Archives: 9/2008
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buc, and its Experimental and Clinical Research Center, are giddy with excitement to receive one of the most powerful MRI machines in the world: a 7 Tesla experimental powerhouse from Siemens. Below you can see the MRI’s 32 ton magnet positioned inside a cage of steel weighing 250 tons which will, in the future, be used to protect the surrounding area from the magnetic field.
It will be the only magnetic resonance tomograph of the modern 7 tesla generation in the world, in which a metrology institute is also involved. Magnetic resonance tomographs, which use a magnetic field of 7 tesla, have not yet been in operation in hospitals and clinics, but have solely served research. For the first time in the world, cardiovascular research carried out on such a device is now also to play an important role. The magnetic resonance tomograph costing approximately seven million Euros and weighing 35 tonnes was delivered to its new location, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch on 11th September. In contrast to the 1.5 and 3 tesla devices which have largely been the norm to date, its higher magnetic field will provide sharper images and better insights into the smallest structures of the human body. The aim is to detect the risk or commencement of an illness at a very early stage in heart, brain and cancer research. Above all, heart research by magnetic resonance tomography is viewed as very difficult. As such, a demanding task will be waiting for PTB scientists from January 2009, when the device has been fully installed: as the partner dealing with physics and technical issues in the joint project, they are responsible for making the unique potential of this tomograph useful for applications in clinics. The PTB will, moreover, find the ideal conditions to advance its work on patient safety in high-field tomographs and on the development of new concepts in MRT imaging. The other partners in the project, besides the Max Delbrück Center and the PTB, are Siemens, the constructors of the 7 tesla device, and the Charité hospital. The new ultra-high-field MRT equipment of the ECRC has been completed with a 9.4 tesla small animal MRT of the Bruker company which was supplied three weeks ago.
All we know about the guy in the background is that he’s not wearing his nipple rings today.
Press release: Extremely exact images from inside the body…
More: The Berlin ultrahigh field MR facility…
Flashback: 9.4 Tesla Monster MRI
The 2008 Paralympic are wrapping up in Beijing, and the Boston Globe has an excellent photo gallery from the games. Here are some of our favorites:
More, with info about the images, at the Boston Globe..
More at the International Paralympic Committee…
Flashbacks: Let The Games Begin
(hat tip: Gizmodo)
The University of Massachusetts Medical School is putting online one of the most comprehensive stem cell databases for public access.
From the press release:
The ISCR provides an online resource of information on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to the academic and private sector biomedical research community and to the public. Envisioned as a “one stop shop” for hESC information, the site details the properties and potential applications of specific hESC lines and includes information about obtaining the cells and a catalog of references related to each hESC line. While researchers can use the information to inform their scientific studies, patients can use the website to gain information about stem cell advances that may benefit them, and doctors can stay current on information relevant to their patients. The website will provide information at varying levels of complexity, ensuring that each constituency can access the information in a practical format.
Though the ground-breaking database is still evolving, it will ultimately provide a searchable and comprehensive catalog of published and validated unpublished information on every human embryonic stem cell line derived to date.
“The launch of the Stem Cell Registry represents a milestone for the Commonwealth and will help to further solidify the state’s position as the global leader in life sciences. A Registry here in Massachusetts will further accelerate the important biomedical research already being done in the State and will enhance the potential impact of projects that the Center funds in the future,” said Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of the Center.
International Stem Cell Registry at UMass
Press release: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SCHOOL AND MASSACHUSETTS LIFE SCIENCES CENTER ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL REGISTRY
Image: Synchronized S-phase H9 human ES cells stained for Cyclin E (red) and Ki67 (red). DAPI (blue) stains DNA. Photo courtesy: Dr. Prachi Ghule, Dr. Gary Stein, Dept of Cell Biology, UMASS Medical School
Here’s a short film by Errol Morris, a powerful eight minutes made for the Stand Up To Cancer broadcast.
Stand Up To Cancer: Podcast Version…
Buried inside a recent press release from Siemens is a report about new software from the company that performs an almost instantaneous volumetric analysis of ventricular function. The software, called syngo Argus 4D Ventricular Function, is designed for Siemens’s Magnetom line of MRI machines. The surprise is not that such functionality is finally available for MRI, but rather that it has not been developed a long time ago. After all, echo machines have been doing it routinely for many years now.
Siemens touts the seamless integration of its software:
Siemens now offers Inline VF (Ventricular Function) – the first fully automatic software module for cardiac function analysis with MRI worldwide. This powerful module is used to analyze cardiac image data immediately after acquisition without user interference, for the first time already during the examination. Up to now, the image data had first to be transferred to a post-processing computer for manual processing. Inline VF provides the physician with very fast access to highly reproducible results of the functional analysis.
Furthermore, Siemens has developed Argus 4D VF for the four-dimensional visualization of the cardiac function. This software enables the visualization and analysis of heart function disorders through the dynamic volume display of the beating heart. With this flexible tool, the cardiac function can be calculated from almost any combination of short-axis and long-axis images. As a new and unique feature, the mitral valve motion is included in the analysis. Thus, compared to conventional approaches, Argus 4D VF allows function analyses with significantly higher accuracy.
To learn more about the technology, check out the following white paper from Siemens: CMR Assessment of Global Ventricular Function and Mass: Greater Efficiency and Diagnostic Accuracy with Argus 4D VF and Inline VF (.pdf)
Product page: syngo Argus 4D Ventricular Function…
If it were possible to predict outbreaks of infectious diseases, public health organizations would be able to act quickly and preemptively to help control and limit the spread. Dr. Rita R. Colwell of the University of Maryland, College Park, has been able to do just that by using satellite imaging to track climate information that supposedly can predict outbreaks of Cholera before they occur. Cholera is a water-borne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and is a significant problem in the developing countries of the world. The gram-negative bacteria produces a cholera toxin which acts at the small intestine causing severe diarrhea leading to dehydration and sometimes death.
[The bacterium] has a known association with a crustacean (called a copepod) which lives on zooplankton, a type of plankton. Cholera outbreaks have been linked with environmental factors, including sea surface temperature, ocean height, and biomass (this is estimated by measuring chlorophyll produced by plankton).
Professor Rita R. Colwell and her team at the University of Maryland, College Park, have used remote satellite imaging to track this climatologically important information and the data collected now can be used to predict outbreaks of cholera before they occur.
Cholera epidemics have been episodic, so the ability to predict them could be one further step towards controlling this serious, water-borne disease by providing rapid response public health measures. The climate factors shown to be associated with cholera also play a role in many other infectious diseases. So this development offers a useful model for understanding human health effects related to climate change.
“We are now beginning to understand infectious disease is a moving target,” said Colwell. “As the climate shifts, any disease with an environmental stage or vector is going to be affected.” Colwell will call for an integrated approach of global scientific paradigms to track and tackle infectious disease: “We must protect this blue planet” she said “it’s the only one we’ve got”.
Original story: Scientists use remote satellite imaging to predict outbreaks of infectious disease…
Image: Landsat 7 Satellite. (NASA)
(hat tip: POPSCI.COM)
Back in June we featured a short video of Dean Kamen showing off the Luke Arm at the All Things Digital conference. Some think that it is the most advanced prosthetic device ever developed. Finally, the organizers of the conference have made the full appearance of Dean Kamen available for your pleasure:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
(hat tip: Gizmodo)
St. Jude Medical has received FDA clearance to market its implantable cardiac surveillance monitor, the SJM Confirm™.
From the press release:
The implantable monitor enables physicians to evaluate heart rhythm signals over a longer period of time than allowed by standard monitoring tests, and is designed to help them diagnose and document difficult-to-detect rhythm disorders in patients who may suffer from unexplained symptoms, including syncope (the sudden and transient loss of consciousness), palpitations and shortness of breath.
About the size of a computer thumb drive, the SJM Confirm ICM is the smallest implantable cardiac monitor available. It is implanted just under the skin (subcutaneously) in the upper chest region and can be implanted in an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia. Patients are able to remotely send data to their physicians when they experience symptoms. This real-time data helps physicians diagnose and treat the arrhythmias.
The SJM Confirm ICM features a St. Jude Medical sensing algorithm designed to enhance signal detection, thus enabling physicians to program the device to be more sensitive to small and wide-ranging signals. Electrodes on the monitor sense cardiac activity and a continuous loop recorder stores information about the heart’s activity. The electrodes are positioned on opposite sides of the device; this design is intended to provide better contact with the subcutaneous tissue for more accurate sensing of cardiac signals.
The SJM Confirm ICM is the first implantable monitor to be built on a unified platform, which has enabled St. Jude Medical to more quickly introduce devices with new features and diagnostics (as they become available) because the basic platform for all of the devices is the same. The St. Jude Medical “Unity” device platform first was introduced in September 2007 with the launch of its Promote(R) RF CRT-D and the Current(R) RF ICD devices. Due to its uniform software interfaces and expanded features, the new platform gives physicians more choices during device programming and patient follow-up.
The SJM Confirm ICM also features:Programmable event triggers, which enable physicians to program the device to automatically capture and record up to 60 seconds before and after a cardiac event Three year device longevity Compatibility with the St. Jude Medical(R) Merlin(R) Patient Care System, a powerful, portable computer designed to help physicians access and analyze diagnostic information and print full-size comprehensive data reports Remote monitoring that allows patients to send data directly to their physicians
Product page: SJM Confirm™ Implantable Cardiac Monitor…
Press release: St. Jude Medical Announces FDA Clearance of Implantable Device to Monitor Cardiac Conditions
