Mobile Stroke Unit in the UK Healthcare System: Avoidance of Unnecessary Accident and Emergency Admissions.

Background: Acute stroke patients are usually transported to the nearest hospital regardless of their required level of care. This can lead to increased pressure on emergency departments and treatment delay.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the benefit of a mobile stroke unit (MSU) in the UK National Health Service (NHS) for reduction of hospital admissions.

A new integrated care pathway for ambulance attended severe hypoglycaemia in the East of England: The Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) model.

Aims: We developed a new clinical integrated pathway linking a regional Ambulance Trust with a severe hypoglycaemia (SH) prevention team. We present clinical data from the first 2000 emergency calls taken through this new clinical pathway in the East of England.

Methods: SH patients attended by Ambulance crew receive written information on SH avoidance, and are contacted for further education through a new regional SH prevention team.

A smart cane with vibrotactile biofeedback improves cane loading for people with knee osteoarthritis.

Nine million adults have symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the U.S. and almost half of those people have a walking aid such as a cane.

Robotic mitral valve annuloplasty with double-arm nitinol U-clips.

Purpose: Robotic mitral valve repair increases precision however operative times are longer. Prior studies have indicated that robotic knot tying is time consuming and it is without potential room for improvement. We therefore investigated tissue approximation devices that may shorten operative times.

Robotic mitral valve repair: experience with the da Vinci system.

Background: As part of a Food and Drug Administration trial, mitral repairs were performed in 38 patients using the robotic da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Inc, Mountain View, CA). Prospectively, we evaluated safety and efficacy in performing both simple and complex mitral repairs.

Methods: Eligible patients had nonischemic moderate to severe mitral insufficiency.

Early experience with telemanipulative robot-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy using da Vinci.

In the past decade, robot-assisted surgery has become increasingly used to assist in minimally invasive surgical procedures. In this article we review the evolution of robotic devices, from the first use of an industrial robot for stereotactic biopsies to pioneering work with robots used for hip and prostate surgery, to the development of robotic guidance systems that enabled solo endoscopic surgery, to telemanipulative surgery with master-servant computer-enhanced robotic devices. In addition, we review our early experience with da Vinci Robotic Surgical Systems (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.