RECENT NEWS

The National Institute for Health Research's Health Technology Assessment programme is investigating a new blood test for helping diagnose or rule out heart attacks.

Orthopaedic implant and instrument manufacturing specialist, JRI, is set to launch a new £6 million facility. JRI will unveil a major re-investment in the UK and Sheffield, when the facility is officially opened by the international cricket star Darren Gough on 14 September 2007.

An innovative re-design of the hospital resuscitation trolley, funded by the National Patient Safety Agency, has won a top award at the Medical Futures Innovation Awards 2007. It beat 1200 entries and 30 finalists to win the overall award in the category of Anaesthesia and Critical Care.

NHS Innovations East was set up to help NHS staff in the region develop new ideas that will enhance healthcare delivery. One of the latest innovations to emerge is a new device designed to improve patient safety in lung isolation for thoracic surgery.

Pavillion Medical Ltd has purchased the assets of T-Med Medical from Turkington Industries.

Talley Group is developing a negative pressure wound therapy range aimed at offering patients faster healing and higher comfort levels.

Healthcare industry specialist Medilink West Midlands is working with Safe Surgery Systems to secure a second round of funding to back national trials of a system aimed at preventing surgery errors through mistaken identity.

New research is being conducted to find the best type of urethral catheter for reducing urinary tract infections in hospital patients. The clinical trial will be conducted across eight hospitals – comparing antibiotic and antiseptic impregnated urethral catheters.

The Queen’s Hospital in Burton upon Trent has significantly speeded up its breast cancer surgery with a digital radiography system that can X-ray tumours in the theatre, immediately after removal and display the images within seconds.

An investigation into whether robotic surgery can be controlled via satellite and the internet has found that quality of surgery is not compromised.

Homerton University Hospital has eradicated document backlogs in its radiology department with the deployment of a speech recognition system – from SRC.

Evidence to suggest endometriosis increases cancer risk, regardless of whether women have given birth before, has been uncovered by a team of Swedish doctors.

People who are ill and have psychiatric disorders are not treated as effectively by doctors compared to those who have no mental health problems, according to new analysis.

At the Congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA), Euroanaesthesia 2007, in Munich, the ESA presented the first “Dräger Award for Intensive Care Medicine.”

Welch Allyn, a manufacturer of medical equipment, has announced a new partnership with Sensitron – a developer of software solutions for patient monitoring.

New research is underway to investigate whether controlling the blood sugar levels of children in intensive care helps reduce deaths and serious complications.

The newly revised standard, BS EN ISO 14971:2007 medical devices, which is concerned with the application of risk management, is now available from BSI British Standards.

David Cameron MP (left) recently opened an extended manufacturing facility in Chipping Norton for medical device company Owen Mumford.

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) will be launching the 1st Festival of Surgery in Primary Care, which will run concurrently with its Annual Congress and Exhibition, to be held on 10-11 October at the Harrogate International Conference Centre.

Nearly half of all patients are currently being treated within 18 weeks, a year and a half ahead of schedule, according to official figures produced by the Department of Health.