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London — BBC News reports on Experts developing a flexible surgical robot, known as the i-Snake, which they say could revolutionize keyhole surgery. It could enable surgeons to do complex procedures previously possible only through more invasive techniques.

A team at Imperial College London has been granted £2.1 million for the work.

The i-Snake, a long tube housing special motors, sensors and imaging tools, has the potential to allow complex heart and bowel operations to be carried out without making an incision.

According to the research team, the i-Snake could also be used to detect problems in the gut and bowel by acting as the surgeon’s hands and eyes in hard to reach places inside the body. The Imperial College team, which includes health minister and surgeon Lord Ara Darzi, will test the device in the laboratory first, before using it on patients.

Lord Darzi said i-Snake could be in use within five years, resulting in cheaper operations and faster recovery times for patients. The robot’s diameter will vary between that of a 5p and a 10p piece and it will contain fibre-optic cables to relay information to the surgeon.

“The unrivalled imaging and sensing capabilities coupled with the accessibility and sensitivity of i-Snake will enable more complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures than are currently possible, BBC quoted Lord Darzi, as saying. More at BBC News.

CHICAGO, IL –BUSINESS WIRE– Nov 25, ‘07 — Today, at the 93^rd annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, Royal Philips Electronics unveiled its latest innovative healthcare products and technologies including the 256-slice Brilliance iCT scanner, allows radiologists to produce high-quality images with exceptional acquisition speed, including complete coverage of the heart and brain.

It is so powerful it can capture an image of the entire heart in just two beats, while incorporating Philips technology that has reduced radiation doses by up to 80 percent.

Brilliance iCT and a new 64-channel system both feature Philips Essence technology, consisting of new X-ray tubes, detectors and reconstruction design elements. This technology can provide detailed and clear 3D images of an entire organ, including the heart and brain, and can also show changes over time.

All images also can be accessed on any computer in a hospital or by colleagues and researchers remotely, to make it easier for the whole team to share information. To date, more than 30 CT systems with Essence technology have been shipped.

The scanners deliver key clinical insights for a wide range of applications in the radiology and cardiology settings, while the enhanced visualizations will be valuable for doctors diagnosing and treating problems within the heart.

The Brilliance iCT scanner is also designed to reduce patients’ exposure to X-rays. The scan is much quicker, as the machine’s X-ray emitting gantry – the giant ring-shaped part that surrounds the patient – can rotate four times in a single second, which is 22 percent faster than current systems. More at Philips Medical Systems.

ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ — ReliefInsite today unveiled a new release of the ReliefInsite pain management diary built on Facebook Platform, a new way for companies and developers to integrate with the Facebook website. With more than 47 million active users, Facebook is the sixth-most trafficked website in the United States. 

ReliefInsite, which launched its web-based pain management system in August, has implemented a new release that makes both free and premium diaries available to users of Facebook. The company helps patients communicate better with their doctors by collecting essential medical details — such as pain location, intensity, and medications (premium diary only) — and automatically organizing these details into medical reports that patients can print and give their doctor or share on Facebook. 

Because pain is subjective, atient self-reporting plays a critical role in treating it. In this era of consumer-driven healthcare, Facebook provides a new and effective resource for people to take a more active role in their health, and for physicians and caregivers to receive timely, detailed and structured information that can help them to better diagnose and treat patients with pain. 

“We are extremely excited to be the first company to deliver a personal health record built on Facebook Platform,” said Fred Eberlein, CEO and founder of ReliefInsite. “Millions of individuals suffer from pain, so it’s wonderful to have this opportunity to offer our pain management tool to the millions of people who use Facebook every day.” More at ReliefInsite.

BANGKOK, Thailand — Oct. 29, 2007 — Building on a worldwide commitment to improving health through software technology, Microsoft Corp. has agreed to acquire software, intellectual property and other assets from Global Care Solutions (GCS), a privately held company based in Bangkok, Thailand, that develops enterprise-class health information systems. The acquisition complements Microsoft’s already strong portfolio of health solutions and will provide hospitals across international markets with a new alternative to achieve improved workflow and patient safety through information technology. GCS employees will join Microsoft’s Health Solutions Group, which will manage product development and delivery. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

“We were impressed by Global Care Solutions’ state-of-the-art health information system, which has enabled a hugely complex facility like Bumrungrad International hospital to achieve amazing outcomes related to improved workflow and patient safety,” said Peter Neupert, corporate vice president for the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft. “The international, fully integrated nature of the GCS technology, and the fact that it is built from the ground up on scalable Microsoft technology, makes this a great addition to our portfolio of health enterprise products as we look to power developing and emerging hospital systems around the globe.” 

Global Care Solutions designed and developed its end-to-end system in collaboration with Bumrungrad, an internationally accredited facility based in Bangkok. The hospital, which treats more than 1.2 million patients from 190 countries each year, uses the GCS solution to efficiently manage clinical workflow, billing, regulatory compliance and medical records. Microsoft will continue to work closely with Bumrungrad to further build out the functionality and features of the GCS technology.  

More at Global Care Solutions