University health system acquires laser technology for cataracts

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System announced that it recently acquired the LenSx platform for use in cataract surgery. This technology releases laser energy in bursts that last for a femtosecond, or one-quadrillionth of a second.

“I can see exactly where I want to place my incisions, as well as the exact diameter and depth of the cataract, prior to cataract fragmentation,” said Jose de la Cruz, professor of ophthalmology and visual science. “Once the laser is set in position, I press the pedal, and the laser will divide the cataract into pieces in less than 20 seconds.”

In the past, surgeons have used LenSx in refractive surgery for the creation of thin flaps in lenses. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the technology’s use for cataract removal.

LenSx allows surgeons to view live, real-time images of the eye. After they use the laser to break up the cataract, they remove it and insert an intraocular lens. Clinicians may perform these procedures with topical anesthesia, allowing for quick recovery.

According to the National Eye Institute, more than one-half of all Americans will develop cataracts by the time they reach 80 years of age.

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Doctors use special MRI scans to track progress of chemotherapy

In the interest of helping cancer patients determine the best course of treatment, doctors from Johns Hopkins University found a way to use special MRI scanners and computer software to determine whether chemotherapeutical regimens are working.

The technology uses volumetric functional MRI scans to track the movement of water in and out of cancer cells. This is valuable information because cancer cells that are dying have lost the ability to control water movement. As a result, dead cancer cells have a high coefficient in the measurements performed by the scanners and software, which come from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

Such an approach is valuable for patients who are diagnosed with aggressive cancer. An assessment of how well chemotherapy is working will help doctors make swift decisions about treatment.

“Our latest volumetric functional MRI scans could help people with aggressive cancers, and little time to spare on failed treatments, know as quickly as possible if their treatment is working and when they need to consider other treatment options. And without having to wait for months to actually see tumor shrinkage,” said researcher and radiologist Ihab Kamel, M.D., Ph.D.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University demonstrated the value of this technology in two trials. The first involved 29 individuals who had cholangiocarcinoma, an advanced form of liver bile duct cancer. By the end of the study period, patients who achieved diffusion coefficient score increases of more than 45 percent lived 10 months longer than those who did not. Furthermore, those who achieved score increases of more than 60 percent lived 17 months longer.

Another trial used this technology to track the chemotherapy response of 26 patients who had islet cell carcinoma. Results showed that the most responsive tumors had diffusion coefficient score increases of at least 70 percent. In contrast, a score increase of less than 40 percent indicated that chemotherapy was not successful.

These results are published in the journal Radiology. Further studies will determine the optimal window of time in which doctors may switch treatments.

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Physicians should consider uses of healthcare IT in improving efficiency, operations

Healthcare information technology can be used to strengthen the physician-patient relationship, according to panelists at the 2012 Healthcare IT Connect Summit.

Physicians should seek to do so as part of running their practice, panelist Kevin Flanigan suggested. In discussing accountable care organizations (ACOs), Flanigan indicated that healthcare IT infrastructure must be integrated into the decision-making process if it is to help improve patients’ health and reduce costs.

One major function healthcare IT can serve that will aid in this respect is to help physicians and healthcare organizations coordinate their care to avoid episodes of repeating and overutilized care. Different physicians, specialists and others may have difficulties helping patients due to problems communicating what they need and what treatments or analyses have already been performed.

It may help to look at services in terms of what their objective is. Changes to how a practice is run might be targeting cost reduction, care improvement or other goals. Doing so may help to clarify what effects those adjustments will have on a physician’s practice and patients. Data may also help if used to analyze how much of a practice’s resources are going to help each patient. This sort of analysis may be new, but medical lending could help physicians procure hardware and software to make it easier.

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