Jochen Meissner | Search PubMed

PubMed2006

Preliminary results with modified techniques of balloon kyphoplasty for vertebra plana, traumatic fractures and neoplasms.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty are less invasive treatment options than open surgery for patients with vertebral compression fractures. With balloon kyphoplasty, the injection of bone cement is preceded by inflation and removal of bone tamps (balloons) inside the fractured vertebral body. This allows for the creation of a void, where viscous cement is delivered resulting in a lower risk for cement leakage than with vertebroplasty. Another advantage of the balloon inflation is the potential to correct the deformity and restore sagittal alignment. The percutaneous techniques normally require intact pedicles and intact posterior elements. We found that modifying the technique made it suitable for the management of vertebra plana, traumatic fractures, and neoplasms. Our study documents the different modified techniques and the clinical results obtained within the first 21 patients.

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PubMed2004

Multicentre performance evaluation of the E170 module for modular analytics.

The E170 module was evaluated at 13 sites in an international multicentre study. The objective of the study was to assess the analytical performance of 49 analytes, and to collect feedback on the system's reliability and practicability. The typical, within-run coefficients of variation (CVs) for most of the quantitative assays ranged between 1 and 2% while a range of 2-4% was achieved with the infectious disease methods. Total precision CVs were found to be within the manufacturer's expected performance ranges, demonstrating good concordance of the system's measuring channels and a high reproducibility during the 2-4-week trial period. The functional sensitivity of 11 selected assays met the clinical requirements (e.g., thyreotroponin (TSH) 0.008 mU/l, troponin T 0.02 microg/l, total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 0.03 microg/l). The E170 showed no drift during an 8-hour period and no relevant reagent carryover. Accuracy was confirmed by ring trial experiments and method comparisons vs. Elecsys 2010. The reliability and practicability of the system's hardware and software met with, or even exceeded, the evaluator's requirements. Workflow studies showed that E170 can cover the combined workload of various routine analysers in a variety of laboratory environment. Throughput and sample processing time requirements were achieved while personnel 'hands-on-time' could be reduced.

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