Technology provides most accurate view inside human body

Doctors at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine got a glimpse into the future of women’s health with the presentation of endoscopic gynecologic surgery performed for the first time using “4K” technology.

Steven F. Palter, MD, an obstetrician, gynecologist, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist performed the world’s first 4K super high-definition (HD) laparoscopy at Syosset Hospital, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and presented images from that surgery on October 20 at the 65th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

“The images are the sharpest, most detail-rich and color-correct endoscopic images ever created anywhere,” Dr. Palter said. “There is not a more accurate view inside the human body.”

Produced in conjunction with RED Digital Cinema Camera Company; Sony Electronics, Inc., an ultrahigh definition projector company; and the University of Southern California Cinema Arts School, the diagnostic images were presented in a specially built digital theater with a projector designed to run “ultra-HD” movies in high-end movie theatres. “It’s a prime example of how Hollywood film technology can be used to transform medicine by enabling doctors to see more accurately inside the body to study and treat disease,” Dr. Palter said.

Ultra-high resolution digital cameras are transforming the art of cinema. Leading Hollywood directors such as Peter Jackson and Stephen Soderbergh are filming the next generation of cinema blockbusters using cameras with “4K” resolution, four times the resolution of HD with 4,096 lines of resolution to give audiences unprecedented realism.

“Through the use of this digital technology, Hollywood is moving from observation to immersion — you’re not just watching something, you are there,” said Dr. Palter, medical and scientific director of Gold Coast IVF in Syosset, NY, who presented the plenary presentation, Film and Medicine: The Technological Transformation of Medicine. “In this session we showed how tomorrow’s film technology can apply to laparoscopic surgery, which is all performed using video techniques.”

Dr. Palter joined with the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company that manufactures the 4K Red One system to create Hollywood movies of tomorrow, and Sony, the leading ultra-HD theatrical projector company, to perform laparoscopic surgery using the Hollywood camera system.

During the film presentation, the 3,500 reproductive medicine specialists in attendance were able to visualize the surgery as if they were standing in the operating room. However, by combining unprecedented resolution and magnification, the surgical images were beyond what a surgeon would see in traditional surgery. The progress from regular surgical film technology is like comparing sitting in an HD home theater to watching a video on a cell phone,” said Dr. Palter.

“Dr. Palter’s research and vision of surgery’s technological future opened the eyes and minds of the audience to fantastic treatments beyond what can be done today,” said R. Dale McClure, MD president of ASRM.

The session also included a projection of the largest HD three-dimensional (3D) surgical images ever. Using the same system as 3D blockbuster Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, surgeons felt as if they could “reach out and conduct the operation.” These images were enabled by converting Sony’s 4K and 3D theatrical systems to show medical footage of what Dr. Palter has called “futurevision.” To obtain the images, Dr. Palter and researchers from USC Cinema Arts created a method to attach the Red One 4K camera to a laparoscope. Offhollywood, a leading movie production company converted these images into a 4K digital cinema movie that was projected on $200,000, 700-pound Sony SRX-R220 projectors back to back with 4K Hollywood images of such stars as Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts and Will Smith. RealD 3D lenses projected HD 3D surgery as well as Hollywood images from 3Ality of movies, sports and the rock music band U2.

Source: North Shore-LIJ Health System


Breast cancer and critical illness insurance

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Oct 28,2009

As breast cancer awareness month winds to a close and pink ribbons symbolizing the brave fight against this disease take their place on survivors’ dressers, the fight continues. Putting the spotlight on this devastating disease has made people think about their own mortality and what would happen if they were diagnosed with a critical illness, says Frank N. Darras, America’s top Long Term Disability Lawyer.

If your family’s medical history includes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes or renal disease, then critical illness insurance might add an additional layer of financial protection for you.

“Critical illness insurance fills the gap in existing medical insurance coverage or can be a last stop if you’re not able to afford or you lost your major health insurance. Generally, critical illness insurance pays a lump sum monetary benefit for hospital charges, an I.C.U. stay, organ transplants, ambulance fees, or transportation and lodging. This sum can be used for payment towards any aspect of the illness or for food, clothing, gas or the mortgage,” says Darras the Insurance Attorney.

This coverage sounds simple, but folks must understand exactly what they are paying for and exactly what is covered.

According to Darras, critical illness insurance is not meant to replace health, life or disability insurance. Instead, its purpose is payment for illness and specific kinds of treatment not ordinarily covered by traditional insurance or for any other expenses the insured wants to spend the lump sum on. Dire medical conditions are difficult enough to get your arms around, you don’t need mounting financial worries to add insult to the illness.

Before buying critical illness insurance do your homework. Find a licensed agent you trust and ask for three quotes from three different companies. Take the time and ask your agent to walk you through the policy features, advantages and benefits so you know what you bought and how to access the benefits should you need them.

A family history of a certain illness may be enough for the company to exclude that disease. Most policies are priced based on the age, gender and family history so the more medical questions you can honestly answer no to, the better. Find the pre-existing limitation clause and understand or have it explained to you so there is no gray area.

Does the insurance company you are planning on giving your hard earned dollars to have stellar claims paying history? If you satisfy the claim requirements, when will you get paid?

Darras defines terms you need to know:
Pre-existing Conditions: Pre-existing condition limitations vary, so read the fine print.
Covered Illnesses: What specific illnesses are covered? Will they be paid at 100%?
Underwriting: Simplified underwriting applies to policy benefits less than $100,000; full underwriting applies to benefits over $100,000.
Guaranteed Renewable “To Age”: Most policies are guaranteed renewable; some continue for life, others terminate at age 75-80.
Issue Ages: Generally 18-69; some companies have maximum issue ages of 65, 70 or 75.
Minimum and Maximum Benefit Amounts: $10,000 up to $1 million or more.
Waiting Period: How many days you must wait before benefits are paid.
Survival Period: Number of days the insured must live following diagnosis, to receive benefits.
Conditions of Payment: Specific criteria that must be met before the benefit is paid.
Benefit Reduction Age and Amount: Most policies maximum benefit drops by 50% at age 65.
Return of Premium: Most policies refund your premium less the benefits paid only upon the death of the insured.

“Making smart choices and having a trustworthy, knowledgeable professional to give you competent advice, can save you big dollars in the long run,” says Darras the ERISA Lawyer.

www.darrasnews.com

Source: Frank N. Darras


Teenagers difficult to ‘Capture’ for vaccinations

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Oct 27,2009

Rates on rise overall, but still low

New Vote on Whether to Vaccinate Males Against HPV Leaves it up to Parents and Health Care Providers; Prompts Robust Discussion Disparities in Some Adolescent Vaccination Rates Defy Expectations

More teenagers are being vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal meningitis and pertussis (whooping cough), though the rates are still too low, according to recently released government data and a panel of experts convened by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). Now, in addition to urging routine HPV vaccination for girls, providers can educate adolescent boys, young men – and their parents – about HPV and its potential consequences, and offer vaccination to boys as well. Last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted for a ‘permissive’ HPV vaccination strategy for boys.

In taking the vote, the Advisory Committee considered research specific to the impact of genital warts in males and whether vaccination in males would be unnecessary if females were vaccinated at high rates. Presently, only about 40 percent of teenage girls receive the first dose of HPV vaccine with fewer than 20 percent receiving the complete three-dose series. Committee members could not consider research about HPV-related cancers in males in their deliberations, though that may leave the door open to revisit or even expand the recommendation to prevent cancer in the future.

“Voting for a permissive HPV vaccination strategy in boys puts the choice squarely in the hands of the parents and puts the onus for educating boys and their parents about HPV squarely on the health care providers’ shoulders,” said William Schaffner, M.D., president-elect of NFID. “It is a good way to get the conversation going about human papillomavirus in boys, but if current rates are any indication, this strategy will not make a big dent in vaccination coverage.”

Even for those vaccinations that are routinely recommended, rates do not yet reach target rates set forth in 2000 for the year 2010. “Adolescents are less likely to have regular wellness visits,” according to Amy B. Middleman, M.D., M.P.H, MsEd, Director of Adolescent and Young Adult Immunization at Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research and Liaison Representative to the ACIP for the Society for Adolescent Medicine. “They’re a challenging group to reach, with increasingly busy lives; their health needs are uniquely different from those of infants and adults. We need to address this challenge and develop immunization delivery strategies that make sense for this specific age group. Our youth deserve to move into adulthood with every health advantage we can give them and immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases is a big step toward that goal.”

Another obstacle to vaccination is that parents and providers don’t make vaccination a priority during adolescence. While infants and toddlers regularly have wellness visits where they are weighed, measured and inoculated, adolescents are more likely to see a health care provider only when they’re ill, and vaccinations are not likely to be offered during these sick visits. Sports physicals are a good opportunity to capture this age group, but that leaves out a large contingent of teens. Regular wellness visits including vaccinations are recommended for all adolescents at 11-12 years of age.

Vaccination Rates Demonstrate Need for Improvement; Surprising Disparities in Coverage

Overall, vaccine coverage rates for the nation’s preteens and teens are increasing, but they remain low. The CDC’s National Immunization Survey (NIS) Teen survey estimates the proportion of teens aged 13 through 17 years who have received six recommended vaccines by the time they are surveyed. Three of these are recommended to be given at age 11-12: meningococcal vaccine, tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap), and, for girls, HPV vaccine. The survey also covers three other vaccines recommended to be given at an earlier age: measles- mumps-rubella (MMR), hepatitis B and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. Influenza vaccine is also recommended every year for all adolescents up to age 18, but vaccination rates for influenza are not measured yet by the NIS-Teen survey.

The survey results reveal some ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. Hispanic females were more likely than Blacks and Whites to start the vaccination series against HPV, but less likely to complete the recommended three-dose series. Overall, Hispanics were also more likely than Blacks and Whites to be vaccinated against meningococcal disease, hepatitis B, varicella and Tdap. In another surprising finding, teens living below poverty were more likely than those living at or above poverty to start the HPV series. Teens living at or above the poverty level had the highest vaccination rates for MMR and the lowest rates for HPV.

Key findings–racial and ethnic disparities:
– Hispanic females were more likely than Blacks and Whites to start the HPV vaccination series (44.4 percent), but less likely to complete the recommended three-dose series (14.7 percent).
– Fewer White females than Hispanics started the HPV vaccination series (35.0 percent), but more completed the three-dose series (19.5 percent).
– Hispanic teens were also more likely than Black and White teens to be vaccinated against meningococcal disease. Hispanics (46.8 percent); Blacks (43.1 percent), Whites (39.7 percent).

Key findings–poverty level:
– Teens living below poverty level are more likely to start the HPV vaccination series (46.4 percent) than those living at or above the poverty level (35.8 percent).
– For all other diseases, teens living at or above the poverty level are more likely than those living below to be vaccinated against MMR (89.6 percent vs. 87.1 percent), hepatitis B (88 percent vs. 86.7 percent), varicella (82.9 percent vs. 77 percent), tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (41.2 percent vs. 38.6 percent) and meningococcal disease (42 percent vs. 40.8 percent).

The complete NIS Survey, including state-by-state vaccination rates, can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/stats-surv/nis/nis-2008-released.htm.

“It’s great to report that we’re doing better at reaching Hispanic females and those living below the poverty level about the threat of the human papillomavirus, but we need to do more to increase the rate of those actually completing the three-dose schedule,” said Lance E. Rodewald, MD, Director, Immunization Services Division; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Expands Its Adolescent Immunization Initiative

In an effort to educate healthcare professionals and parents about adolescent immunization, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is expanding its adolescent immunization initiative. Later this fall, NFID will re-launch an expanded Web site, www.adolescentvaccination.org, dedicated to providing scientifically-based information for parents, teens, healthcare professionals and the media. NFID is also actively partnering with nearly two dozen other organizations to proactively communicate that immunization rates in adolescents need to be improved to reduce the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases in this population.

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Vaccine-preventable diseases can cause serious morbidity and mortality in adolescents. Even when treated quickly and appropriately, meningococcal disease kills about 10 to 14 percent of people infected, with 11 to 19 percent of survivors suffering serious long-term effects, such as hearing loss, brain damage and digit or limb amputation. Pertussis is underreported, making it difficult to pinpoint U.S. incidence, but some estimates range from 1 million to over 2 million cases each year. Infected adolescents can pass the disease to infants and others who are at higher risk of serious illness or death. There are more than 6 million new HPV infections in the U.S. each year, nearly 75 percent are in females 15 to 24 years of age. HPV infection can lead to cervical cancer.

Source: National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)


Changes in brain chemicals mark shifts in infant learning

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Oct 27,2009

Mother-Child Attachments in Animals and Possible Parallels in People

When do you first leave the nest? Early in development infants of many species experience important transitions — such as learning when to leave the protective presence of their mother to start exploring the wider world. Neuroscientists have now pinpointed molecular events occurring in the brain during that turning point.

Based on animal studies, the findings may shed light on the strength of attachments in many species — including the conundrum of why human children form strong attachments to even abusive caregivers.

“This is one of the few times we know what causes this type of early transition,” said psychologist Gordon A. Barr, Ph.D., of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, co-author of a study that appeared online Sept. 27 in Nature Neuroscience. Barr performed the studies in rats with a longtime collaborator, neuroscientist Regina M. Sullivan, Ph.D., of the Nathan Kline Institute and New York University Langone Medical Center.

The youngest rats, called pups, first experience the mother’s presence with both positive and negative stimuli. Even if the mother does something unpleasant, like stepping on or biting a pup, the baby rat stays close by the mother, something called preference learning. “From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense,” said Barr. “The dependent baby has a better chance of survival if it doesn’t stray from the mother’s side.”

However, at about ten days of age, the rat pups experience a transition to so-called aversion learning, in which they learn to avoid unpleasant stimuli. Said Barr, “Once an animal is better able to move around, it needs to be able to escape from stressful situations, again in the interests of its survival.” The maturing rat learns a type of safe behavior while away from parental protection.

For neuroscientists, one puzzle has been how to understand the underlying biological events in the changeover from preference learning to aversion learning. In a series of studies reported in the current paper, the authors focused on neurotransmitters in the brain, then manipulated those chemical messages to mimic their natural effects in rats.

They conditioned the rat pups to associate a new odor with a negative event — a mild electric shock. In adult rats, but not in immature rats, a shock induces a telltale increase in levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. Increased corticosterone, in turn, causes the amygdala, a learning center in the brain, to have increased levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Using microarrays (to detect changes in dopamine-related gene expression) and microdialysis (to measure changes in dopamine levels), the study team confirmed that changes in dopamine levels were linked to changes in learning patterns.

On about their tenth day of life, rat pups start to make the transition from preference learning to aversion learning. Based on their corticosterone/dopamine findings, Barr and Sullivan were able to chemically manipulate the learning transition. By injecting eight-day-old rat pups with corticosterone, the scientists advanced the animals’ learning behaviors — the young rats avoided the new (shock-associated) odor, just as older rats did. Eight-day-old control rats did not show such avoidance behavior.

Injecting dopamine directly into an eight-day-old rat’s amygdala had a similar effect, switching their usual preference learning to aversion learning typical of older animals. The researchers also toggled the switch in the other direction. By blocking dopamine receptors in eight-day-old rats already treated with corticosterone, the rats showed preference learning instead of the aversion learning induced by corticosterone.

The neural mechanisms they found, said Barr, may also apply to infant behavior in dogs, rats and people. “For humans,” said Barr, “the findings may shed light on the pathologically strong attachment that children are known to have even for abusive caretakers.” In addition, he said, the findings suggest that scientists may detect neural mechanisms at the heart of other developmental transitions, such as an infant’s switch from breastfeeding to eating solid food.

The National Institutes of Health provided grant support for this study, for which Barr was the principal investigator and Sullivan was co-principal investigator. Barr began the study while at Hunter College and New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City. Sullivan began the study at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Okla.

Source: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia


Categories

Archives

Blogroll

Meta