1. Study: Low-dose CT scanning improves Ankylosing Spondylitis assessment
A new study has shown that low-dose computed tomography (LD-CT) is more sensitive than X-rays for monitoring disease progression in people who have Ankylosing Spondylitis, according to a June 15 press release. LD-CT has previously been proven to be sensitive and reliable when assessing bone growth in different patients. The new study is designed to compare how well it can show the formation of new bony growth (syndesmophytes) and an increase in size in syndesmophytes. The study showed that LD-CT was more consistent when detecting these bone growths in AS patients than X-rays. About 30% of the patients in the study showed bony proliferation at three or more sites using LD-CT, while only 6% showed on conventional X-rays. The lead author was Dr. Anoek de Koning from the Leiden University Medical Centre in Leiden, Netherlands.
2. ConforMIS touts total knee replacement implant study
ConforMIS announced in a June 13 press release announced study results for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients treated with customized individually made (CIM) implants or standard off-the-shelf (OTS) implants. There were 248 participants in the study. About 3.3% had events at discharge with the CIM implants, whereas 14.1% had events with OTS implants. After 90 days, 8.1% had an event occur after discharge with the CIM implants and 18.2% with OTS implants. Additionally, 42.1% of patients were discharged in less than three days with CIM implants. OTS implants had 30.3% of patients discharged in less than three days. The hospital costs were also compared. CIM implants had an average cost of $16,192 and OTS has an average cost of $16,240. Follow-up care costs for CIM and OTS implants were $5,048 and $6,361 respectively.
3. Hemovent successfully completes first tests of extracorporeal life support device
Hemovent announced the first series of its in vivo trails for its portable artificial lung technology platform that is used for extracorporeal CO2 removal and extracorporeal life support, according to a June 12 press release. The platform helps establish an artificial external blood circuit with a portable pump and gas exchanger system to support lung function or establish a full cardiopulmonary bypass. It is essentially an artificial lung that can give respiratory support to damaged lungs that cannot perform their natural duties. It can also be used as a temporary life support system that can take over the function of the heart during acute heart failure.
