Global healthcare innovations showcased

The world’s largest medical trade fair, MEDICA, returns to Düsseldorf, Germany, from 17-20 November 2010. Last year’s 40th anniversary event was attended by over 138,000 visitors from over 100 countries, and this year’s show is set to provide a major draw, once again, for visitors seeking to advance their knowledge of the latest innovations, healthcare trends and therapies. Key topics at the MEDICA congress will include lectures on common diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related diseases, while there will be opportunities to attend advanced training courses on subjects such as: sonography, emergency medicine and endoscopy. The Clinical Services Journal provides an insight into some of the key themes to be addressed throughout the exhibition and congress:

Hybrid scanning systems

Highlighted at this year’s event is a focus on innovative hybrid procedures such as endosonography and its application in the daily clinical routine. One example of a hybrid system is the whole-body PET/MRT scanner, installed at the University Hospital of Geneva earlier this year. The system, which is equipped with the latest Philips technology, combines two procedures – magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) and positron emission tomography (PET). The combination of MRT and PET allows the spatial structures and the metabolism activity of the organs to be displayed in a single image. “The combination of anatomical imaging by MRT and the metabolism through the applied, radioactively marked tracer for PET will assist in monitoring and prediction, as well as supervising the treatment of cancer patients, and will provide more precise information on how the patients respond to treatments. We believe that hybrid imaging will also have more potential in other areas, particularly in cardiovascular imaging as well as neurology,” said Professor Osman Ratib, chief physician at the clinic of radiology and nuclear medicine of the University of Geneva. Currently, both MRT and PET examinations are performed separately, often over several days. The images are then superimposed on the processing console. However, it can be difficult to match the images precisely, as the patient is never in exactly the same position during the examination, while the alignment of the respective scanners do not always correspond precisely. Large diagnostic devices that combine PET and computer tomography have been in use for years as PET/CT devices.