A newly developed microchip can time-release medication into the bloodstream of patients via implantation through swallowing, injection or inhalation. The finger-tip sized chip has been in development for a dozen or so years and a recent four-month trial, in which bone-strengthening hormones were delivered to patients with osteoporosis through the microchips, was completed successfully.
A surgical robot based on the movements of a crab – with a pincer and a hook – has been developed by researchers in Singapore to remove early-stage stomach cancers.
A 3D-printed lower jaw has been fitted in an 83-year-old woman – a world first, according to doctors. The implant, made of titanium powder and fused together in layers by a laser, was designed through a 3D digital design process and printed within a few hours.
Cancer patients will soon benefit from the first radiotherapy programme of its kind to arrive in New Zealand.
Giving the testicles a dose of ultrasound treatment can halt the production of sperm, says a recent study published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. Research undertaken on rats found that sound waves could reduce sperm count to levels that would qualify as infertility in humans.
Stimulating the brain with magnetic treatment may help stroke patients recover control in parts of their body that have been paralysed by a stroke.
Two Tauranga women were recently the first recipients of specialist Renal Cryo-therapy surgery using key-hole surgery in Tauranga Hospital. This is the first time the treatment has been offered as part of a suite of less radical forms of urologic surgery in a New Zealand public hospital.
Scientists have discovered a way to communicate with brain damaged patients in a vegetative state.
Scientists in Kobe, Japan have grown functioning pituitary glands in a lab. Using stem cells taken from a mouse embryo that were transplanted into mice with lowered pituitary gland function, the implanted glands raised the level of hormones missing in their bodies.
Researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) have been developing computer software that could allow surgeons to predict how successful an operation will be.
Canterbury’s newest Linear Accelerator was officially opened in Christchurch today.
Dunedin-based biomedical company Pacific Edge has added to its suite of patents with patents having issued in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for the company’s technology for the detection of gastric cancer.
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) recently launched a new integrated system at Waikato Hospital using mobile phone technology to manage services and allocate jobs to attendants to reduce wasted time.
A blood test that measures chromosomes is, according to its developers, able to predict lifespan.
A new way of sharing health information will be introduced in Canterbury later this month.
A new form of therapy known as enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP) therapy claims to improve the circulatory system, lower blood pressure, relieve stable angina and enhance overall body functions.
New York, NY – A team of scientists led by Dieter Egli and Scott Noggle at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory in New York City have made an important advance in the development of patient-specific stem cells that could impact the study and treatment of diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s.
The University of Sydney, in partnership with BreastScreen NSW and Ziltron, has developed a pioneering web-based programme to monitor the performance of radiologists in detecting and diagnosing abnormalities in breast x-rays. Currently commencing its nationwide rollout, the BREAST Project has the potential to improve the early detection of breast cancer through screening and in turn reduce breast cancer mortality and morbidity.
Canterbury Health Laboratories (CHL) is the first in New Zealand to begin medical diagnostic testing of bacteria and yeasts with revolutionary microbiology equipment. The team in the CHL Microbiology Laboratory have begun using a MALDI-TOF (matrixassisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry) for the identification of bacteria and yeasts on all suitable medical diagnostic samples entering the laboratory. Dr Anja Werno, Microbiology Medical Director, says the machine works by firing a laser at bacteria and then measuring the protein fingerprint the bacteria leave behind, which is then matched against a library of almost 4000 known bacteria and yeasts.
The path to becoming a surgeon is lengthy and, at times, grueling. Is there a point, however, where surgical skill level simply plateaus?
