Fastrack

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy of uterine arterial embolization (UAE) in the treatment of adenomyosis. METHODS: UAE procedures were performed in 23 patients with adenomyosis. Two 3.0 F FASTRACKER-325 tubes were placed into bilateral uterine arteries respectively and the fresh gelfoam particles mixed with antibiotic drugs were used to embolise the arteries. After treatment the symptoms and uterine volume of all patients were investigated. RESULTS: All clinical symptoms of 23 patients relieved...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: There are many anatomic descriptions of the spine, but most concentrate on qualitative information. Quantitative data is however important to achieve a better clinical approach, to adapt implant size and to construct geometric models of spine mechanics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 32 dry spines (160 lumbar vertebrae) obtained from the Orfila Museum anatomy laboratory at the Saints-Pères School of Medicine in Paris. We drew 178 landmarks on the surface of each vertebra and recorded the 3D spatial coordinates of each point using a Fastrack electromagnetic system operating with +/- 0...

An open prospective clinical, microbiological, and molecular analysis of a national molecular diagnostic service for tuberculous meningitis (TBM) using an in-house IS6110-targeted PCR for molecular "Fastrack" diagnosis was carried out. Between April 1997 and June 1998. Consecutive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 131 patients were assessed. Against a culture on the same sample, PCR had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 94%. Of samples from patients classified as definite or probable TBM cases based on clinical criteria, 81% had raised CSF protein levels and 73% had a lymphocytosis, although 57% of all submitted samples showed a raised lymphocyte count...

AIMS: C6 quadriplegic patients lack voluntary control of their triceps muscle but can still perform reaching movements to grasp objects or point to targets. The present study documents the kinematic properties of reaching in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the kinematics of prehension and pointing movements in four quadriplegic patients and five control subjects. Prehension and pointing movements were recorded for each subject using various object positions (ie different directions and distances from the subject)...

The kinematics of the human arm in terms of angles of rotations in the joints is reconstructed from the spatial tracking system (Fastrack() Polhemus) recordings. The human arm is modeled by three rigid bodies (the upper arm, the forearm and the hand) with seven degrees of freedom (three in the shoulder, two in the elbow and two in the wrist). Joint geometry parameters (orientations of the axes relative to the arm segments, the angles and the distances between the axes) have been calculated on the basis of passive rotations in the joints...

Evangelical Health Systems has developed its own patient care software program and is marketing it to other hospitals under the name FasTrack Systems, Inc. The hospital communications and software package was installed in three EHS hospitals in 18 months.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: A clinical case of a dissecting aneurysm of the intracranial vertebral artery successfully treated with a combination of stents and coils is presented. The importance of long-term follow-up and the development of suitable materials and devices are emphasized. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: This 48-year-old man with a history of progressive bilateral loss of vision caused by glaucoma developed sudden headache, nausea, and vomiting. At admission, he presented with psychomotor agitation and neck pain...

Over a 31-month period, we performed four neurointerventional procedures after which unexpected foreign bodies were noted in multiple arteries. All four procedures had in common the use of Fastracker-18 infusion microcatheters. Histologically, the intravascular debris looked strikingly similar to the hydrophilic coating on the catheter. An in vitro test mimicking clinical use of the microcatheter revealed that the hydrophilic coating can separate from the catheter. Until the coating is refined to make it more resistant to stripping, it may be advisable to reduce the amount of back-and-forth movement of these microcatheters if they have been positioned through guide catheters with small inner diameters and angled tips...

PURPOSE: To assess in a swine model the in vivo thrombogenicity of various microcatheters and guiding catheters as a function of catheter material, catheter coating, and duration of implantation. METHODS: Microcatheters (Tracker 18 and Fastracker 18, Target Therapeutics, Fremont, Calif; Magic 1.8, Balt, Montmorency, France; and Transit, Cordis Endovascular Systems, Miami Lakes, Fla) were placed through 6F guiding catheters (Fasguide, Target Therapeutics, and Envoy, Cordis Endovascular Systems) into the common carotid arteries of swine for 30 minutes (short term), 90 minutes (medium term), and 35 days (long term)...

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