A spokeswoman for the Irish Cancer Society said that the treatment, which involves the implantation of radiotherapy seeds directly into the prostate, has been available to patients in the west on a local basis for the past five years through Professor Frank Sullivan,…
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Medical news service from Penhire
Blog Archives
Recruitment embargo preventing cardiologist Ronan Margey returning home
Through his work as a cardiologist, Dr Ronan Margey heard of an experimental percutaneous right mechanical heart device made by Abiomed, a Massachusetts medical devices company which has a facility in Athlone. The mechanical heart device had previously been used…
New consultant link-up cuts GP patient referrals
A NEW online system allowing GPs to interact with consultants is cutting back on waiting lists and reducing unnecessary referrals. The system was introduced for patients who need to see a neurologist in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, but now…
Prisoner care improved by mental health unit
A groundbreaking mental health unit in Mountjoy Jail has greatly improved care for inmates and boosted compliance with international human rights standards. Research by medical experts from the Central Mental Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry in Trinity College found…
Breakthrough test pinpoints severity of dementia risk
Prof Willie Molloy and Dr Rónán Ó Caoimh of University College Cork and the nearby St Finbarr’s Hospital have developed a new test which can differentiate between ranges of dementia. By using their mild cognitive impairment (QMCI) test, they believe…
Tagged with: Dementia, Psychiatry, Tests
Posted in New techniques, Rónán Ó Caoimh, Research, Willie Molloy
Posted in New techniques, Rónán Ó Caoimh, Research, Willie Molloy
New implant helps stroke victim to move robotic arm by thought
The work is part of a US clinical trial of an experimental implant called BrainGate that doctors see as a first step towards devices that can bypass damage to the nervous system and allow paralysed people to regain control of…
Glove could transform treatment of arthritis
Scientists in Cork are working with counterparts in the North to develop a glove which could transform the way arthritis is diagnosed and treated. The electronic “data” glove could be worn by patients at home allowing their joint stiffness to…
An innovation that gets into the rhythm of saving lives
AN INNOVATIVE NEW medical device just introduced to Ireland by Sisk Healthcare company Tekno Surgical could lead to dramatic improvements in the treatment outcomes for a significant proportion of patients suffering from heart failure and require Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT).…
Hiqa to assess Deep Brain Stimulation service
THE FEASABILITY of establishing a national Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery service is to be assessed over the coming months for the HSE by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa). Patients and neurology specialists have been calling for a…
First Irish child for auditory brainstem implant
CALUM GEARY is about to make medical history by becoming the first child in the Republic to undergo highly specialised ear surgery. Later this month, surgeons at Manchester University Hospital will place an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) in the deaf…
Controversy over genetic screening of embryos
Beacon Medical Group, in partnership with UK-based service Care Fertility, is opening a new clinic in Dublin where it plans to offer pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. This involves testing embryos for conditions such as Huntington’s disease, haemophilia and cystic…
2 embryos better than one for IVF success
Decisions about how many embryos to implant during a single in-vitro fertilisation cycle are controversial. Some fertility clinics have been accused in the past of taking risks with women’s health by implanting multiple embryos to increase the chances of a…
Robot surgery adds €2k to operation
LOWER risk of blood transfusion and shorter hospital stays are among the advantages of using a robot during certain kinds of surgery, but the cost may be difficult to justify, a report has found. (Examiner) >
Embryo survival better in new process at Irish clinic
A FREEZING process which improves the chances of embryos surviving post-thawing has been licensed in Ireland for the first time. The Irish Medicines Board yesterday confirmed that the Merrion Fertility Clinic in Dublin is the first facility in the Republic…
The reproduction revolution
Coull, an affable Scotsman and the laboratory’s manager, has been using a procedure called ICSI, or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, to implant two sperm in two eggs from the young couple in their 30s. ICSI is one of the greatest but…
Non-invasive cosmetic surgery
The technology involved in using your own cells to rejuvenate your skin has become increasingly sophisticated, says consultant plastic surgeon Dr Labros Chatzis, Medical Director of the River Medical Group in Dublin. The recession has had an inevitable effect on…
Cancer surgery technique pioneered
A NEW technique to combat oesophageal cancer is being pioneered in this country by a top surgeon at Cork’s Mercy University Hospital. Thomas Murphy, a consultant general surgeon with a specialist interest in surgery of the oesophagus and stomach, is…
Terry Prone on Parkinson’s Disease
Then his consultant in Cork, Brian Sweeney, mentioned a surgical intervention that had been around for about 10 years in the US and Britain. Called deep brain stimulation, in simple terms, it means insertion of four electrodes into the brain…
Professor Mark Lawlor on Oncotype Dx test
[Letter to Independent >>>] MORE than 650 Irish women participated in an international trial which helped to validate a gene test for breast cancer. Yet the fruits of this international research effort are not being offered to public patients in…
Oncotype DX cancer test too expensive for public patients
A new diagnostic test that would help many women with breast cancer avoid debilitating chemotherapy will not be made available to public patients because it is too expensive. The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE)s aid the test should not be…
First keyhole heart valve surgery in Ireland
A team led by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Michael Tolan, at the Blackrock Clinic, replaced two heart valves for Harriet Gould in a procedure that avoided the usual incision through the breast bone. Mr Tolan, consultant anaesthetist Dr Fionnuala Lyons and…
Medical devices sector in Ireland
“Ireland is host to a significant medical device cluster, which is described to be within the top four medical device clusters in the world,” says Dr Mark Bruzzi, a lecturer in mechanical and biomedical engineering at NUI Galway. He is also…
Implant could ease arthritis suffering
ARTHRITIS sufferers could be spared further pain and joint damage by a tiny chip implant in their neck. One in five Irish people are affected by arthritis and support group Arthritis Ireland said any advances towards easing their pain were…
Dr Barry O’Reilly’s robotic surgical procedure
A CORK couple yesterday spoke of their delight after the birth of their daughter following a surgical procedure using robotic equipment helped reduce the risk of miscarriage. Anne (33) and Patrick O’Mahony (35) spoke of their gratitude to consultant obstetrician…
Kamra eye surgery comes to Ireland
“It’s suited primarily to people who are presbyopic,” says Arthur Cummings, a consultant ophthalmologist at the Wellington Eye Clinic, a Dublin practice which has been in the laser eye treatment business for more than 15 years. (Times) >>>
Stem cell storage can put lives ‘at risk’
The growth of commercial cord blood banking was ‘‘encouraging a culture of maternal guilt’’ and driving many women to have the costly procedures with few proven clinical benefits, the Irish Stem Cell Foundation has warned. It said the health of…
Music and TV replaces sedation for children
The National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght, allows children to listen to music or watch specially selected TV programmes on a portable media player. With the scanning procedure being a potentially strange or frightening experience for some children, the portable media players…
Advanced robotics at Cork University Maternity Hospital
Among them is Dr Barry O’Reilly, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), the only hospital in Europe to perform both cancer and non-cancer procedures using advanced robotics. CUMH has been designated the First European Robotic…
Firm raises €1.5m for development of hip fracture test based on analysis of toenail clippings
A DUBLIN firm which has developed a ground-breaking test for predicting the risk of hip fractures by analysing toenail clippings has secured funding of €1.5 million. Crescent Diagnostics, which is based in DCU’s Invent centre, will use this funding to…
Hospital offers robot surgery for cancer
CORK University Maternity Hospital has become the first facility in Europe to use sophisticated “robotic surgeons” for both cancer and non-cancer procedures. The Da Vinci surgical system will be used for complex gynaecological procedures, performing them in a non-invasive manner.…
