• Opening Your Doors for Non-Emergent Care: Expert Guidance
  May 19, 2020
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Opening Your Doors for Non-Emergent Care: Expert Guidance
An article by Whitney J. Palmer


For nearly two months, much of radiology’s imaging volume has been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the green-light for imaging centers to re-open their doors for non-urgent scans. While there’s no exact date that will work for everyone to begin elective imaging again, the time is coming when facilities may feel comfortable doing so.

But, before you raise the curtain on the growing backlog of studies, there are many safety, workflow, and personnel considerations you must address. To help you along the way, the American College of Radiology (ACR) released guidance Wednesday, in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, that can guide you to safely resuming non-emergent imaging.
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Source
"Opening Your Doors for Non-Emergent Care: Expert Guidance". 2020. Diagnostic Imaging. https://www.diagnosticimaging.com/covid-19/opening-your-doors-non-emergent-care-expert-guidance?rememberme=1&elq_mid=11975&elq_cid=5892802&GUID=3C636163-BDC2-4C1D-B572-2121EF7EA92C..
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• Coronavirus and the heart
  April 29, 2020
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Coronavirus and the heart
An article by Jesse Orrico/Unsplash


Lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome have taken center stage as the most dreaded complications of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. But heart damage has recently emerged as yet another grim outcome in the virus’s repertoire of possible complications.

COVID-19 is a spectrum disease, spanning the gamut from barely symptomatic infection to critical illness. Reassuringly, for the large majority of individuals infected with the new coronavirus, the ailment remains in the mild-to-moderate range.

Yet, a number of those infected develop heart-related problems either out of the blue or as a complication of preexisting cardiac disease. A report from the early days of the epidemic described the extent of cardiac injury among 41 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: Five, or 12 percent, had signs of cardiovascular damage. These patients had both elevated levels of cardiac troponin — a protein released in the blood by the injured heart muscle — and abnormalities on electrocardiograms and heart ultrasounds. Since then, other reports have affirmed that cardiac injury can be part of coronavirus-induced harm. Moreover, some reports detail clinical scenarios in which patients’ initial symptoms were cardiovascular rather than respiratory in nature.
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"Coronavirus and the heart". 2020. The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/04/covid-19s-consequences-for-the-heart/..
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• Release of the “2019 Novel Coronavirus Detection Kit” Reduces labor and halves detection time
  April 14, 2020
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Release of the “2019 Novel Coronavirus Detection Kit” Reduces labor and halves detection time
April 14, 2020


Shimadzu Corporation is announcing the release of its “2019 Novel Coronavirus Detection Kit”, with sales beginning on 20th April. For the time being the kits will only be available in Japan, but preparations are underway to export these kits overseas from May onwards.

Current PCR methods for the detection of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) require the labor-intensive steps of RNA extraction and purification from samples collected via nasopharyngeal swabs or similar. This presents an obstacle to rapid detection when dealing with large numbers of samples. This detection kit eliminates the steps of RNA extraction and purification, significantly reducing the amount of work required to prepare samples, and moreover halves the overall time required for PCR detection from over 2 hours to approximately 1 hour. When using a PCR device with the capacity for 96 samples, the workflow for all 96 samples can be completed within 1.5 hours. In addition, the omission of manual RNA extraction reduces the risk of human error.

The “2019 Novel Coronavirus Detection Kit” uses Shimadzu’s unique Ampdirect technology*1 and has been developed based on the pathogen detection manual from the Japanese National Institute for Infectious Diseases*2. This technology works to prevent proteins, polysaccharides, etc. contained in the biological sample from inhibiting PCR, allowing the PCR reaction solution to be added directly to the biological sample without the need for extracting and purifying DNA or RNA. Until now, Shimadzu has developed and released pathogen detection kits using Ampdirect technology for detection of enterohemorrhagic E. coli, salmonella, norovirus, etc., and is now applying this well-cultivated technology to detection reagents for the novel coronavirus.

*1: Ampdirect is a trademark of Shimadzu Corporation.
*2: Japanese National Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Pathogen Detection Manual for 2019-nCoV”
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• INTERPOL: #COVID19-Fighting Hospitals Facing Ransomware Deluge
  April 13, 2020
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INTERPOL: #COVID19-Fighting Hospitals Facing Ransomware Deluge
INTERPOL has been forced to issue an alert to global police about the heightened risk of ransomware attacks on hospitals and other front-line organizations as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law enforcement organization said it issued a Purple Notice to all 194 member countries, highlighting the scale of the threat. Its Cybercrime Threat Response team claimed to have detected a “significant increase” in attempted ransomware attacks.

“As hospitals and medical organizations around the world are working non-stop to preserve the well-being of individuals stricken with the coronavirus, they have become targets for ruthless cyber-criminals who are looking to make a profit at the expense of sick patients,” said Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock.

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Source:
Muncaster, Phil. 2020. "INTERPOL: #COVID19-Fighting Hospitals Facing Ransomware Deluge". Infosecurity Magazine. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/interpol-covid19fighting-hospitals/..
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