How your MRI scan benefits science

Sir Peter Mansfield, who died on 8 February, won the Nobel Prize in 2003 for pioneering magnetic resonance imaging. MRI, and the detailed images it produces, has been a huge benefit for the study of the brain. Its greatest innovation is allowing us to see which parts of the brain have been damaged while a patient is still alive. In the past, we had to wait until a postmortem to find out. Examining a high-resolution image of a living patient means you can form ideas about what’s really going on, meaning the research loop is much quicker. It may sound brutal, but the real benefit here is to the scientist. Rather than waiting for a patient to die, we can test hypotheses more directly, having a precise map for which parts of the brain are that have changed.

These benefits may have long-term advantages, but they don’t always help the patient. Unless immediate surgery is required. But they will certainly enhance our understanding which may help patients in the future. In neuroscience you don’t always have the patients’ best interest at heart – we want to understand the brain, but we’re not doctors.

Dr Daniel Glaser is director of Science Gallery at King’s College London. Listen to this week’s podcast at theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/neuroscientist-explains

How your MRI scan benefits science

Half who miscarry "wait 24 hours for a scan" - Mumsnet

“I had to wait 6 months to get counselling and lost six months of my existence as I was not coping with the loss,” one particular girl wrote.

And while 58 per cent of respondents wanted additional health-related care, just 26 per cent were presented it.

“The hospital explained they’d request a well being visitor to get in touch with me. That was two months ago nobody has been in touch,” replied an additional.

^{The survey located that aftercare following miscarriage is woefully inadequate. Photo: ALAMY}

In 2012, Nationwide Institute for Overall health and Care Excellence (Nice) advice stated that miscarrying at property would be the default clinical response for girls undergoing miscarriage before the 13th week of pregnancy. But these outcomes show this policy is leaving women with out the assistance they need: only 15 per cent of females who miscarried at property, following a scan, felt they had the proper assistance, data and ache relief to cope.

“I was told, more than the telephone, to ‘just sit on the toilet and hopefully it will all come out’,” recalled a single Mumsnet user.

Eleven ladies were asked to retailer their miscarried foetus at residence – some reportedly in the fridge – prior to additional tests currently being carried out.

Only a quarter of the girls surveyed spoke of their experiences to pals and only 13 per cent told wider loved ones.

A campaign for greater care

Mumsnet users are campaigning for far better care in situation of miscarriage. They are calling for straightforward improvements in the treatment patients acquire like: supportive employees, accessibility to scanning, secure and appropriate spots for therapy, good info and powerful treatment method and joined-up care.

Many of the factors are integrated in greatest-practice advice from the Department of Well being. But the analysis exhibits that, also usually, it’s not becoming implemented.

Mumsnet is now asking for a parliamentary dedication to strengthening miscarriage care.

^{Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts (right) is campaigning for better miscarriage care. Photo: ABBIE TRAYLER-SMITH.}

Justine Roberts, the founder of Mumsnet, explained: “There’s no escaping the ache of a miscarriage. But for this to be compounded by lack of treatment method, pain relief, very good care – or just plain human kindness – is fully unacceptable.

“We are calling on the three primary parties to contain a pledge in their manifestos to enhance miscarriage care, primarily based on the ideas in our code.”

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, added: “Midwives and other overall health professionals have an important role to play in supporting ladies and families via the bodily and psychological influence of miscarriage.

“Kind, compassionate and empathetic communication about care and remedy is an important stage to assistance households. It is specifically important that there is successful communication amongst the hospital, GP and midwife to supply ongoing assistance or guidance, as essential.”

Half who miscarry "wait 24 hours for a scan" - Mumsnet

Girl died following medical doctor refused brain scan

Offering proof at the hearing at Birmingham Coroners Court on Friday, Dr Qureshi said he still had “sleepless nights” more than his determination not to send her for the essential scan.

He advised the coroner: “Her migraines had settled by the time I noticed her so I did not consider haemorrhage was a probability and did not consider she necessary a scan.”

Addressing Mrs Pearce’s grieving husband, Christopher, 56, he extra: “I can not imagine the soreness you have gone by means of.

“I have had sleepless nights considering about if I had carried out factors differently and have regrets for not performing the scan.”

But the widower advised him: “That does not carry my wife back, you finding out.

“My wife died for absolutely nothing at the finish of the day.”

Consultant physician Dr Catherine Hulley informed the hearing there was no way of being aware of 100 per cent whether a scan on Mrs Pearce’s very first pay a visit to would have detected the haemorrhage.

Recording a verdict of normal causes, Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt gave the trigger of death as acute intracranial haemorrhage.

She said: “Dr Qureshi did a full clinical investigation and did not feel a CT scan was warranted and did not truly feel she was struggling from a haemorrhage.

“I respect his honesty. In hindsight he wished he had accomplished it at the time.”

The inquest was held just weeks soon after Great Hope Hospital was criticised in a report by well being watchdog the Care Top quality Commission.

A damning report flagged up issues “shortages of workers had an impact on the care of girls and kids”.

It also located there were too couple of midwives and a lack of trained medical professionals in children’s care and outlined particular issues in the hospital’s A&ampE department.

The report stated: “Individuals identified the department’s workers caring.

“Nonetheless, we saw episodes when people’s privacy and dignity were not respected and care was delayed due to the fact of shortages of staff inside of the division.”

The inspection staff, which included medical professionals, nurses and hospital managers, spent four days with the Heart of England NHS Trust – which runs Great Hope – in November, 2013.

Girl died following medical doctor refused brain scan

Scan gives child hope to girls with cancer

Surgeons at The Royal Marsden, in west London, had already pioneered a approach that removes part of the cervix, but leaves the uterus intact. But, even that surgery increases the threat of pre-term delivery and miscarriage.

Now, a specialist, higher-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan has been created, that can display how sophisticated the cancer is and whether or not surgical procedure is essential at all.

The scan employs a probe in the patient’s uterus. It generates a better resolution and contrast among tumour tissue and standard tissue, giving much more thorough information about the extent of illness in the cervix than present diagnostic tests.

Researchers have been carrying out trials of the scan on 57 women due for a trachelectomy, partial elimination of the cervix, above the previous 18 months and discovered that it altered remedy for twelve of them, with 1 previously obtaining gone on to have a healthier baby.

Review leader Nandita deSouza, the professor of translational imaging at The Institute of Cancer Investigation, stated: “The a lot more cervix that can be preserved, the far better a woman’s odds are of a effective pregnancy. In our examine, we have been very pleased to present that new imaging technology could support in organizing surgical management and limit the extent of surgery in situations the place it was risk-free.”

Scan gives child hope to girls with cancer