Archived News for Health Sector Professionals

The University of New England is set to become a regional mental health research hub following the announcement of a $4.8 million Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project.

The Federal Government has announced new funding of $3 million for eight projects to enable scientists to conduct critical research into the Hendra virus, following a fresh outbreak in Queensland.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a report that indicates a steady increase in the number of older Australians requiring hospitalisation following a fall.

Catholic Health Australia has released a study which has found that up to 500,000 people could avoid chronic illness, $2.3 billion in annual hospital costs could be saved and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions cut by 5.3 million if a better understanding of the determinants of health issues was to be found.

The Federal Government has announced $57.5 million in funding for aged care to be split between Victoria and New South Wales.

A new research facility located at Monash University will drive world-first research into the early detection of cardiac disease using ultra-sensitive biomedical imaging equipment supplied by Siemens.

Supported by a $7 million grant from the Victorian Government, the Monash Biomedical Imaging (MBI) centre was officially opened today by the Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher.

The facility features state-of-the-art Siemens equipment, including pre-clinical and clinical scanners, which will be pivotal in assessing how imaging can detect plaque formation in the carotid arteries of elderly patients.

MBI Director, Professor Gary Egan said the facility's unique co-location with the Australian Synchrotron Imaging and Medical Beam Line, enabled advanced imaging techniques to predict cardiac function and disease onset in the elderly.

“The research at MBI could result in ground-breaking discoveries that may lead to the early detection of markers associated with the prevention of neurological and cardiovascular diseases including stroke," Professor Egan said.

Professor Egan said the facility would provide coordinated access and operational support to biomedical imaging infrastructure, as well as research training and advanced technological development in close collaboration with researchers and industry partners including Siemens.

Vice-President of Siemens Healthcare, Richard Guest, said there was an increasing demand for collaborative treatments incorporating imaging and drug therapies to assist in the goal of advancing human health.

“There is a significant shift in medical research towards the use of highly advanced body imaging which literally provides clinicians with a virtual 3D replica of the cardiovascular system, to detect and prevent disease,” Richard Guest said.

“This partnership allows for Monash and Siemens to join forces to identify these key indicators. Using world-class technology increases the accuracy significantly and places Monash amongst the leading biomedical imaging research centres in the world,” Mr Guest said.

The opening of MBI marked the establishment of a new node of the Victorian Biomedical Imaging Capability (VBIC) – a collaboration between Monash University, Swinburne University, The University of Melbourne and the Florey Neuroscience Institute - which the State Government granted a further $8.5 million in support.

The Government also recently announced $26 million for a further four years of operational funding for the Australian Synchrotron facility at the Clayton campus.

The research into predictors of cardiac disease will be undertaken as a sub-study of the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly trial. 

The South Australian Government has announced $212.5 million in disability support, with $20 million being directed to fund the roll out of the Federal Government's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Researchers at Switzerland’s Federal Polytechnic School have announced a breakthrough in spinal chord research after scientists restored voluntary lower body movement to a paralyzed rat.

The South Australian Government has outlined $30.4 million over four years for the development of a new digital system for pathology testing.

Funding of  $1.75 million has been awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to Professor Claude Bernard and his research team at Monash University to collaborate with researchers at the University of California on developing improved treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) using a new adult stem cell technique. 

The South Australian Government has released five regional implementation plans that map out the state’s long-term priorities for health services in regional and rural South Australia. The five plans outline the first three years of action on the recommendations of individual Health Advisory Councils across the state.

A report released by the mental health advocacy group Inspire Foundation has found that mental illnesses in young men is costing the Australian economy $3 billon each year.

A research team led by Monash and Melbourne universities have discovered why people can develop life-threatening allergies following the treatment for conditions such as epilepsy and AIDS.

A new Australian study has confirmed the accuracy of a modern non-invasive cardiac output monitor that can replace a 40-year-old standard in this field.

The collaborative paper by researchers at The University of Queensland School of Medicine, the Florey Neuroscience Institute and the University of Melbourne compared the current accepted method of measuring cardiac output with a non-invasive accurate ultrasound monitor called USCOM.

The current gold standard cardiac monitor is the Pulmonary Artery Catheter (PAC), which involves insertion of a catheter into a patient's neck or groin.

The catheter is then positioned in their arteries through the heart before heating or cooling the blood.

Alternatively, the newer USCOM method simply involves placing a small ultrasound probe on the chest.

Professor Malcolm West, a Professor of Medicine at The University of Queensland School of Medicine and a paper co-author said: “The USCOM device is a simple method for accurately and non-invasively measuring central circulation a goal of cardiology for many years.

“To be non-invasive is a great advantage over the PAC.

“To be non-invasive and more accurate, means the device has the potential to change the way we approach management of many cardiovascular diseases including sepsis, heart failure and hypertension.”

Lead author, UQ School of Medicine PhD student Rob Phillips said the new study added to the growing global body of independent evidence which demonstrated that the USCOM device offered critical care clinicians a new gold standard for cardiovascular monitoring which could replace costly and dangerous catheter-based technologies.

“It confirms that the growing worldwide USCOM user base has the very best tool available to guide lifesaving cardiovascular treatments and improve the management of critical and widespread diseases,” Mr Phillips said.

The peer-reviewed paper was published recently in the Critical Care Research and Practice journal.

The researchers surgically implanted accurate measurement devices onto the great cardiac arteries, and then monitored their cardiac output using USCOM and PAC at rest and as medications were introduced.

They found that USCOM had a 1 per cent error compared with the surgical device, while the PAC error was 17 per cent, and that USCOM was six to eight times more accurate than the PAC for detecting changes associated with the common drugs used in cardiovascular management.

USCOM's non-invasive system uses external ultrasound similar to that used in pregnancy.

The ultrasound signal bounces off the red blood cells as they flow across the cardiac valves, the site of true cardiac output, and producing a unique echo from which the device then counts the cell echoes with extremely high accuracy allowing high fidelity cardiac output measurement.

Because of its accuracy the USCOM monitor is most useful for diagnosing circulatory abnormalities and guiding the standard interventions of fluid inotropes and vaso-active therapies.

The USCOM monitor has many clinical applications ranging from paediatrics, critical care, anaesthesia and emergency medicine.

New USCOM research is now being focused on improved understanding the great global healthcare challenges of sepsis, heart failure and hypertension, and their treatment.

Watch how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOUr8WOfxrc&feature=player_embedded

Download paper - http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ccrp/2012/621496/

Patients given a clot-busting drug within six hours of a stroke are more likely to make a better recovery than those who do not receive the treatment, new research has found.

Bulk billing rates have reached a record high in the March quarter, with 81.2 of HP services being bulk billed.

A report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found that Australian children’s oral health as ‘improved markedly’ over the last 30 years.

The New South Wales Government has announced the formation of a new Mental Health Line to ensure that people with a mental health problem, their families and carers have access to a 24-hour support service.

The New South Wales Government has given planning approval for the construction on the new 50-bed mental health unit as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the wagga Wagga Base Hospital Redevelopment.