MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'coherence'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:25:59 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174615&cid=t_231777_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fimaging-that-can-reliably-distinguish-between-benign-and-malignant-pancreatic-cysts%2F2011.08.29 Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been demonstrated to be able to differentiate between benign and potentially malignant pancreatic cysts. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Physical Sciences, Inc., Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Brandeis University have published their findings in Biomedical Optics Express. In their study they used surgically removed pancreas specimens of patients with pancreatic cysts to assess them with OCT and compare the results with histology examinations. OCT was able to reveal specific morphological characteristics used to differentiate between the low-risk and high-risk cysts. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174615 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:53 +0100 5174615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714866&cid=t_231777_113_f&fid=39278&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogsite.mdbuyline.com%2F%3Fp%3D236 The use of light as a medical diagnostic modality has been evolving since the pulse oximeter was first invented.  The recent FDA approval of the optical coherence tomography imaging system (OCTIS) has taken the use of light as a diagnostic tool another step.  OCTIS is designed to use multiple wavelengths of light to provide magnified cross-sectional images of a suspicious pathology.  This, combined with its 1-mm catheter, will enable it to be a viable tool for lung and GI tract cancers.  Historically, advanced imaging technologies, such as CT and MRI, are used to detect suspicious nodules as small as 1 mm; however, to confirm or rule out cancer, an invasive biopsy is performed. Still, 99% of biopsied lung lesions are negative for cancer. I spoke to Armin Ernst, MD, pulmonologist and ch... MD Buyline blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714866 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:34:36 +0100 4714866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585644&cid=t_231777_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Ftiny-camera-peeks-inside-coronary.html For a better look inside coronary arteries comes Optical Coherence Tomography (video at link):Optical Coherence Tomography, or OCT, approved by the FDA in April 2010, forms images by reflecting light inside blood vessels, which allows doctors to see 10 times more detail of an artery than the conventional ultrasound.Please note that this technology has been around since at least 2002. Is it really new? Or is it really that the company's news of FDA approval is "new?" More importantly, the million dollar question is not if it makes pretty pictures, but rather what does it add to the cost of the procedure and will it improve outcomes?A brief review of a similar technology, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), has demonstrated that it's not so easy to demonstrate improved outcomes in most routine ... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585644 Thu, 20 May 2010 17:38:00 +0100 3585644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3338252&cid=t_231777_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F03%2F06%2Flearning-about-transcendental-meditation%2F Discussion tab makes clear feuding editors battling for control about tone and focus. I don’t know what to make of transcendental meditation personally, but I find studies like the recently published one interesting. I know people who use it and swear by its positive effects (but I also know people who use other techniques and methods and swear by them as well). I suspect some of the skepticism comes from the pseudo-religious nature of technique, or the fact that it costs money to learn it. But in my experience, many things worth learning cost money (look at my graduate education, for instance). My only concern is that if it is something that is “simple, natural, effortless, and easily learned,” why does it cost $1,500 and an entire day to learn? I’ve read enough t... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3338252 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:32:15 +0100 3338252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3120436&cid=t_231777_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fauthenticity-as-aesthetic-or-what-is.html In the Forward, Jay Michaelson says that "the myth of authenticity has got to go." In the liberal circles that he and I travel, this claim isn't all that surprising or challenging. I believe he's mostly talking to those of us whose subconscious, when asked to provide the image of an archetypal Jew, summons up a fundamentalist of our time or a prehistorical figure - anything but one of our own hyphenated, conflicted kind. But the hyphenations and conflicts, say Michaelson, are part and parcel - perhaps even the most admirable element - of Judaism. Most of what we value is transient, and always in flux.What should we pursuing if not this myth? Michaelson gives several rephrasings of what I presume is meant to be the same idea: whatever religious, literary, or cultural form "speaks to the dep... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3120436 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:50:00 +0100 3120436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1356078&cid=t_231777_113_f&fid=34831&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDocinthemachine%2F%7E3%2F266192159%2F Technology Review is reporting on a new technology to look inside the tiniest spaces such as blood vessels in a microsecond. Up until now endoscopic surgery has been limited as engineers tried to shrink telescopes to ever smaller diameters shifting from glass lenses to fiberoptic scopes to newer technologies. You can read my brief history and overview of microendoscopy here. The new scope is based on optical coherence tomography but now uses new mathematical image analysis. Read the full article if you are interested in the heavy technical foundations of the system. Suffice it to say, the system is a sort of “ultrahigh resolution optical ultrasound” and the new modification allows it to process the signal so fast that it could be used inside blood vessels without needing to int... docinthemachine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1356078 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:45:29 +0100 1356078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1057559&cid=t_231777_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fmultiple-sclerosis%2Flife-with-ms%2Fcontrast-vision-and-ms%2F I thought this topic might be appropriate as many will be traveling for the holidays. Last week I was doing A LOT of driving for work (over 1100 miles). To say I was tired by the end of all that driving may be my biggest understatement in a very long time. On my trip, I noted something in myself which I had not prior, but remembered it had been talked about here. This past spring, I reported on research having to do with contrast vision. In that study, it was reported that, even though we may not have suffered bouts of optical neuritis, most of us with MS have some amount of vision deficit due to multiple sclerosis. The damage shows itself, mostly, in our ability to see the gray scale; this is the subtle differences in black and white tones as they blend together. As I was driving over a m... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1057559 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:03:04 +0100 1057559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1001162&cid=t_231777_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fmultiple-sclerosis%2Flife-with-ms%2Foptical-coherence-tomography-replacement-for-mri%2F One of the topics from last week’s adventures in Dallas that is very exciting to me, and many doctors and researchers, is the advent of optical coherence tomography (OCT). While it’s a mouthful to say, it’s nowhere near as difficult as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which we have all gotten to understand…if not pronounce. OCT is a simple, non-invasive procedure which takes about five minutes to complete. By non-invasive, I mean that you sit in a chair and look into a machine much like you might at your eye doctor’s office. It’s painless, it’s relatively cheap and it may have far reaching insight into our personal course of this disease. Long story short, it appears that every person living with MS (almost) has some damage to the optic nerve, even though we ... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1001162 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:08:11 +0100 1001162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=956057&cid=t_231777_117_f&fid=34696&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straightfromthedoc.com%2F50226711%2Foct_scans_inexpensive_look_into_multiple_sclerosis.php Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that affects both the brain and the spinal cord. It (MS) damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects your nerve cells. This damage slows down or blocks messages between your brain and your body, leading to the symptoms of MS. No one knows what causes MS. It may be an autoimmune disease, which happens when your body attacks itself. Multiple sclerosis affects woman more than men. It often begins between the ages of 20 and 40. Usually, the disease is mild, but some people lose the ability to write, speak or walk. There is no cure for MS, but medicines may slow it down and help control symptoms. Physical and occupational therapy may also help. Brain shrinkage is a characteristic of the progression of multiple scle... Straightfromthedoc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=956057 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:16:11 +0100 956057