tested appreciated the rationale for the testing they were dissatisfied with the way in which the testing was conducted.
Individuals working in hospitals may be at risk through their occupation - transmission of HIV from patient to doctor is considerably more common than from doctor to patient – and having an HIV test can be the source of much anxiety. A positive HIV test would be devastating for a doctor in terms of his career, his personal health and that of his immediate family. Current UK Guidelines for HIV advise that pre-test informed consent is obtained, and the process should be confidential.
In contrast the doctors in this study were of the opinion that informed consent to have an HIV test had not been obtained in their case, that they were unable to decline the offer of an HIV test and that the approach adopted by the staff offering the test was nothing more than a cursory gesture towards discussing the issues surrounding being tested for HIV. Many commented that there was little opportunity to ask questions. Few were offered any follow-up counselling or discussion.
“I think there should be pre-test counselling, as we would give patients” commented one doctor. Another commented “The only discussion I had with somebody about the test was to say ‘We’re going to test you for HIV, is that OK’ and then being stabbed!”.
The actual testing was performed very openly. “You were all stood in a line, one after another in the same room.” Several of them raised concerns about the confidentiality of the process.
Most of the doctors recognised the benefits to patients of being tested, even though HIV transmission from doctor to patient is extremely rare, and there is evidence that patients want to know the HIV status of their health care workers. And current guidelines, from both the Department of Health and the General Medical Council, insist that doctors who perform a procedure which could potentially infect a patient should be aware of their HIV status.
But there is a lack of logic behind this – why are doctors taking up new jobs tested whereas doctors already in-post are not? The reason given by the DoH is that doctors already in-post have a professional duty to seek professional advice if they have a potential exposure.
The authors question the logic of this assumption, especially since doctors who carry out exposure-prone procedures may become HIV positive, and they argue that the policy of testing only new employees may provide false reassurance to the public.
Consent for HIV testing
Q. When can you carry out an HIV test without proper counselling or consent? A. When you are testing a junior doctor.That is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics (Salkeld LR, McGeehan SJ, Chaudhuri E, Kerslake IM. HIV testing of junior doctors: exploring their experiences, perspectives and accounts. J Med Ethics. 2009 Jul;35(7):402-6) which looked at the experiences of junior doctors having HIV testing as part of their pre-employment screening.
The researchers looked at 4 different hospitals in the South West of England. They found that although the doctors who were tested appreciated the rationale for the testing they were dissatisfied with the way in which the testing was conducted.
Individuals working in hospitals may be at risk through their occupation - transmission of HIV from patient to doctor is considerably more common than from doctor to patient – and having an HIV test can be the source of much anxiety. A positive HIV test would be devastating for a doctor in terms of his career, his personal health and that of his immediate family. Current UK Guidelines for HIV advise that pre-test informed consent is obtained, and the process should be confidential.
In contrast the doctors in this study were of the opinion that informed consent to have an HIV test had not been obtained in their case, that they were unable to decline the offer of an HIV test and that the approach adopted by the staff offering the test was nothing more than a cursory gesture towards discussing the issues surrounding being tested for HIV. Many commented that there was little opportunity to ask questions. Few were offered any follow-up counselling or discussion.
“I think there should be pre-test counselling, as we would give patients” commented one doctor. Another commented “The only discussion I had with somebody about the test was to say ‘We’re going to test you for HIV, is that OK’ and then being stabbed!”.
The actual testing was performed very openly. “You were all stood in a line, one after another in the same room.” Several of them raised concerns about the confidentiality of the process.
Most of the doctors recognised the benefits to patients of being tested, even though HIV transmission from doctor to patient is extremely rare, and there is evidence that patients want to know the HIV status of their health care workers. And current guidelines, from both the Department of Health and the General Medical Council, insist that doctors who perform a procedure which could potentially infect a patient should be aware of their HIV status.
But there is a lack of logic behind this – why are doctors taking up new jobs tested whereas doctors already in-post are not? The reason given by the DoH is that doctors already in-post have a professional duty to seek professional advice if they have a potential exposure.
The authors question the logic of this assumption, especially since doctors who carry out exposure-prone procedures may become HIV positive, and they argue that the policy of testing only new employees may provide false reassurance to the public.
26.7.09
BACKJACK Flex; BioSkin Premium Bracing
WWW.BIOSKIN.COM CROPPER MEDICAL Inc. of ASHLAND. OREGON
Adjustable, abdominal compression back brace with shoulder straps was shown at the Toronto 17th Annual conference of the International Spine Intervention Society. (ISIS).
The International Spine Intervention Society (ISIS) is an association of physicians whose motivation is the development, study of efficacy, and implementation of percutaneous techniques for the precise diagnosis and treatment of spine pain. By fostering a forum for the exchange of ideas, the society consolidates advancements in the field, identifies and resolves controversies, and recommends guidelines based on scientific data. These goals converge to establish procedural and practice principals to enhance the quality of life for patients suffering with spine pain.
ISIS educates physicians in appropriate methodology to treat spine pain, including precision diagnostic and therapeutic spine intervention procedures. By means of highly qualified instructors, ISIS courses employ informative lectures and presentations, coupled with fluoroscopically guided percutaneous spine procedures to inform, instruct, and tutor physicians.
Physicians involved represent multiple specialties including but not limited to anesthesiology; physical medicine and rehabilitation; radiology; neurology; orthopedic surgery. All ISIS members are board certified physicians who seek state of the art information.
Educational activities include hands-on cadaver workshops, didactic courses, annual meetings, and practice management tutorials. All ISIS programs are structured to allow an exchange of ideas, interaction with faculty, extension of training, and a means for cost-effective management of patients.
With more than a decade of experience conducting objective, unbiased, and ethically motivated educational programs, ISIS is the first organization of its type. Participating physicians develop a clear understanding of the skills and training necessary to perform interventional spine procedures.
Adjustable, abdominal compression back brace with shoulder straps was shown at the Toronto 17th Annual conference of the International Spine Intervention Society. (ISIS).
The International Spine Intervention Society (ISIS) is an association of physicians whose motivation is the development, study of efficacy, and implementation of percutaneous techniques for the precise diagnosis and treatment of spine pain. By fostering a forum for the exchange of ideas, the society consolidates advancements in the field, identifies and resolves controversies, and recommends guidelines based on scientific data. These goals converge to establish procedural and practice principals to enhance the quality of life for patients suffering with spine pain.
ISIS educates physicians in appropriate methodology to treat spine pain, including precision diagnostic and therapeutic spine intervention procedures. By means of highly qualified instructors, ISIS courses employ informative lectures and presentations, coupled with fluoroscopically guided percutaneous spine procedures to inform, instruct, and tutor physicians.
Physicians involved represent multiple specialties including but not limited to anesthesiology; physical medicine and rehabilitation; radiology; neurology; orthopedic surgery. All ISIS members are board certified physicians who seek state of the art information.
Educational activities include hands-on cadaver workshops, didactic courses, annual meetings, and practice management tutorials. All ISIS programs are structured to allow an exchange of ideas, interaction with faculty, extension of training, and a means for cost-effective management of patients.
With more than a decade of experience conducting objective, unbiased, and ethically motivated educational programs, ISIS is the first organization of its type. Participating physicians develop a clear understanding of the skills and training necessary to perform interventional spine procedures.
24.7.09
ONTARIO GOVERNMENT to pay for PET scans.
From OCTOBER 1 OHIP will pay for a rationed number of PET scans.This follows the Toronto meeting in July of the International Society of Nuclear Medicine.
23.7.09
MEDAREX: IPILIMUMAB antibody for Late MELANOMA
Bristol-Myers to buy Medarex for $2.4bn
NEW YORK - US drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co late on Wednesday said it will pay $2.4bn to acquire Medarex Inc, a biotechnology company that has been helping it develop a promising treatment for melanoma since 2005.
The agreed offer of $16 a share represents a 90 percent premium to Medarex’s closing share price on Wednesday of $8.40 per share on Nasdaq. Bristol already owns a 2 percent stake in Medarex, through its four-year-old partnership with its neighbour in Princeton, New Jersey.
Pharmaceuticals - Jul-21The deal could help Bristol-Myers regain its stature as one of the world’s leading players in the oncology market, and to develop treatments for immunologic conditions such as arthritis, lupus and psoriasis.
Medarex has developed mice with human immune systems that are able to generate fully human antibodies that can be used as drugs.
The two companies are developing one of the antibodies, called ipilimumab, as a treatment for patients in late stages of melanoma - the most deadly form of skin cancer for which no highly effective treatments now exist.
In three mid-stage clinical trials, 30 to 42 per cent of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the drug were still alive after two years, which Bristol-Myers said established a survival benefit.
The companies are now conducting a larger late-stage trial, requested by US regulators, designed to show an unequivocal survival benefit.
”This deal will give us (full) rights to ipilimumab and broadly position Bristol-Myers for long-term leadership in biologics,” said Bristol-Myers spokesman Brian Henry, referring to complicated biotech drugs that are typically given by injection.
He said Medarex is testing 10 other drugs in clinical trials, some with other large drugmakers.
”This deal clearly expands our opportunities in oncology and immunology,” Henry said.
NEW YORK - US drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co late on Wednesday said it will pay $2.4bn to acquire Medarex Inc, a biotechnology company that has been helping it develop a promising treatment for melanoma since 2005.
The agreed offer of $16 a share represents a 90 percent premium to Medarex’s closing share price on Wednesday of $8.40 per share on Nasdaq. Bristol already owns a 2 percent stake in Medarex, through its four-year-old partnership with its neighbour in Princeton, New Jersey.
Pharmaceuticals - Jul-21The deal could help Bristol-Myers regain its stature as one of the world’s leading players in the oncology market, and to develop treatments for immunologic conditions such as arthritis, lupus and psoriasis.
Medarex has developed mice with human immune systems that are able to generate fully human antibodies that can be used as drugs.
The two companies are developing one of the antibodies, called ipilimumab, as a treatment for patients in late stages of melanoma - the most deadly form of skin cancer for which no highly effective treatments now exist.
In three mid-stage clinical trials, 30 to 42 per cent of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the drug were still alive after two years, which Bristol-Myers said established a survival benefit.
The companies are now conducting a larger late-stage trial, requested by US regulators, designed to show an unequivocal survival benefit.
”This deal will give us (full) rights to ipilimumab and broadly position Bristol-Myers for long-term leadership in biologics,” said Bristol-Myers spokesman Brian Henry, referring to complicated biotech drugs that are typically given by injection.
He said Medarex is testing 10 other drugs in clinical trials, some with other large drugmakers.
”This deal clearly expands our opportunities in oncology and immunology,” Henry said.
MODU: INVENTOR DOV MORAN'S MODULAR PHONE
Modu is a tiny modular phone that can be slipped into different device “jackets”— like an MP3 player, GPS, bigger cell phone, car stereo, or digital camera. Modu will launch in Q2, 2009 with mobile carriers in Israel, Southeast Asia and later in Latin America, Russia and other countries. There are no plans for a U.S. launch at this point.
The company was founded by CEO Dov Moran whose previous company, M-Systems, pioneered the concept of the USB flash drive and sold to SanDisk for $1.6 billion in 2006.
Think of Modu as an expanded SIM card. About the size of an iPod Nano, it can place calls, send text messages, and hold contacts. Modu can be inserted into different device jackets, depending on the functionality needed. The camera jacket, for instance, can be paired with Modu to send pictures over the wireless network.
Modu will initially support just GPRS, no WiFi. The jacket devices are expected to cost less than comparable gadgets with telephony functionality, with the plan to create an accessory mini-economy around the Modu, so that any device manufacturer could create whatever jackets they like. Modu is a platform, and other companies can build devices around it.
The company was founded by CEO Dov Moran whose previous company, M-Systems, pioneered the concept of the USB flash drive and sold to SanDisk for $1.6 billion in 2006.
Think of Modu as an expanded SIM card. About the size of an iPod Nano, it can place calls, send text messages, and hold contacts. Modu can be inserted into different device jackets, depending on the functionality needed. The camera jacket, for instance, can be paired with Modu to send pictures over the wireless network.
Modu will initially support just GPRS, no WiFi. The jacket devices are expected to cost less than comparable gadgets with telephony functionality, with the plan to create an accessory mini-economy around the Modu, so that any device manufacturer could create whatever jackets they like. Modu is a platform, and other companies can build devices around it.
22.7.09
SERUM FREE LIGHT CHAIN ANALYSIS
Barbara Maniglia
International Marketing Manager - Freelite™ & Hevylite™
Introducing Wikilite.com
Wikilite.com is a new online educational resource on serum free light chain Freelite and heavy chain/light chain Hevylite analysis. Similar in content to the 5th Edition book entitled "Serum free light chain analysis (plus Hevylite)", the web pages will be continuously reviewed and updated with new publications.
Publication review – keep up to date with recent publications
MGUS
A monoclonal gammopathy precedes multiple myeloma in most patients. Weiss BM, Abadie J, Verma P, Howard RS, Kuehl WM. Blood 2009;113:5418-22
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) precedes Multiple Myeloma: a prospective study.
Landgren O, Kyle RA, Pfeiffer RM, Katzmann JA, Caporaso NE, Hayes RB, et al. Blood 2009;113:5412-7
In the same edition of Blood, Weiss and Landgren both report analyses examining the evolution of MGUS into multiple myeloma (MM)… more
Renal
Treatment of acute renal failure secondary to multiple myeloma with
chemotherapy and extended high cut-off hemodialysis.
Hutchison CA, Bradwell AR, Cook M, Basnayake K, Basu S, Harding S, et al. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:745-54 - Order: MKG516
This prospective pilot study assessed the combination of standard chemotherapy with extended haemodialysis using a high cut-off dialyser (HCO-HD) on serum FLC
concentrations and renal recovery in 19 patients with biopsy-proven cast
nephropathy and dialysis-dependent acute renal failure… more
Are renal reference intervals required when screening for plasma cell
disorders with serum free light chains and serum protein electrophoresis?
Abadie, J.M., K.H. van Hoeven, and J.M. Wells, Am J Clin Pathol, 2009. 131(2): p. 166-71.
A modified renal reference range for the FLC κ/λ ratio (0.37-3.1) was proposed for patients with renal impairment (Hutchison et al. 2008). Abadie et al. evaluated this range when screening for plasma cell disorders… more
Screening
Utility of serum free light chain analysis when screening for
lymphoproliferative disorders.
Robson, E.J.D., et al., Lab Med, 2009. 40(6): p. 325-329.
Robson et al. examined the utility of screening for lymphoproliferative disorders
using a combination of serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and serum FLC tests. Of 653 serum samples, serum FLC analyses significantly contributed to diagnosis in seven patients… more
Inaccuracies in 24-hour urine testing for monoclonal gammopathies.
Siegel, D.S., et al., Lab Med, 2009. 40(6): p. 341-344.
Siegel et al. examine the relative merit of monitoring patients using serum and urine tests… more
Amyloidosis
Identification of amyloidogenic light chains requires the combination of
serum-free light chain assay with immunofixation of serum and urine.
Palladini, G., et al., Clin Chem, 2009. 55(3): p. 499-504.
The authors analysed the diagnostic sensitivity of serum/urine IFE and the serum FLC assay in 121 AL amyloidosis patients… more
International Marketing Manager - Freelite™ & Hevylite™
Introducing Wikilite.com
Wikilite.com is a new online educational resource on serum free light chain Freelite and heavy chain/light chain Hevylite analysis. Similar in content to the 5th Edition book entitled "Serum free light chain analysis (plus Hevylite)", the web pages will be continuously reviewed and updated with new publications.
Publication review – keep up to date with recent publications
MGUS
A monoclonal gammopathy precedes multiple myeloma in most patients. Weiss BM, Abadie J, Verma P, Howard RS, Kuehl WM. Blood 2009;113:5418-22
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) precedes Multiple Myeloma: a prospective study.
Landgren O, Kyle RA, Pfeiffer RM, Katzmann JA, Caporaso NE, Hayes RB, et al. Blood 2009;113:5412-7
In the same edition of Blood, Weiss and Landgren both report analyses examining the evolution of MGUS into multiple myeloma (MM)… more
Renal
Treatment of acute renal failure secondary to multiple myeloma with
chemotherapy and extended high cut-off hemodialysis.
Hutchison CA, Bradwell AR, Cook M, Basnayake K, Basu S, Harding S, et al. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:745-54 - Order: MKG516
This prospective pilot study assessed the combination of standard chemotherapy with extended haemodialysis using a high cut-off dialyser (HCO-HD) on serum FLC
concentrations and renal recovery in 19 patients with biopsy-proven cast
nephropathy and dialysis-dependent acute renal failure… more
Are renal reference intervals required when screening for plasma cell
disorders with serum free light chains and serum protein electrophoresis?
Abadie, J.M., K.H. van Hoeven, and J.M. Wells, Am J Clin Pathol, 2009. 131(2): p. 166-71.
A modified renal reference range for the FLC κ/λ ratio (0.37-3.1) was proposed for patients with renal impairment (Hutchison et al. 2008). Abadie et al. evaluated this range when screening for plasma cell disorders… more
Screening
Utility of serum free light chain analysis when screening for
lymphoproliferative disorders.
Robson, E.J.D., et al., Lab Med, 2009. 40(6): p. 325-329.
Robson et al. examined the utility of screening for lymphoproliferative disorders
using a combination of serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and serum FLC tests. Of 653 serum samples, serum FLC analyses significantly contributed to diagnosis in seven patients… more
Inaccuracies in 24-hour urine testing for monoclonal gammopathies.
Siegel, D.S., et al., Lab Med, 2009. 40(6): p. 341-344.
Siegel et al. examine the relative merit of monitoring patients using serum and urine tests… more
Amyloidosis
Identification of amyloidogenic light chains requires the combination of
serum-free light chain assay with immunofixation of serum and urine.
Palladini, G., et al., Clin Chem, 2009. 55(3): p. 499-504.
The authors analysed the diagnostic sensitivity of serum/urine IFE and the serum FLC assay in 121 AL amyloidosis patients… more
21.7.09
Professor ALICE STEWART MD FRCP : Obit.
Dr Alice Stewart
Thorn in the side of the nuclear industry
ALICE STEWART was one of Britain's foremost epidemiologists until her retirement, at the age of 90, five years ago. Early in her career she showed that X-raying foetuses, a common way of monitoring pregnancy in the 1950s, caused childhood leukaemia. She went on to show that the harmful effects of exposure to low-level radiation were far more serious that had been officially accepted, and championed the caused of nuclear-industry workers.
Alice Mary Naish, epidemiologist: born Sheffield 4 October 1906; First Assistant, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University 1942-47, First Assistant, Department of Social Medicine 1947-53, Reader in Social Medicine 1953-74; Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Medicine, Birmingham University 1974-96, Honorary Professor 1996-2002; married 1933 Ludovick Stewart (one daughter, and one son deceased; marriage dissolved); died Oxford 23 June 2002.
Alice Stewart was one of Britain's foremost epidemiologists until her retirement, at the age of 90, five years ago. Early in her career she showed that X-raying foetuses, a common way of monitoring pregnancy in the 1950s, caused childhood leukaemia. She went on to show that the harmful effects of exposure to low-level radiation were far more serious that had been officially accepted, and championed the caused of nuclear-industry workers.
Her parents, Lucy and Albert Naish, were paediatricians who worked in the Sheffield slums and became local heroes for their dedication to children's welfare. She inherited her mother's intuition and gift for problem solving and her father's analytic intelligence and talent for diagnosis. Dashing and beautiful, she inherited too their intelligence, intuition, commitment to the betterment of society and willingness to sacrifice financial gain for the prevention of disease.
She entered the Cambridge medical school as one of four women among 300 men, who stamped their feet when the women entered the lecture theatre and slammed their desk lids when they sat down. However, she made many friends among the arts students, including the poet William Empson. Her relationship with him lasted 60 years until his death in 1984, although she married someone else.
Barred from hospital work as she was a woman, she went to the Royal Free for her clinical training. After the Second World War she moved to the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at Oxford, investigating the effects of exposure to TNT in munitions-factory workers, the effects of carbon tetrachloride, and the curious prevalence of TB in the footwear industry. Having shown her mettle, she was brought into the Oxford child health surveys.
The incidence of child leukaemias was increasing and no one knew why. She suspected that the mothers might remember something the doctors did not, so she interviewed them and rapidly saw the correlation with X-rays, which she demonstrated statistically. X-rays were medicine's new toy and were being used for everything from examining the position of the foetus to treating acne; even shoe shops had X-ray machines where customers could see how their footwear fitted. This was at the height of the arms race, when the British and US governments were trying to build up public trust in the friendly atom and did not want people to get the idea that low-dose radiation could kill their children.
The leukaemia-pregnancy link was briefly resisted by the medical establishment but soon led to a ban on X-rays on pregnant women. It was, however, fiercely opposed by many physicists and radiobiologists, the UK National Radiation Protection Board, the International Commission for Radiation Protection, and by the powerful nuclear lobbies, within and outside government, that ICRP seemed to serve. Stewart's findings implied that low-level radiation, which had become an everyday part of life for nuclear workers, the armed forces and sometimes even the public, could be far more harmful than had been thought or admitted.
She survived opposition to become Director of the Nuffield Institute of Social Medicine. It was most unusual for women to be in senior positions at Oxford at the time and she stood out both intellectually and for her beauty and vivacity in the dowdy academic world of the time.
In 1974, when she was 68 and about to retire from Oxford and relocate to Birmingham University, she and her statistician colleague George Kneale were contacted by Dr Thomas Mancuso, who had been appointed by the US Atomic Energy Commission to study the health of nuclear workers at a plutonium-manufacturing complex in Hanford, Washington. Since the industry was required by law to work within the exposure levels laid down by the ICRP, the study was also seen as a test of these standards. The Stewart-Kneale-Mancuso analysis revealed over 10 times the cancer incidence predicted from A-bomb survivor studies.
An immediate and damning official outcry ensued. Mancuso was deprived of his directorship by the US government and the use of outside consultants was promptly banned. Stewart and her colleagues, undaunted, published a major report in 1977 and added to it over the following years.
When she returned to England with the Hanford data, there was an inquiry about whether the nuclear installation at Sellafield should be expanded. Stewart assumed that the nuclear industry would be eager to know what she and Mancuso had turned up about the Hanford workers, but she was wrong. "They were sending out refutations of us behind our backs, but never once did they consult us directly." She was, however, contacted by anti-nuclear groups from around the world. She infuriated the Establishment by pointing out that, until the nature of radiation damage to genes was understood at the molecular level, predictions of second-generation and long-term genetic effects were premature.
She spent 20 years as Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham university, working from a caravan, professionally isolated and attacked, paid a pittance and starved of research funding. In the mid-Eighties – when she was 80 – she was awarded a $2m grant from the Three Mile Island Public Health Fund.
Her energy and determination never flagged. She was in demand at conferences, hearings, inquiries throughout England, Europe and the United States. She testified for nuclear workers seeking compensation, for British and American veterans of atomic testing, for women arrested protesting the siting of cruise missiles at Greenham Common.
She was only the ninth – and youngest – woman to become, in 1946, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. (She, her brother John and her father were Fellows all at the same time.) In the 1990s Professor Nicholas Kurti proposed her for Fellowship of the Royal Society but was unable to overcome the opposition.
Alice Stewart loved her home, family, garden and countryside, and always had time for her children and grandchildren. She was the subject of a biography by Gayle Greene, The Woman Who Knew Too Much: Alice Stewart and the secrets of radiation (1999).
Caroline Richmond
Thorn in the side of the nuclear industry
ALICE STEWART was one of Britain's foremost epidemiologists until her retirement, at the age of 90, five years ago. Early in her career she showed that X-raying foetuses, a common way of monitoring pregnancy in the 1950s, caused childhood leukaemia. She went on to show that the harmful effects of exposure to low-level radiation were far more serious that had been officially accepted, and championed the caused of nuclear-industry workers.
Alice Mary Naish, epidemiologist: born Sheffield 4 October 1906; First Assistant, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University 1942-47, First Assistant, Department of Social Medicine 1947-53, Reader in Social Medicine 1953-74; Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Medicine, Birmingham University 1974-96, Honorary Professor 1996-2002; married 1933 Ludovick Stewart (one daughter, and one son deceased; marriage dissolved); died Oxford 23 June 2002.
Alice Stewart was one of Britain's foremost epidemiologists until her retirement, at the age of 90, five years ago. Early in her career she showed that X-raying foetuses, a common way of monitoring pregnancy in the 1950s, caused childhood leukaemia. She went on to show that the harmful effects of exposure to low-level radiation were far more serious that had been officially accepted, and championed the caused of nuclear-industry workers.
Her parents, Lucy and Albert Naish, were paediatricians who worked in the Sheffield slums and became local heroes for their dedication to children's welfare. She inherited her mother's intuition and gift for problem solving and her father's analytic intelligence and talent for diagnosis. Dashing and beautiful, she inherited too their intelligence, intuition, commitment to the betterment of society and willingness to sacrifice financial gain for the prevention of disease.
She entered the Cambridge medical school as one of four women among 300 men, who stamped their feet when the women entered the lecture theatre and slammed their desk lids when they sat down. However, she made many friends among the arts students, including the poet William Empson. Her relationship with him lasted 60 years until his death in 1984, although she married someone else.
Barred from hospital work as she was a woman, she went to the Royal Free for her clinical training. After the Second World War she moved to the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at Oxford, investigating the effects of exposure to TNT in munitions-factory workers, the effects of carbon tetrachloride, and the curious prevalence of TB in the footwear industry. Having shown her mettle, she was brought into the Oxford child health surveys.
The incidence of child leukaemias was increasing and no one knew why. She suspected that the mothers might remember something the doctors did not, so she interviewed them and rapidly saw the correlation with X-rays, which she demonstrated statistically. X-rays were medicine's new toy and were being used for everything from examining the position of the foetus to treating acne; even shoe shops had X-ray machines where customers could see how their footwear fitted. This was at the height of the arms race, when the British and US governments were trying to build up public trust in the friendly atom and did not want people to get the idea that low-dose radiation could kill their children.
The leukaemia-pregnancy link was briefly resisted by the medical establishment but soon led to a ban on X-rays on pregnant women. It was, however, fiercely opposed by many physicists and radiobiologists, the UK National Radiation Protection Board, the International Commission for Radiation Protection, and by the powerful nuclear lobbies, within and outside government, that ICRP seemed to serve. Stewart's findings implied that low-level radiation, which had become an everyday part of life for nuclear workers, the armed forces and sometimes even the public, could be far more harmful than had been thought or admitted.
She survived opposition to become Director of the Nuffield Institute of Social Medicine. It was most unusual for women to be in senior positions at Oxford at the time and she stood out both intellectually and for her beauty and vivacity in the dowdy academic world of the time.
In 1974, when she was 68 and about to retire from Oxford and relocate to Birmingham University, she and her statistician colleague George Kneale were contacted by Dr Thomas Mancuso, who had been appointed by the US Atomic Energy Commission to study the health of nuclear workers at a plutonium-manufacturing complex in Hanford, Washington. Since the industry was required by law to work within the exposure levels laid down by the ICRP, the study was also seen as a test of these standards. The Stewart-Kneale-Mancuso analysis revealed over 10 times the cancer incidence predicted from A-bomb survivor studies.
An immediate and damning official outcry ensued. Mancuso was deprived of his directorship by the US government and the use of outside consultants was promptly banned. Stewart and her colleagues, undaunted, published a major report in 1977 and added to it over the following years.
When she returned to England with the Hanford data, there was an inquiry about whether the nuclear installation at Sellafield should be expanded. Stewart assumed that the nuclear industry would be eager to know what she and Mancuso had turned up about the Hanford workers, but she was wrong. "They were sending out refutations of us behind our backs, but never once did they consult us directly." She was, however, contacted by anti-nuclear groups from around the world. She infuriated the Establishment by pointing out that, until the nature of radiation damage to genes was understood at the molecular level, predictions of second-generation and long-term genetic effects were premature.
She spent 20 years as Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham university, working from a caravan, professionally isolated and attacked, paid a pittance and starved of research funding. In the mid-Eighties – when she was 80 – she was awarded a $2m grant from the Three Mile Island Public Health Fund.
Her energy and determination never flagged. She was in demand at conferences, hearings, inquiries throughout England, Europe and the United States. She testified for nuclear workers seeking compensation, for British and American veterans of atomic testing, for women arrested protesting the siting of cruise missiles at Greenham Common.
She was only the ninth – and youngest – woman to become, in 1946, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. (She, her brother John and her father were Fellows all at the same time.) In the 1990s Professor Nicholas Kurti proposed her for Fellowship of the Royal Society but was unable to overcome the opposition.
Alice Stewart loved her home, family, garden and countryside, and always had time for her children and grandchildren. She was the subject of a biography by Gayle Greene, The Woman Who Knew Too Much: Alice Stewart and the secrets of radiation (1999).
Caroline Richmond
Professor ALICE STEWART
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low-Level Radiation
The Effects on Human and Non-Human Life
Lecture by Dr. Alice Stewart MD FRCP
Dr. Alice Stewart, Great Britain. Medical doctor,
Professor for Social Medicine, expert on low-level
radiation, Alternative Nobel Prize.
You will find that the advocates of nuclear power are very fond of reminding us of two things: The first is that from the very moment of conception to the moment when we die we are going to be exposed to natural background radiation. And the second thing they like to remind us of is that actually even a small part of our tissue is radioactive, this, of course, referring to the fact that a fraction of an important chemical called potash has still a little residual radioactivity in it. So their argument goes as follows: If we have this much exposure to natural radiation and, by implication nothing is happening -- nothing bad is happening --, as a result of this, why are we making any fuss about other small doses of radiation?
Well, of course they've had to admit that radiation is a cause of mutations -- by mutation we mean a disturbance of the behavior of a cell brought about by damage to the DNA --, and they've had to admit that there is no such thing as a dose of radiation which is too small to cause this damage and that the damage, once incurred on a cell, as long as the cell lives and continues to divide, will be passed on to daughter cells, so they've had to admit that there is some element of danger here. But now, we all change our tune and refer -- I'm still talking on behalf of the advocates of nuclear power -- to the experience of a well-defined population that was in fact exposed to radiation and even exposed to major doses of radiation or at least estimates of it, namely the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. And they will refer to a long, drawn-out study where they failed to find any effect of low doses. They admitted, of course, that high doses could actually kill you immediately, or they could cause acute radiation damage. But at the end of a very long follow-up, they finally decided that the people who had been exposed to -- I'll give you a rough figure -- about ten times background radiation -- which was considered of course very low -- had not only not suffered at all, but actually were slightly better off. This started another train of thought that perhaps, as a result of human beings having been exposed to radiation, ever since the race was there and back into geological time history, perhaps we have developed some sort of immunity to radiation and actually it could be arguable that perhaps a little radiation could do you good. So there's even a thesis in the literature on this subject.
Now, that is one side of the story, and it's far, far and away the most important. But, of course, there is the other side of the story, and that is the story in which a person like myself who has to try and find out where the truth lies of people who have exaggerated the effects of low-level radiation. They've tried to ascribe to small events or happenings in their lives some exaggerated notion of what has gone wrong as a result of being exposed to radiation. I wouldn't quote this, but I'm sure you're well aware that a natural anxiety would lead to this and might lead to some, scientifically speaking, slightly unfortunately exaggerated remarks. So I'm really trying to spend the few minutes I have with you today to try and explain to you some of the difficulties that face somebody trying to find out exactly where we do lie with regard to low-level radiation.
I want, first of all, to tell you that my heart is with you. I would be against nuclear energy for all the instinctive reasons that one has, that we human beings are playing with a very, very, very dangerous toy. The benefit of any doubt should be given to the people who -- should be against, strongly against anybody who says there is no danger. In other words, there should be an instinctive feeling amongst us that this might be a mistake, that there was a danger that they had failed to detect on the grounds of one thing alone: Can you, or is it at all easy to, detect a small effect?
Now, that is going to be the thesis of my lecture: I'm going to explain to you why it is so difficult to establish this and why it's been so easy for the other side to say that there has been no effect. And there are three things that I would like you, especially anybody among you who is a real activist on this subject and has to go out from this room and tell other people about, that there are three reasons why it is so hard to actually establish that there is a danger from very low-level radiation in spite of natural background radiation being inescapable.
The first and most obvious reason is, of course, that any small-dose effect is bound to be weak. You're looking for something very small -- small and rare. It's not going to be obvious. And any idea that you're going to get an epidemic springing up as a result of leakage, say, small leakage from a radioactive nuclear power station or anything of that order, please dismiss from your minds at all. You are looking for evidence of a small, very rare event. That's the first difficulty.
The second difficulty is that this event is going to be long delayed. What does it matter whether a cell that I've told you about has a damaged form of behavior? Does it matter? Can't it live with all the other cells in your body and not necessarily do any harm? You've got millions, billions of these cells. Does it matter? Well, of course, the reason why it matters is two-fold. There are two situations: If it's what we call a somatic cell, a body building cell, then as a result of this damage the cell doesn't obey the full central instructions of the body as a whole, and should circumstances change or should there be a gradual deterioration in general health, which inevitably comes about with age, the effects of age and changing circumstances may be such that the cell becomes liberated from the usual restraining influences and causes what we all know to be under the general heading of cancer. By cancer, of course, I include leukemia, but leukemia is just one form of cancer -- it's a blood cancer, and the others are cancers of other tissues. You can get a cancer in any tissue. You don't need to be a human being to get a cancer, you can be an animal and you can be a plant. Any living organism in this world is at risk of a mutation at some longish delayed period of time getting free from the restrictions that make you function as a whole being and end up with a cancer. Now, I've said "a long time". Is it measurable? Well, it turns out it's not only long but it's very, very variable. You could be very unlucky and be hitting these particular circumstances and go off fairly soon. So, this is for purposes or people who are looking for this trouble we're now up against two difficulties: A rare event that is going to occur almost any time thereafter in the form of cancer. And I mean that. It can -- in very rare circumstances of an embryo being attacked -- it can occur within a year. But usually, in adults it might be delayed 80 years.
And I must come back to the second stream of thought that if it's germ cell-damage, it's going to skip a generation before you see anything, and it's not only going to skip one generation, it's going to skip one, two and three generations, because it's got to meet up with a pair before it shows that the damage has been done. So, the time scale of the thing you're looking for is astronomically large imposing all sorts of difficulty for the investigator.
And what will be the effect of the germ cell-damage? And this I want you to bear in mind: If there's any proof that a cancer is there, there's going to be an implication, a certain implication, a certainty, that there will be a genetic damage that may not express itself for several generations, but when it does it will lead to the deterioration of the unique human development, namely the brain. You're going to feed into the genetic pool of human genes damage which will deteriorate the one thing for which we are famous, namely that we have the capacity to think for ourselves.
Those are two reasons. I promised you a third one, and the third one is perhaps the most difficult of all to conceive. It is that this event that you are looking for, which is rare and long delayed, is also going to be a very common, natural event. This follows from the concept of there being any effect to background radiation. You'll notice, that if there's going to be a low-level radiation effect, there's bound to be a background radiation effect. Therefore, the thing you're looking for is a natural phenomenon, isn't it? It must be there, must be happening all the time. You know we're all whirling around in space, but we all have the impression that we are sitting quietly, absolutely still in this hall. This is exactly the same impression that we're getting from any ill effect of background radiation, that it isn't there. But it is there. But we're all suffering from it equally or sufficiently equally for all practical purposes not to show.
Now you've got three things that are going to make it extremely difficult to prove that low-level radiation has any bad effect. It's going to be rare, it's going to be long-delayed and follow two tracks, either the track of cancer or the track of the defective inherited gene, and it's going to be an everyday event. How on earth do you ever establish any proof that this is so at all, never mind, say, that you'll require this before you're going even to contemplate the idea that nuclear could be dangerous?
Well, the reason I am here on this platform is really a fluke. But it is also in the context of saying that it has something to do with women and I think a rather nice fluke. First of all, of course, I'm a woman, but that wasn't the point. What led to the discovery, the first and to this day the only most certain effect of a very low dose of radiation in the human population was the result of my saying: "Why don't we go and ask the mothers?"
The situation was as follows: Way back in the 1950's, there was a worldwide increase in leukemia. I can tell you today that this was an unnecessary alarm. It was an alarm due to the fact that because anti-biotics had come into our lives, we were seeing for the first time very many cases of leukemia, and normally don't. These children -- or adults, for that matter -- would have died of infections before you realized that they were truly suffering from a latent form of a blood cancer. But (..?) the anti-biotics in these cases emerge? Now, we didn't know this, but what we did notice -- we as medical people -- we noticed that children between two and four were suffering more than any other age group. And we were sufficiently expertised to know that this was very unusual. If children get troubles -- they either get them as babies; new born babies are very vulnerable, or they get trouble after they go to school, which is usually at the age of five and they are meeting other children -- why children between two and four?
And this was where I said: "Why don't we go and ask the mothers?" And we picked out -- we needed all the cases in Britain -- we got the death certificates of every child who had died of leukemia in the last three years; we had as control groups every child who died of any other form of cancer, and a live child for each dead child. And I must now tell you . . . we set out to do a survey -- it's known as the "Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers" because that was where I was actually working at the time --, and it set out to interview the mothers of children who had recently died, either from leukemia or from another malignant disease, and for each dead child we had a live child. And it was from what the mothers told us of these children that it became recognized that the children who had died of cancer -- let's say an early death from cancer, before the age of ten as it happened -- had been twice as often x-rayed before they were born as the live children. X-ray, just an x-ray photograph. We've seen the cameras clicking 'round this hall all this morning. It's difficult to imagine a dose of radiation that is as small, as temporary as an x-ray photograph. Click -- it's over.
By the end of the time we did the survey -- we met of course with terrible opposition when we produced this fact, but we've been given now 30 years to establish what everybody now agrees to, and that is, that if single, non-repeated exposure to a small dose of ionizing radiation before you are born is sufficient to increase the risk of an early cancer death, and that the sooner this event happens after conception, the nearer you are to conception, the more dangerous it is. Probably every childhood cancer, except the man-made ones from x-rays, could be due to background radiation. Are you going to play with that ball of fire and say it's safe? Are you going to introduce into the human race the possibility of causing not only -- shall we put it into technical terms -- adding to population loads of cancer? Are you going to be happier by adding to population loads of defective genes for future generations?
Naturally, I'm on your side.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low-Level Radiation
The Effects on Human and Non-Human Life
Lecture by Dr. Alice Stewart MD FRCP
Dr. Alice Stewart, Great Britain. Medical doctor,
Professor for Social Medicine, expert on low-level
radiation, Alternative Nobel Prize.
You will find that the advocates of nuclear power are very fond of reminding us of two things: The first is that from the very moment of conception to the moment when we die we are going to be exposed to natural background radiation. And the second thing they like to remind us of is that actually even a small part of our tissue is radioactive, this, of course, referring to the fact that a fraction of an important chemical called potash has still a little residual radioactivity in it. So their argument goes as follows: If we have this much exposure to natural radiation and, by implication nothing is happening -- nothing bad is happening --, as a result of this, why are we making any fuss about other small doses of radiation?
Well, of course they've had to admit that radiation is a cause of mutations -- by mutation we mean a disturbance of the behavior of a cell brought about by damage to the DNA --, and they've had to admit that there is no such thing as a dose of radiation which is too small to cause this damage and that the damage, once incurred on a cell, as long as the cell lives and continues to divide, will be passed on to daughter cells, so they've had to admit that there is some element of danger here. But now, we all change our tune and refer -- I'm still talking on behalf of the advocates of nuclear power -- to the experience of a well-defined population that was in fact exposed to radiation and even exposed to major doses of radiation or at least estimates of it, namely the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. And they will refer to a long, drawn-out study where they failed to find any effect of low doses. They admitted, of course, that high doses could actually kill you immediately, or they could cause acute radiation damage. But at the end of a very long follow-up, they finally decided that the people who had been exposed to -- I'll give you a rough figure -- about ten times background radiation -- which was considered of course very low -- had not only not suffered at all, but actually were slightly better off. This started another train of thought that perhaps, as a result of human beings having been exposed to radiation, ever since the race was there and back into geological time history, perhaps we have developed some sort of immunity to radiation and actually it could be arguable that perhaps a little radiation could do you good. So there's even a thesis in the literature on this subject.
Now, that is one side of the story, and it's far, far and away the most important. But, of course, there is the other side of the story, and that is the story in which a person like myself who has to try and find out where the truth lies of people who have exaggerated the effects of low-level radiation. They've tried to ascribe to small events or happenings in their lives some exaggerated notion of what has gone wrong as a result of being exposed to radiation. I wouldn't quote this, but I'm sure you're well aware that a natural anxiety would lead to this and might lead to some, scientifically speaking, slightly unfortunately exaggerated remarks. So I'm really trying to spend the few minutes I have with you today to try and explain to you some of the difficulties that face somebody trying to find out exactly where we do lie with regard to low-level radiation.
I want, first of all, to tell you that my heart is with you. I would be against nuclear energy for all the instinctive reasons that one has, that we human beings are playing with a very, very, very dangerous toy. The benefit of any doubt should be given to the people who -- should be against, strongly against anybody who says there is no danger. In other words, there should be an instinctive feeling amongst us that this might be a mistake, that there was a danger that they had failed to detect on the grounds of one thing alone: Can you, or is it at all easy to, detect a small effect?
Now, that is going to be the thesis of my lecture: I'm going to explain to you why it is so difficult to establish this and why it's been so easy for the other side to say that there has been no effect. And there are three things that I would like you, especially anybody among you who is a real activist on this subject and has to go out from this room and tell other people about, that there are three reasons why it is so hard to actually establish that there is a danger from very low-level radiation in spite of natural background radiation being inescapable.
The first and most obvious reason is, of course, that any small-dose effect is bound to be weak. You're looking for something very small -- small and rare. It's not going to be obvious. And any idea that you're going to get an epidemic springing up as a result of leakage, say, small leakage from a radioactive nuclear power station or anything of that order, please dismiss from your minds at all. You are looking for evidence of a small, very rare event. That's the first difficulty.
The second difficulty is that this event is going to be long delayed. What does it matter whether a cell that I've told you about has a damaged form of behavior? Does it matter? Can't it live with all the other cells in your body and not necessarily do any harm? You've got millions, billions of these cells. Does it matter? Well, of course, the reason why it matters is two-fold. There are two situations: If it's what we call a somatic cell, a body building cell, then as a result of this damage the cell doesn't obey the full central instructions of the body as a whole, and should circumstances change or should there be a gradual deterioration in general health, which inevitably comes about with age, the effects of age and changing circumstances may be such that the cell becomes liberated from the usual restraining influences and causes what we all know to be under the general heading of cancer. By cancer, of course, I include leukemia, but leukemia is just one form of cancer -- it's a blood cancer, and the others are cancers of other tissues. You can get a cancer in any tissue. You don't need to be a human being to get a cancer, you can be an animal and you can be a plant. Any living organism in this world is at risk of a mutation at some longish delayed period of time getting free from the restrictions that make you function as a whole being and end up with a cancer. Now, I've said "a long time". Is it measurable? Well, it turns out it's not only long but it's very, very variable. You could be very unlucky and be hitting these particular circumstances and go off fairly soon. So, this is for purposes or people who are looking for this trouble we're now up against two difficulties: A rare event that is going to occur almost any time thereafter in the form of cancer. And I mean that. It can -- in very rare circumstances of an embryo being attacked -- it can occur within a year. But usually, in adults it might be delayed 80 years.
And I must come back to the second stream of thought that if it's germ cell-damage, it's going to skip a generation before you see anything, and it's not only going to skip one generation, it's going to skip one, two and three generations, because it's got to meet up with a pair before it shows that the damage has been done. So, the time scale of the thing you're looking for is astronomically large imposing all sorts of difficulty for the investigator.
And what will be the effect of the germ cell-damage? And this I want you to bear in mind: If there's any proof that a cancer is there, there's going to be an implication, a certain implication, a certainty, that there will be a genetic damage that may not express itself for several generations, but when it does it will lead to the deterioration of the unique human development, namely the brain. You're going to feed into the genetic pool of human genes damage which will deteriorate the one thing for which we are famous, namely that we have the capacity to think for ourselves.
Those are two reasons. I promised you a third one, and the third one is perhaps the most difficult of all to conceive. It is that this event that you are looking for, which is rare and long delayed, is also going to be a very common, natural event. This follows from the concept of there being any effect to background radiation. You'll notice, that if there's going to be a low-level radiation effect, there's bound to be a background radiation effect. Therefore, the thing you're looking for is a natural phenomenon, isn't it? It must be there, must be happening all the time. You know we're all whirling around in space, but we all have the impression that we are sitting quietly, absolutely still in this hall. This is exactly the same impression that we're getting from any ill effect of background radiation, that it isn't there. But it is there. But we're all suffering from it equally or sufficiently equally for all practical purposes not to show.
Now you've got three things that are going to make it extremely difficult to prove that low-level radiation has any bad effect. It's going to be rare, it's going to be long-delayed and follow two tracks, either the track of cancer or the track of the defective inherited gene, and it's going to be an everyday event. How on earth do you ever establish any proof that this is so at all, never mind, say, that you'll require this before you're going even to contemplate the idea that nuclear could be dangerous?
Well, the reason I am here on this platform is really a fluke. But it is also in the context of saying that it has something to do with women and I think a rather nice fluke. First of all, of course, I'm a woman, but that wasn't the point. What led to the discovery, the first and to this day the only most certain effect of a very low dose of radiation in the human population was the result of my saying: "Why don't we go and ask the mothers?"
The situation was as follows: Way back in the 1950's, there was a worldwide increase in leukemia. I can tell you today that this was an unnecessary alarm. It was an alarm due to the fact that because anti-biotics had come into our lives, we were seeing for the first time very many cases of leukemia, and normally don't. These children -- or adults, for that matter -- would have died of infections before you realized that they were truly suffering from a latent form of a blood cancer. But (..?) the anti-biotics in these cases emerge? Now, we didn't know this, but what we did notice -- we as medical people -- we noticed that children between two and four were suffering more than any other age group. And we were sufficiently expertised to know that this was very unusual. If children get troubles -- they either get them as babies; new born babies are very vulnerable, or they get trouble after they go to school, which is usually at the age of five and they are meeting other children -- why children between two and four?
And this was where I said: "Why don't we go and ask the mothers?" And we picked out -- we needed all the cases in Britain -- we got the death certificates of every child who had died of leukemia in the last three years; we had as control groups every child who died of any other form of cancer, and a live child for each dead child. And I must now tell you . . . we set out to do a survey -- it's known as the "Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers" because that was where I was actually working at the time --, and it set out to interview the mothers of children who had recently died, either from leukemia or from another malignant disease, and for each dead child we had a live child. And it was from what the mothers told us of these children that it became recognized that the children who had died of cancer -- let's say an early death from cancer, before the age of ten as it happened -- had been twice as often x-rayed before they were born as the live children. X-ray, just an x-ray photograph. We've seen the cameras clicking 'round this hall all this morning. It's difficult to imagine a dose of radiation that is as small, as temporary as an x-ray photograph. Click -- it's over.
By the end of the time we did the survey -- we met of course with terrible opposition when we produced this fact, but we've been given now 30 years to establish what everybody now agrees to, and that is, that if single, non-repeated exposure to a small dose of ionizing radiation before you are born is sufficient to increase the risk of an early cancer death, and that the sooner this event happens after conception, the nearer you are to conception, the more dangerous it is. Probably every childhood cancer, except the man-made ones from x-rays, could be due to background radiation. Are you going to play with that ball of fire and say it's safe? Are you going to introduce into the human race the possibility of causing not only -- shall we put it into technical terms -- adding to population loads of cancer? Are you going to be happier by adding to population loads of defective genes for future generations?
Naturally, I'm on your side.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK: The WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
6 x 9. 360 pgs. 32 photographs. (1999)
Paper
978-0-472-08783-9
$18.95S Available
The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Alice Stewart and the Secrets of Radiation
Gayle Greene
Foreword by Helen Caldicott
The life story of the epidemiologist who discovered the harmful effects of fetal X rays and other radiation exposure.
This biography illuminates the life and achievements of the remarkable woman scientist who revolutionized the concept of radiation risk.
In the 1950s Alice Stewart began research that led to her discovery that fetal X rays double a child's risk of developing cancer. Two decades later—when she was in her seventies—she again astounded the scientific world with a study showing that the U.S. nuclear weapons industry is about twenty times more dangerous than safety regulations permit. This finding put her at the center of the international controversy over radiation risk. In 1990, the New York Times called Stewart "perhaps the Energy Department's most influential and feared scientific critic."
The Woman Who Knew Too Much traces Stewart's life and career from her early childhood in Sheffield to her medical education at Cambridge to her research positions at Oxford University and the University of Birmingham.
Gayle Greene is Professor of Women's Studies and Literature, Scripps College.
Paper
978-0-472-08783-9
$18.95S Available
The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Alice Stewart and the Secrets of Radiation
Gayle Greene
Foreword by Helen Caldicott
The life story of the epidemiologist who discovered the harmful effects of fetal X rays and other radiation exposure.
This biography illuminates the life and achievements of the remarkable woman scientist who revolutionized the concept of radiation risk.
In the 1950s Alice Stewart began research that led to her discovery that fetal X rays double a child's risk of developing cancer. Two decades later—when she was in her seventies—she again astounded the scientific world with a study showing that the U.S. nuclear weapons industry is about twenty times more dangerous than safety regulations permit. This finding put her at the center of the international controversy over radiation risk. In 1990, the New York Times called Stewart "perhaps the Energy Department's most influential and feared scientific critic."
The Woman Who Knew Too Much traces Stewart's life and career from her early childhood in Sheffield to her medical education at Cambridge to her research positions at Oxford University and the University of Birmingham.
Gayle Greene is Professor of Women's Studies and Literature, Scripps College.
20.7.09
The LONDON CLINIC, UK (1932)
http://www.thelondonclinic.co.uk/
Bilateral Breast Augmentaion : including 1 night stay -UK Pounds 2.325
Unilateral - 1 night stay- 1,845
Liposuction: small (chin,neck)- 1 night stay - UKP 1,520
med. (breast,knees,arms) -1 night stay-UKP 1,930
large(abd.,thigh,buttock) - 1 night stay-UKP 2,175
Bilateral Breast Augmentaion : including 1 night stay -UK Pounds 2.325
Unilateral - 1 night stay- 1,845
Liposuction: small (chin,neck)- 1 night stay - UKP 1,520
med. (breast,knees,arms) -1 night stay-UKP 1,930
large(abd.,thigh,buttock) - 1 night stay-UKP 2,175
16.7.09
PICCOLO EXPRESS: ABAXIS, California
Piccolo® xpress
On-The-Spot Chemistry Results in minutes
The Piccolo xpress is a compact, portable clinical chemistry system designed for on-site patient testing. Roughly the size of a shoebox, health care providers use the easy to follow color touch screen commands to perform routine multi-chemistry panels. 0.1cc of whole blood, serum or plasma is added directly to the patented 8-cm diameter single use plastic disc containing the liquid diluent and dry reagents. The disc is placed in the analyzer drawer where centrifugal and capillary forces are used to mix the reagents and sample in the disc. The Piccolo xpress monitors the reagent reactions simultaneously using nine wavelengths, calculates the results from the absorbance data and reports the results. The Piccolo xpress self-calibrates with each run and the on-board continuous intelligent Quality Control (iQCT) monitors the analyzer, reagent reactions and sample to ensure chemistry and instrument integrity. This assures you the highest quality and accuracy in results. Results are ready in approximately 12 minutes with a "hard copy" report suitable for the patient file or transferred to a computer, printer or an LIS/EMR. This enables you to rapidly obtain critical diagnostic information at point of care. The easy-to-use, low maintenance system requires no special training to operate.
On-The-Spot Chemistry Results in minutes
The Piccolo xpress is a compact, portable clinical chemistry system designed for on-site patient testing. Roughly the size of a shoebox, health care providers use the easy to follow color touch screen commands to perform routine multi-chemistry panels. 0.1cc of whole blood, serum or plasma is added directly to the patented 8-cm diameter single use plastic disc containing the liquid diluent and dry reagents. The disc is placed in the analyzer drawer where centrifugal and capillary forces are used to mix the reagents and sample in the disc. The Piccolo xpress monitors the reagent reactions simultaneously using nine wavelengths, calculates the results from the absorbance data and reports the results. The Piccolo xpress self-calibrates with each run and the on-board continuous intelligent Quality Control (iQCT) monitors the analyzer, reagent reactions and sample to ensure chemistry and instrument integrity. This assures you the highest quality and accuracy in results. Results are ready in approximately 12 minutes with a "hard copy" report suitable for the patient file or transferred to a computer, printer or an LIS/EMR. This enables you to rapidly obtain critical diagnostic information at point of care. The easy-to-use, low maintenance system requires no special training to operate.
PHILIPS GEMINI BIG BORE PET/CAT
PHILIPS GEMENI BIG BORE PET/CAT available in USA. Can take 500 lb patient. Also patient does not have to hold breath at any time.
CONFORMIS BESPOKE KNEE IMPLANTS
ConforMIS Raises $50 Million from Global Investors
Burlington, Mass. - July 13, 2009 - In its largest round of funding to date, privately-held medical-device company ConforMIS, Inc. raised $50 million from private-equity and sovereign-wealth funds in the U.S. Asia, Europe and the Middle East. ConforMIS reached this milestone in June, in a process that began in 2008.
"With this round of funding, we believe we are well positioned to continue investing in our breakthrough, patient-specific orthopedic implant technologies. Our technology platforms provide a scalable approach to the patient-specific design and manufacture of not just the instruments, but the actual implants as well," said Philipp Lang, MD, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ConforMIS. "With our personalized approach to both the implants and instruments, we think the potential for product and business model innovation is substantial."
Founded in 2004, ConforMIS has developed and commercialized the first and only line of personalized resurfacing implants and instruments for the routine treatment of knee osteoarthritis, a $6 billion global market. ConforMIS implans are a less-invasive, patient-specific alternative to traditional total knee replacement, which uses off-the-shelf components that may require significant removal of healthy tissue during the procedure. ConforMIS custom-designs and manufactures each implant from an individual's CT or MRI scan, providing a conforming fit that matches the patient's anatomy and may potentially result in less traumatic surgery, more natural kinematics, and quicker recovery.
On the strength of this unique approach, ConforMIS attracted capital sources from a variety of global invesetors. Primary funding sources for this round include later-stage and cross-over funds and international government funds. ConforMIS is now backed by several multi-billlion dollar international private-equity funds, with the single largest Series D investor being Aeris Capital (Zurich, Switzerland and Palo Alto, CA). Other investors in this round include equity funds from Asia, German, and the Middle East, including two sovereign-wealth funds, as well as venture funds who participated in previous rounds.
ConforMIS' proprietary technology for custom implants and instruments is supported by more than 250 patents and patent applications, including several foundational patents awarded this year. It's technology and intellectual property apply not just to knee replacement, the largest single category of orthopedics, but broadly to the over $20 billion dollar global orthopedics market.
ConforMIS recently announced that it has received CE Mark certification for its iDuo® bicompartmental knee resurfacing system. The company had previously received CE Mark for its iForma® implant and its iUni® unicompartmental knee resurfacing system. All devices have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the US. For more information on ConforMIS and its line of products, please visit http://www.conformis.com/.
See GERMAN SITE for OPERATION VIDEO.
Burlington, Mass. - July 13, 2009 - In its largest round of funding to date, privately-held medical-device company ConforMIS, Inc. raised $50 million from private-equity and sovereign-wealth funds in the U.S. Asia, Europe and the Middle East. ConforMIS reached this milestone in June, in a process that began in 2008.
"With this round of funding, we believe we are well positioned to continue investing in our breakthrough, patient-specific orthopedic implant technologies. Our technology platforms provide a scalable approach to the patient-specific design and manufacture of not just the instruments, but the actual implants as well," said Philipp Lang, MD, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ConforMIS. "With our personalized approach to both the implants and instruments, we think the potential for product and business model innovation is substantial."
Founded in 2004, ConforMIS has developed and commercialized the first and only line of personalized resurfacing implants and instruments for the routine treatment of knee osteoarthritis, a $6 billion global market. ConforMIS implans are a less-invasive, patient-specific alternative to traditional total knee replacement, which uses off-the-shelf components that may require significant removal of healthy tissue during the procedure. ConforMIS custom-designs and manufactures each implant from an individual's CT or MRI scan, providing a conforming fit that matches the patient's anatomy and may potentially result in less traumatic surgery, more natural kinematics, and quicker recovery.
On the strength of this unique approach, ConforMIS attracted capital sources from a variety of global invesetors. Primary funding sources for this round include later-stage and cross-over funds and international government funds. ConforMIS is now backed by several multi-billlion dollar international private-equity funds, with the single largest Series D investor being Aeris Capital (Zurich, Switzerland and Palo Alto, CA). Other investors in this round include equity funds from Asia, German, and the Middle East, including two sovereign-wealth funds, as well as venture funds who participated in previous rounds.
ConforMIS' proprietary technology for custom implants and instruments is supported by more than 250 patents and patent applications, including several foundational patents awarded this year. It's technology and intellectual property apply not just to knee replacement, the largest single category of orthopedics, but broadly to the over $20 billion dollar global orthopedics market.
ConforMIS recently announced that it has received CE Mark certification for its iDuo® bicompartmental knee resurfacing system. The company had previously received CE Mark for its iForma® implant and its iUni® unicompartmental knee resurfacing system. All devices have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the US. For more information on ConforMIS and its line of products, please visit http://www.conformis.com/.
See GERMAN SITE for OPERATION VIDEO.
15.7.09
AMERICAL COLLEGE of RHEUMATOLOGY
http://www.rheumatology.org/publications/guidelines/musc/musc-dis.asp
Superb logical approach to the patient presenting with musculoskeletal symptoms.
Superb logical approach to the patient presenting with musculoskeletal symptoms.
INTERNATIONAL MUSCULOSKELETAL MEDICINE
14.7.09
POINT OF CARE:JOURNAL of NEAR-PATIENT TESTING & TECHNOLOGY
http://journals.lww.com/poctjournal/pages/currenttoc.aspx
WALTERS KLUWER publishers.
Contains details of many useful diagnostic tests which can be done in a medical office.
WALTERS KLUWER publishers.
Contains details of many useful diagnostic tests which can be done in a medical office.
ICARE TONOMETER::DISPOSABLE PROBE
FINNISH no-anaesthetic corneal contact ICARE tonometer. ICARE PRO hand-held tonometer uses magnetic rebound time measurement with a tiny disposable Swiss probe. The simpler ICARE ONE can be used by glaucoma patients to check their intraocular pressure regularly.
http://www.icaretonometer.com/index.php?page=product-info
http://www.icaretonometer.com/index.php?page=product-info
DIATON through-the-lid tonometer
http://www.tonometerdiaton.com/
DIATON THROUGH-THE-LID TONOMETER
RUSSIAN INVENTION. GOVERNMENT APPROVED IN CANADA, USA AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. THERE IS NO CORNEAL CONTACT; AVOIDING USE OF LOCAL ANAESTHETICS, FLUORESCEIN, CORNEAL INJURY AND TRANSMISSION OF INFECTION.
USED in TEACHING HOSPITAL EMERGENCY UNITS.
DIATON THROUGH-THE-LID TONOMETER
RUSSIAN INVENTION. GOVERNMENT APPROVED IN CANADA, USA AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. THERE IS NO CORNEAL CONTACT; AVOIDING USE OF LOCAL ANAESTHETICS, FLUORESCEIN, CORNEAL INJURY AND TRANSMISSION OF INFECTION.
USED in TEACHING HOSPITAL EMERGENCY UNITS.
MEDICAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
THIS IS A BLOG CONCERNED WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN WORLDWIDE MEDICINE.
ESPECIALLY FOR NEW INVENTIONS AND POINT-OF-CARE TESTING.
ESPECIALLY FOR NEW INVENTIONS AND POINT-OF-CARE TESTING.
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