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NEW YORK -- Stephen Ferry, the photojournalist who was arrested for impersonating a firefighter on September 11, has surrendered rights to his film as part of a deal reached last [...]

'Harder hit than any other news operation in the country,' Dow Jones' flagship online site did more than stay afloat When Hurricane Andrew ripped through Dade County in Florida nine [...]

Objective In this study, we report our experience with the occurrence of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions following aneurysm treatment with Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device and Contour Neurovascular System in elective settings. We compared both techniques in a retrospective single-center analysis, to investigate whether there are significant differences in the incidence of microemboli depending on the device used.Materials and methods Sixty-two cases treated with Contour were retrospectively compared with 84 WEB cases. Postinterventional MRI was performed in all patients within five days after the angiographic procedure. Only DWI lesions in the dependent vascular territory of the treated aneurysm were considered. Data on occurrence of DWI lesions, device implantation times as well as device change or repositions maneuvers were compared.Results A total of 146 patients were included in this study. Postinterventional DWI lesions were detected in 33 of the 62 (53.2%) Contour cases and in 36 of the 84 (42.8%) WEB cases with an average lesion number of 1.70 ± 3.45 in our WEB group and 1.68 ± 2.53 in our Contour cohort. Neither periinterventional device changes nor device reposition maneuvers had a significant impact on the occurrence of DWI lesions. Although four patients experienced transient neurological deterioration, the DWI lesions were not clinically relevant at the time of discharge, as the patients’ NIHSS remained stable compared to the preintervention NIHSS in the entire cohort. There was no statistically significant difference between the implantation times of WEB and Contour, although Contour could be implanted slightly faster.Conclusion Aneurysm treatment with WEB or Contour results in a comparable numbers of procedure-related DWI lesions. This effect was consistent after adjustment for other demographic or technical variables.

Introduction Treatment of basilar apex aneurysms will remain challenging regarding the nobility of the parent vessel and their often wide-necked configuration. With endovascular techniques being the treatment approach of choice, novel intrasaccular flow-disruption devices constitute an endovascular embolization option. In this research, we report our experiences in embolizing basilar tip aneurysms with the novel Contour device.Material and methods Retrospective analysis of eight patients after Contour implantation into a basilar apex aneurysm. Periprocedural data on intervention times, radiation dose, procedural success and complications were gathered. All patients received follow-up digital subtraction angiography after six months. Further follow-up examination results were analysed given their availability.Results Contour implantation was successful in all patients. The mean device instrumentation time was 18.8 ± 7.7 min with a mean full intervention time of 100 ± 65.8 min. The mean full procedure radiation dose was 1917 (421–5107) cGy/cm2. After six months, six aneurysms were occluded (Raymond Roy Scale (RRS) 1/2), one showed perfusion inside the device (RRS 3a) and one patient had undergone reintervention due to progression. The aneurysm with constant perfusion at six months was seen to be occluded after 24 months.Conclusion Contour device implantation is a promising feasible alternative endovascular method for embolization of intracranial aneurysms located in the basilar tip with short intervention times and low radiation dosages. Short- and medium-term follow-ups show promising results concerning aneurysm occlusion and reinterventions, however further research is needed to show long-term stability.

Background and purpose Treating aneurysms with intra-saccular flow disruption is a feasible alternative to coil-embolization. Besides the established WEB device, the novel Contour Neurovascular System has emerged as a potentially easier alternative regarding sizing and deployment. We report the learning curve experienced at our center from the first 48 patients treated with Contour and compared it with 48 consecutive WEB cases.Methods Both groups were compared concerning intervention time, sizing failures leading to device changes and radiation dose. Additionally, we analyzed potential learning effects by comparing the first 24 Contour cases with our last 24 Contour cases and WEB cases respectively.Results Patient demographics, acute vs. incidental cases and aneurysm localization were comparable in both groups. The deployment time was faster in our 48 Contour cases (median: 22.0 ± 17.0 min), than in the WEB group (median: 27.5 ± 24.0 min). Total intervention time was similar for Contour (median: 68.0 ± 46.9 min) and WEB cases (median: 69.0 ± 38.0 min). Device implantation times in our WEB cases were slightly shorter in the later cases (median: 25.5 ± 24.1 min) than in the earlier (median: 28.0 ± 24.4 min) cases. In the Contour cohort, deployment times were similar for the first 24 cases (median: 22.0 ± 14.5 min) and the final 24 (median: 22.0 ± 19.4 min). Radiation dose was lower in the Contour group (1469.0 ± 1718 mGy*cm2vs. 1788.0 ± 1506 mGy*cm2using the WEB device). Less intra-procedural device changes were performed in the Contour cohort (6 of 48 cases, 12.5%), than in the WEB group (8 of 48 cases, 16.7%).Conclusion Aneurysm occlusion times and consequently radiation doses, as well as the amount of device changes were lower in the Contour group. Occlusion times did not differ in the first and last 24 Contour cases, leading to the assumption that the handling of Contour does not require extended training. A short training effect in occlusion times was noted, however, between the first and last WEB cases as shorter procedure times were seen in the latter cases.

Online village green isn't all that KOZ.com sale a sign of the times As newspapers re-evaluate every aspect of their new-media efforts, the once-lauded concept of community-publishing is taking a [...]

Koz.com, the Durham, N.C.-based company that provided dozens of online newspapers with community publishing and e-commerce tools, has sold its assets to Community Software Acquisition Corp., Morrisville, N.C. CSAC paid [...]

The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times and Minneapolis Star Tribune have partnered with eBay, the auction Web site, to give eBay users the option of placing classified ads in the newspapers. [...]

With a smaller staff, New York Times Digital (NYTD) continues to scale back its Web efforts. The new-media unit of the New York Times Co. says it will move NYToday.com [...]

With nary a triskaidekaphobe in sight, SeattleP-I.com, the Seattle Post- Intelligencer's Web site, chose Friday the 13th to add an afternoon edition that includes news, sports, stock-market, and weather updates, [...]

About 50% of the U.S.-based staff of iSyndicate, the online content syndicator headquartered in San Francisco, has been laid off, the company reported last week. Roughly 85 people were let [...]

Something isn't computing here. When Robert Decherd, CEO of Belo, addressed attendees at E&P's Interactive Newspapers Conference, he declared, 'This is a time to stay the course,' and cited MySanAntonio.com, [...]

Ads moving beyond the banner When CNET introduced a new online ad unit recently, New York Times Digital (NYTD) wasted no time in endorsing the new format. The larger and [...]

Chief cites need to streamline After several weeks of industry rumors that PowerAdz.com was burning through its cash, the Troy, N.Y.-based company laid off 30% of its staff in the [...]

Jakob Nielsen's ratings: Newspaper sites need to help readers find their way Newspaper Web sites have a lot to learn about 'user experience,' according to Jakob Nielsen, whose biweekly Alertbox [...]

KnightRidder.com joined the great dot-com downsizing of 2000 last week when it issued dozens of pink slips. The new-media division of the San Jose, Calif.-based newspaper giant said the layoffs [...]

Strapped for cash, St. Louis-based SportsHuddle.com laid off 29 employees last month and more cuts are coming soon, said company President and CEO Matt Coen. More than 170 newspapers have [...]

AdStar.com acts to cut burn rate AdStar.com reported last week that it laid off 11 people, including three senior officers in product development, business development, and operations. The Marina del [...]

Visitors looking last week for the historical Mercury Center (the San Jose Mercury News was one of the first newspapers online) were automatically redirected to BayArea.com. The change is part [...]

The struggling Space.com got a boost from earthbound Gannett Co. Inc. last week, with Gannett getting an undisclosed equity stake in the news and entertainment site. Space.com gets marketing in [...]

Kozmo.com, the online shopping site that promises immediate delivery, has added 'USA Today' to its list of products that arrive in less than an hour after ordering them online. Customers [...]

Paul Camp promises orderly shutdown Surprising the newspaper industry, Flywheel Media, Thomson's interactive division, is closing its doors for business, CEO Paul Camp said last week. During the next 90 [...]

In a little less than two weeks, the man behind the newspaper industry's largest concerted effort to corner the online recruitment market is packing up and moving on. Two years [...]

The Arizona Republic is the first newspaper to use the electronic ink technology that came out of the MIT Media Lab several years ago. E Ink Corp., based in Cambridge, [...]

Combo of dynamic duo boasts more than 600 media affiliates Community and commerce: two of the biggest buzzwords for newspaper Web sites. Now, two popular service providers in these respective [...]

Even The New York Times got a little mixed up last week as it tried to cover dot-coms becoming dot-gones. The Times gave widely noted play -- front page of [...]