Health hot news

Cardinal Health, a global provider of products and services that improve the safety and productivity of health care, announced plans for a tax-free spin-off of its clinical and medical products businesses as a separate public company that will be led by current vice chairman and med-tech industry veteran David L. Schlotterbeck.

Daily hemodialysis administered in patients’ homes is associated with better health outcomes compared with peritoneal dialysis, according to an article in the October issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation.

MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the laboratory, an advance that paves the way for “artificial noses” to be created and used in a variety of settings. The work could also allow scientists to unlock the mystery of how the sense of smell can recognize a seemingly infinite range of odors. “Smell is perhaps one of the oldest and most primitive senses, but nobody really understands how it works.

Data from ground-breaking scientific trials of new interventional techniques and devices will be released at TCT 2008 - Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics - the global annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Researchers will present a variety of new data that promises to advance the field of interventional cardiology.

OrthoView™, the global leader in orthopaedic planning solutions, today announced the release of its latest version 5.2 software. Building on its already feature-rich version 5.1, OrthoView 5.2 includes refinements and additions to its spine deformity assessment module.

Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB), a specialist in the custom production of polyclonal antibodies, is now expanding its antibody offering to include monoclonal antibody production via two new agreements with Babraham Bioscience Technologies (BBT) and Epitomics Inc. CRB and Cambridge-based BBT have formed an alliance that will enable CRB to market custom monoclonal antibody projects (via mouse/rat hybridomas) from BBT.

There are over four thousand wrist or ankle fractures every day in US and Europe. The cost is not just the medical treatment involved but the loss of quality of life. An improved way to treat the fractures has been developed by CAMBfix, a company started by Cambridge alumni. CAMBfix announced that it has received £65,000 funding from Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds and matching funds of £65,000k from North East Equity Matching Limited. The

Ever since Darwin’s grandson set up Cambridge Instruments to supply the university with specialist glassware, the medical technology, devices and diagnostic industry has been a thriving part of the regional economy - but one that has been unfairly overshadowed by the biotech sector according to Barnaby Perks of ERBI Medtech. Barnaby joined ERBI in January to set up a section especially for organisations working in Medtech.

The first national guideline for the emergency use of oxygen in adults has been published, with the aim of simplifying oxygen delivery and better protecting acutely ill patients. Developed by a working party and led by the British Thoracic Society (BTS), the guideline is published in the October 2008 issue of Thorax1, the journal of the BTS, and is supported by 22 professional societies and institutions.

Randox Laboratories have developed a biochip array for simultaneous quantitative detection of three tumour markers in a single patient sample, providing a quick and reliable method to screen for prostate cancer. This revolutionary technology reduces the need for expensive invasive tests. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer found in men but if caught and treated early has a 90% cure rate.