The Health News United Kingdom September 6 2017
Overview
- Scientists have developed a camera that can see through the human body. The device has been designed to help doctors track medical tools, known as endoscopes, during internal examinations.
- Oxford University is embroiled in an ethics row after scientists were accused of questionable conduct over a controversial trial of a new TB vaccine on African babies.
- Guidance is available from a local pharmacist, such as at Boots, for a university student to get health advice when they fly the nest. Boots offers peace of mind with a text messaging service which is great for students who take regular medications.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 6th of September 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto. Health News
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-41140654
Scientists have developed a camera that can see through the human body. The device has been designed to help doctors track medical tools, known as endoscopes, during internal examinations. Until now, medics have had to rely on expensive scans, such as X-rays, to trace their progress. The new camera works by detecting light sources inside the body, such as the illuminated tip of the endoscope’s long flexible tube.
….
Early tests have shown the prototype device can track a point light source through twenty centimeters of tissue under normal conditions. Beams from the endoscope can pass through the body, but usually scatter or bounce off tissues and organs rather than travelling straight through.
That makes it problematic to get a clear picture of where the tool is. The new camera can detect individual particles, called photons, and is so sensitive it can catch tiny traces of light passing through tissue. It can also record the time taken for light to pass through the body, meaning the device is able to work out exactly where the endoscope is. Researchers have developed the new camera so it can be used at the patient’s bedside. The project – led by the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University – is part of the Proteus Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration, which is developing a range of new technologies for diagnosing and treating lung diseases.
Oxford University is caught up in an ethics controversy after scientists were accused of questionable conduct over a controversial trial of a new vaccine on African babies. Professor Peter Beverley, a former senior academic at the university, complained that scientists planned to test a new tuberculosis vaccine on more than a thousand infants without sharing data suggesting that monkeys given the immunisation had appeared to “die rapidly”.
“Certainly here in this experiment there was no evidence whatsoever that this is an effective booster vaccine,” Professor Beverley said. He claimed the information was not given to regulators when an application to do the trial was initially submitted. In the monkey study, five out of six of the animals infected with TB who were given the experimental vaccine had become “very unwell” and had to be put down. An information sheet given to families in South Africa participating in the trial said the vaccine had been tested on animals and humans and was “safe and effective” in animals.
Almost one thousand five hundred babies in South Africa received the new jab and parents were paid in the region of ten pounds for taking part. The South African regulator which approved the trial admitted to this newspaper that the information sheet given to parents “could be construed as misleading”, raising questions about whether families were sufficiently informed. The scientists at Oxford who carried out the trial maintain that the jab was safe for children and that their experiment was approved by several regulators in advance. They said they followed the infants’ development for two years after the immunisation was given – a time period approved by the regulators. The baby trial began in July two thousand nine and almost half of the two thousand eight hundred infants taking part were given the new jab. In two thousand thirteen, the outcome of the trial on the infants was announced and concluded that the new vaccine offered no increased protection.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/health/what-new-university-students-need-13566751
With guidance available from a local pharmacist, such as at Boots, it’s quick and convenient for a university student to get health advice when they fly the nest. They can speak to a Boots pharmacist about their health at anytime while they are away. There are pharmacists at the heart of every community. These healthcare professionals are on hand to help students living away from home for the first time deal with most of their everyday health concerns. They don’t need an appointment, they can simply pop into their local Boots Pharmacy store, where they’ll find a pharmacist and their team happy to answer their health questions. And with private consultation rooms in most stores, they can get the help and advice they need away from other customers on the shop floor.
Boots offers vaccinations for Human papillomavirus or HPV, meningitis and flu. You can get prescription reminders direct to your phone so you don’t forget. For students who take regular medication, Boots offers peace of mind with a text messaging service. Great for busy students, the pharmacy will text you to remind you that you may need to order your repeat medication and when your next prescription is ready to collect. The pharmacy will even send reminder texts if you forget to collect it, so it’s ideal for students.
0 Comments