Sensing Savvy

Many cerebrovascular neurosurgeons use a Doppler flow probe to measure flow velocity during a procedure. However, a Transit-time ultrasound micro-flowprobe provides more objective volume flow measurements during cerebrovascular surgical procedures.

Medical specialists are in increasing demand, as evidenced by the latest data tracking physician recruitment and salary trends from Merritt Hawkins. The data show that hospitals, health systems and other medical groups are seeking more physician specialists and fewer primary care physicians.

(Gleaned from the 2018 USRDS Annual Data Report: Volume 1, Chapter 5: www.usrds.org)

Acute kidney injury (AKI), also called acute renal failure, is a rapid loss of kidney function. It is a common complication among hospitalized patients and is associated with both morbidity and mortality. 

Founded by cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2003, HealthCorps is an American non-profit organization that provides school-based and organizational health education and peer mentoring, in addition to community outreach to under-served populations – mostly Hispanic and African American. Its mission is to make students happier and more productive by giving them life-saving skills in nutrition, fitness and mental resilience as well as CPR training, organ donation and more. The program claims to impact from 400 to 600 high school students per school per year.

(Gleaned from the 2018 USRDS Annual Data Report: Volume II: Chapter 1)

Dr. Martin Ruß and his critical care team at the Intensive Care Clinic of Charité - Medical University and Institutes of Health in Berlin, Germany, report a case in which they used the Transonic ELSA Monitor to optimize oxygen flow in a 10-year-old ECMO patient.

An end-stage-renal-disease (ESRD) patient’s vascular access is a constant reminder that they have a life threatening disease and must rely on dialysis to live. Their access is their link to life. However, all types of vascular accesses, be they arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), prosthetic grafts (AVGs), or central venous catheters (CVCs) require maintenance and have complications that can impact a patient’s overall quality of life.

Pediatric cardiac surgeons at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., perform the Stage 1 Norwood surgery to correct the hearts of infants born with congenital defects.¹ They find postoperative management after Stage 1 Norwood surgery particularly challenging because of the lack of real-time monitoring or data about systemic and pulmonary blood flow.

Trump Administration Announces Plan to Change Kidney Care in the U.S.

President Trump signed an executive order to launch Advancing American Kidney Health, which is designed to increase earlier intervention, incentivize dialysis providers to direct more patients to home hemodialysis and increase the number of kidneys available for transplant.

Specifically, the initiative aims to:

Hemodialysis patients who do not feel well at the end of a session are subject to an unidentified decrease in Cardiac Index. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are at increased risk of complications and death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). In fact, mortality rates from CVD are up to 30 times higher for ESRD patients than those in the general population.