EuroNews - Researchers believe they have discovered a new organ. And it could be the body's biggest.  Researchers from New York University's School of Medicine are calling it the "interstitium."

Mar 19, 2018  -   A New Zealand company has created a world-first artificial intelligence (AI) medical platform for medical researchers and clinicians to create AI to auto-diagnose a large range of diseases based on a single photograph.

Feb 12, 2018  - The demand for portable operating departments to ease hospital surgical strain is growing substantially, Mobile Health chief executive Mark Eager says.   Over the Christmas break, Mobile Health’s surgical bus unit was busy working in Auckland at the Counties District Health Board as an extra theatre helping them to get through their elective surgery lists, Eager says.

Dec 13, 2017 - The national surgical bus, possibly the only one of its type in the world, is looking for a significant change next year to keep up with demands and with high technology.  Mobile Health chief executive Mark Eager says they are assessing cutting-edge new technologies with portable and modular healthcare facilities to help district health boards cope when they are under pressure and to assist in smaller towns and rural areas. “We are making substantial bright new changes next year but also continuing with our mobile surgical bus all over New Zealand,” Eager says. “We will be…

Nov 30, 2017  -  (BusinessDesk) - BioNona, which markets skin treatment creams developed by biochemist and chief executive Iona Weir, says it has gained US Food and Drug Administration approval for its Atopis eczema cream treatment, giving it access to a market worth as much as US$6 billion. It marks the first such FDA approval for a New Zealand-developed over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical skincare cream and is a culmination of more than 30 years of research and pharmaceutical development by Auckland scientist Weir, whose other projects have included the kiwifruit-based Phloe laxative product produced by Vital Foods Processors, where Weir was…

Nov 28, 2017 - Alliance Group is investing almost $800,000 in a new blood processing room at its Mataura plant in Southland to help meet the growing demand from the pharmaceutical industry. The new facility at the plant will collect and process adult bovine blood into serum for blood products, which are used in the development of vaccines, cancer treatments, and drugs to treat neurodegenerative, haematological and endocrine disorders. Demand from the pharmaceutical industry for New Zealand blood products has increased significantly due to the country’s disease-free status and world-leading agricultural systems. David Surveyor, chief executive of Alliance Group, said…

Nov 20  2017  --  A major technological breakthrough by a Kiwi company makes it simple for New Zealanders to be tested for vitamin C blood levels.  Newly released data from a University of Otago study shows more than two thirds of Kiwis over 50 are low in vitamin C, more than one in 10 severely so.  The Otago researchers say it is time blood is routinely checked for vitamin C levels, as it is now for cholesterol and iron. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy and other illnesses. To date, existing technology using a blood sample extracted in a…

Dunedin will get a new $1 billion plus hospital, in what will be the largest build of its type in New Zealand’s history, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says. Dr Coleman made the announcement with Prime Minister Bill English at Dunedin Hospital today. “The Government is committed to ensuring the people of Dunedin and the wider Southern community receive quality hospital care,” Dr Coleman says. “We have been assessing the options around refurbishing the existing site and building a new hospital. The decision has been made to rebuild. “This would maximise the opportunity of having a purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility, while also…

The health sector needs more male nurses, but has struggled to attract men into what has traditionally been a female domain. While up to 50% of those enrolling to become doctors are now reportedly women, only 10% or less of nursing students are male. However, a new dual, fast track graduate programme offered by Ara and University of Canterbury (UC) seems to be attracting more male students. So what is it about this qualification that works for men? Ara nursing lecturer and researcher Dr Isabel Jamieson and her team are conducting a suite of research projects connected to the new…

Three quarters of New Zealanders believe more funding for health and medical research should be a government priority and that the government should invest more funding in health research, according to a survey just released. The poll of more than 500 Kiwis was conducted by Roy Morgan Research for a national health umbrella organisation, New Zealanders for Health Research (NZHR). Improving hospitals and the healthcare system was the most important issue for the government to focus on, the survey found. NZHR chief executive Chris Higgins says Kiwis surveyed placed the highest priority on research to find ways to prevent illness…