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Pathology: diagnoses with Deepflash
14/06/2021
In medicine, it is still standard practice to evaluate microscopy images of tissue sections by hand. This is used, for example, to assess how many cancer cells are in a lymph node.
Imaging: making AI applications safer
11/06/2021
Landshut University of Applied Sciences starts research project with the Munich based AI company deepc to automate the safety standards for the application of artificial intelligence in medical imaging.
Accelerating digitization of hospitals through innovation
10/06/2021
Helping hospitals in Germany build a long-term digitization strategy - that is the declared goal of the young founding team of the innovation go platform, which started at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. The project is funded by EXIST, a support program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
Smart implant – Healing fractures autonomously with smart materials
07/06/2021
Lower leg fractures put a great strain on patients due to their long healing process. In the future, an intelligent implant could control how the bone grows together again and thus optimize the healing process. In our video, you can learn from the developers at Saarland University how this works and what role artificial intelligence plays here.
AI improves diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease
03/06/2021
The treatment of people who have Parkinson's disease can be improved significantly by using digital techniques. The DIGIPD project explores how artificial intelligence can contribute to a better individualized treatment of the disease, for example, by analysis of sensor data or automatically detected changes in speech, facial expressions, or movements.
AI is helping doctors manage COVID-19
31/05/2021
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo is capable of assessing the severity of COVID-19 cases with a promising degree of accuracy.
New AI technology protects privacy
27/05/2021
AI algorithms can support medical personnel in diagnosing illnesses. However, to train these algorithms, a precious good warranting careful protection must be accessed: medical data. A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a technology that ensures that patients’ personal data are protected in the training of algorithms.
CT promising for sublobar resection in cell lung cancer
14/05/2021
According to an open-access Editor's Choice article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), CT features may help identify which patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer are optimal candidates for sublobar resection, rather than more extensive surgery.
AI tool uses chest X-ray to differentiate worst cases of COVID-19
13/05/2021
Trained to see patterns by analyzing thousands of chest X-rays, a computer program predicted with up to 80 percent accuracy which COVID-19 patients would develop life-threatening complications within four days, a new study finds.
Smart Expert System Assists Medical Diagnostics
12/05/2021
A current research project develops a system designed to support critical care physicians in the future. The research project "A Learning and Interoperable Smart Expert System for Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine (ELISE)" uses data collected via machine learning algorithms to assist diagnostic decision-making.
Male infertility scoring using AI-assisted image classification
10/05/2021
Clinicians at Toho University in Japan developed an AI-based scoring model for testis images to assess patients with severe male infertility. Creation of the image classifier on a cloud-based machine learning framework needed no help from data scientists.
Pain assessment tool for social care setting
04/05/2021
Social care professionals working in residential care and nursing homes can now use an AI-powered pain assessment tool to assess and score pain in residents whether they are able or unable to self-report their pain.
Disinfection robot: Value created by linking up to building data
04/05/2021
The disinfection robot BALTO is capable of disinfecting doorknobs and similar objects. It does this autonomously, reacting to human beings in the surrounding area at the same time. An interface with the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process makes this possible.
Digital healthcare: Treating patients at home
03/05/2021
Digital health apps (DiGA) are increasingly becoming part of patients' everyday lives. Since the "apps on prescription" are thoroughly tested by the BfArM before approval, they are currently only tailored to individual diseases. In this Topic of the Month, we take a look at the place DiGAs already occupy in healthcare today and how they will continue to develop in the future.
Cardiology: AI makes no-cath forecast
26/04/2021
Researchers at MUSC use AI software to predict coronary artery plaque composition and significance without the risks of invasive procedures.
Hospital logistics: three action steps to future success
22/04/2021
Behind every hospital are sophisticated and complex logistics that must run like clockwork to keep things going. But how good are the processes when it comes to managing patient care and hospital staff? There are many weak links that can be avoided. Comprehensive digitization and efficient, targeted healthcare workforce management are required to set up hospital logistics for future success.
AI-based system could help triage brain MRIs
21/04/2021
An artificial intelligence-driven system that automatically combs through brain MRIs for abnormalities could speed care to those who need it most, according to a study published in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence.
AI blood test detects early signs of bowel cancer
15/04/2021
A new blood test developed in Wales harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to detect the early signs of bowel cancer – a disease that affects over 260,000 people in the UK today. CanSense, a Swansea University-spin out, has spent seven years developing a cancer test that can be performed at local GPs to avoid lives lost through delayed detection.
New cancer genes identified with the help of machine learning
13/04/2021
In cancer, cells get out of control. They proliferate and push their way into tissues, destroying organs and thereby impairing essential vital functions. This unrestricted growth is usually induced by an accumulation of DNA changes in cancer genes – i.e. mutations in these genes that govern the development of the cell.
FDA: Breakthrough Device Designation to ECG analysis platform
07/04/2021
Tempus, a leader in artificial intelligence and precision medicine, announces that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company Breakthrough Device Designation for its ECG Analysis Platform.
Multiple Sclerosis: Machine learning helps spot gait problems
30/03/2021
Monitoring the progression of multiple sclerosis-related gait issues can be challenging in adults over 50 years old, requiring a clinician to differentiate between problems related to MS and other age-related issues. To address this problem, researchers are integrating gait data and machine learning to advance the tools used to monitor and predict disease progression.
AI used in battle against asbestos-linked cancer
29/03/2021
International genomics research led by the University of Leicester has used artificial intelligence (AI) to study an aggressive form of cancer, which could improve patient outcomes.
AI platform to assess blood vessel anomalies and eye disease
23/03/2021
An international team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that could one day be used in a system to assess vascular diseases, which are characterised by the abnormal condition of blood vessels.
Alzheimer's disease: early detection using an eye exam
22/03/2021
Alzheimer's disease is still incurable, but if detected early enough, countermeasures can improve treatment and slow the progression. Unfortunately, there is still no reliable early detection test at this juncture. This might soon change thanks to a non-invasive spectroscopy of the retina.
Automatic adverse drug reaction extraction from EHR
19/03/2021
The IXA group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is using natural language processing to extract adverse effects from health records written in Spanish.
New method could democratize deep learning-enhanced microscopy
18/03/2021
Deep learning is a potential tool for scientists to glean more detail from low-resolution images in microscopy, but it is often difficult to gather enough baseline data to train computers in the process. Now, a new method developed by scientists at the Salk Institute could make the technology more accessible - by taking high-resolution images, and artificially degrading them.
AI system for contactless monitoring of heart rhythm
17/03/2021
Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have proven adept at monitoring certain health care issues at home. For example, researchers at the University of Washington have shown that these devices can detect cardiac arrests or monitor babies breathing.
Digital twin heart – Computer model for an optimized therapy success
15/03/2021
Heart surgery is difficult even for experienced surgeons and therapeutical success is not always certain. Physicians need to rely on their experience when choosing and planning the correct intervention. A computer model could help them in the future: The digital twin heart could be fed with patient data and then simulate whether an intervention will be successful.
Mobile and intelligent – emergency blood analysis
08/03/2021
Things need to move fast in an emergency. Making the right call in this setting can be a challenge for emergency medical services – especially when symptoms are ambiguous, which is the case if a patient has difficulty breathing or exhibits a cardiovascular or poisoning emergency. A blood analysis is paramount to deliver a fast and accurate diagnosis. This is where mobOx comes in.
Necessity is the mother of invention – innovations in the corona pandemic
01/03/2021
Keeping your distance, washing your hands, wearing a mask – such protective measures have been the order of the day since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began. But appropriate products or procedures are not suitable for everyone, are often unavailable or, despite everything, carry a residual risk. The need for new, better solutions is high. But necessity is the mother of invention.
Hospital: how an AI tool could improve patient safety
22/02/2021
Sometimes, a hospital stay can proceed successfully without a hitch. At other times, there might be an unexpected turn of events if the patient exhibits complications. Early identification of these patients could prevent unnecessary suffering. A new research project intends to develop an AI-based tool that predicts a patient’s risk of complications at an early stage.
Good connection: AI and EEG work hand in hand
17/02/2021
Artificial intelligences (AI) are able to help medical professionals detect diseases. This is based on medical data records from which the AI can draw conclusions about diseases. These conclusions are most accurate when the extraction of the data sets is directly linked to the processing.
Gender medicine – analog and digital
10/02/2021
There are key differences between men and women, yet medicine has been treating both sexes the same for decades. As a result, women may not always receive the most optimal care. While there is now a shift in mindset, previous findings and outdated thinking patterns are far too often still finding their way into digital health services and technologies.
BabSim.Hospital: forecasting hospital bed needs
04/02/2021
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, capacity of intensive care units is a hot-button issue as this determines the number of severe COVID-19 cases hospitals can treat. The percentage of currently infected patients can deliver insights into the projected need for ICU beds down the road. The TH Köln developed a tool to help with this planning process.
Autonomous medical devices: running well in your body
01/02/2021
In theory, autonomous medical technologies can be used in a diagnostic or therapeutic capacity inside the body under certain conditions. This may not sound like a new invention at first. After all, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators have monitored and fixed abnormal heart rhythm for many years.
Autonomous medical technology: independently in the body
01/02/2021
Therapies need to be carried out with high reliability by trained personal. This will not change in the future. But maybe we will be able to let systems in the patient’s body do some of the work. Some approaches are already aiming to make implants more independent so they will be able to flexibly react to changes. Read more in our Topic of the Month!
Asthma: Self-management thanks to apps and wearables
11/01/2021
Today, managing one's own chronic disease is hardly possible without digital helpers – not least because of the corona pandemic. People with asthma also benefit from apps and wearables. They help patients connect better with doctors and better understand their own disease. Our Topic of the Month looks at why this is so important and what the digital services can do.
Disinfection: a robot nips viruses in the bud
02/11/2020
Hospitals are considered to be a primary route of disease transmission. That is why patient rooms, operating rooms, and waiting areas should be disinfected regularly and thoroughly - and not just during the coronavirus pandemic. At the virtual.MEDICA trade fair, ICA Traffic GmbH will showcase the HERO21 robot, a disinfection unit that uses UVC radiation.
AI predicts a patient's risk of postoperative complications
22/10/2020
Whether it is a routine surgery or a personalized surgical intervention that perhaps has never been done before: There is always a residual risk involved. That’s why hospitals monitor and supervise patient care before, during, and after surgery to be ready for immediate intervention if needed.
ConnectedCare: hospital roadmap to becoming a Smart Hospital
01/10/2020
Scheduling, bed management, and menu ordering – today’s hospitals take advantage of a variety of digital services. In the worst-case scenario, each service requires a different interface to the central information system, marking a major barrier that holds back digitization. With ConnectedCare, BEWATEC shows there is a better way.
The digital hospital: integration and digitization
01/10/2020
Whether it's process automation, robotics in the OR and nursing areas, or the digitalization of patient records - in a smart hospital, everything comes together to form a connected hospital. Find out exactly how the Smart Hospital is being developed with the help of information platforms and projects in the Topic of the Month.
Smart Hospital: Digitally Connected Healthcare
01/10/2020
Every year, new technologies hit the market. They expand, update, and connect hospitals and healthcare facilities. But advancing digitization not only accelerates the speed of improvements, it also uncovers problem areas that must still be fixed.
SmartLab: all-in-one automation, digitalization, and miniaturization
01/09/2020
Laboratories have to analyze and interpret an ever-increasing number of samples for research and diagnostic services, generating lots of data in the process. At the same time, labs are required to produce quality results and operate with speed. Processes that could once be managed using laboratory notebooks and isolated systems must become smart in the future to improve lab efficiency.
The laboratory 4.0: networked analyses
01/09/2020
There is likely no other branch of medicine where you can find as many high-tech devices as in modern laboratories. A major part of diagnostic and biomedical research is done here. A lot of individual steps in work processes need to be followed precisely to ensure the results’ quality. Also, a lot of data is generated here.
The smart networking laboratory: when connected devices become one system
01/09/2020
Diagnostics, biomedical research, screening active ingredient candidates - laboratories perform many functions and must be flexible. Growing and evolving healthcare demands mean labs have to process an increasing number of samples. Modern laboratory information management systems can already support high-throughput, but a smart laboratory environment can make things even more efficient.
Israeli medical devices showcase digital innovations at MEDICA
24/08/2020
For the annual MEDICA trade fair, companies from all over the world assemble in Düsseldorf. The Israel Export Institute has been a part of it for the last couple of years. They present medical devices and digital innovations from different Israeli companies at their joint booth.
Augmented reality ultrasound: putting the focus on patients
10/08/2020
This is how a conventional ultrasound scan works: patients lie down on a table next to the ultrasound machine. A doctor uses a probe to scan the part of the body in question, while he or she looks at the pictures on a monitor. In other words, the physician either focuses on his/her hand on the patient or the monitor. The Fraunhofer IGD wants to change this process as part of the "sonAR" project.
Big Data: early warning system for the ICU
03/08/2020
Patient monitoring systems in the ICU sound up to 700 alarms on average per patient per day, which boils down to one alarm every two minutes. An excessive number of them are false alarms. This generates vast amounts of data, which can make it difficult for doctors and nurses to identify the most critical alarms to manage. It also has a negative effect on the treatment of intensive care patients.
MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE: how data and AI help sports
16/06/2020
Karl Schwarzenbrunner is the head of the Education and Science Department at the German Ice Hockey Association, and also a speaker at the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE 2020, which will take place this year on 18 and 19 November in Düsseldorf.
Robots in the Operating Room: Improving Training and Safety
04/05/2020
Surgical robots are transforming the operating room. They deliver many benefits but also present new challenges. That is why the efficient handling of robotic mechanisms must also be reflected in the respective training courses.
Innovative Robotic-Assisted Surgical Systems
04/05/2020
More compact, more flexibility, and more precision - these are the main characteristics developers strive for as they advance robotic-assisted surgical systems for the operating room. Several technology providers have already shown how it’s done, including the makers of the popular daVinci Surgical System. Yet for robotic-assisted systems, the sky is the limit.
Robotics in the OR: Relieving the surgeon
04/05/2020
In the operating room, minimally invasive procedures are increasingly used. Robot-assisted systems are a great help for the surgeon. They support the surgeon and are extremely precise. Through innovative research approaches, robotic systems are constantly evolving.
Robotic-Assisted Surgery with the daVinci-System
04/05/2020
Robotic surgical systems are often used to perform minimally invasive procedures. The daVinci surgical system is still one of the market leaders and is especially well suited to perform prostatectomies, a surgical option for prostate cancer.
In-ear sensors for monitoring vital parameters
22/04/2020
Wearables offer practical solutions for the flexible measurement of data. The sensor from cosinuss° is worn directly in the ear and offers a precise monitoring of vital parameters.
Ultrasound to go: versatile partner on hospital rounds
08/04/2020
The University Hospital Bonn has recently introduced an ultrasound device that's small enough to fit in your coat pocket. It's ready to use once you have connected it to a tablet or smartphone. The portable system makes bedside physical exams possible. The device primarily benefits students as it allows them to combine basic knowledge and clinical application.
Cardiovascular diseases: using AI to navigate the catheter
09/03/2020
Treatment of a heart attack or stroke caused by vascular occlusion must be prompt to prevent further damage to vital tissue. Unfortunately, the actual treatment is often preceded by a lengthy catheter-based procedure where the cardiologist manually guides the catheter to the affected vessel. AI might perform this task in the future.
Digital cardiology: analyzing data beat by beat
03/02/2020
Chronic cardiovascular diseases are a growing burden worldwide. Most of them are diseases of civilization that spread, where lifestyle is improving or where it is good already. But the healthcare systems are not growing equally to keep up with this development. We can make up for this by making cardiological care smarter with eHealth and mHealth.
Cardisiography: A Non-Invasive Heart Screening Test
03/02/2020
Coronary heart disease can come as a complete surprise and occur suddenly. Cardisiography was designed to lower the risk and make faster intervention possible. As a non-invasive heart screening test, cardisiography offers the possibility of early detection for heart diseases.