Proton therapy is becoming more prevalent in cancer treatment as it is the most advanced form of radiation available. Proton beams are more precise, treating complex tumors while avoiding healthy tissues and critical structures. Proton therapy centers are beginning to spring up around the United States as physicians continue to see the benefits in cancer treatment. One center that has garnered much attention is the CDH Proton Center in Warrenville, Ill.

The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is growing both domestically and internationally, rebounding from the slump that hit the market in 2008-2009. Vendors have seen an increase in system utilization. According to Stuart Clarkson, senior director of the MR business unit at Siemens Healthcare, “We’ve seen approximately 3 to 4 percent growth in the number of scans this year versus the previous year. So, we like to think that MR is still a growing imaging modality.”

According to the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), there are more than 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosed globally each year. This number has been increasing at a rate of 3.1 percent per year. As Prof. Peter Boyle, director of the University of Strathclyde Institute of Global Public Health at the International Prevention Research Institute (iPRI) in Lyon, France, told conference-goers at the European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-9), “We need to make a reduction in the number of women developing and dying from breast cancer a global priority.”

It is impossible to escape the reality that as the use of mobile electronic devices increases amongst consumers, a proportionate increase in the use of such devices in the medical sales and marketing arena will follow. This is already a significant trend that has spread from pharmaceutical sales to device providers and, indeed, through all aspects of the interaction between physicians and their providers of tools and solutions.

April 30, 2014 — Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a new ultrasound device that could help identify arterial plaque that is at high risk of breaking off and causing heart attack or stroke.