BACKGROUND COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) is an initiative of an international multidisciplinary team of researchers who aim to improve the selection of outcome measurement instruments both in research and in clinical practice by developing tools for selecting the most appropriate available instrument. METHOD In this paper these tools ar...

So far in this first decade of the 21st century, more than 1 billion people are subsisting on less than US$1 per day, and more than 800 million people are suffering from hunger. Many countries, most notably in Asia, have made spectacular success in reducing their overall rates of poverty and hunger, but these countries still have regions where poverty remains widespread. And despite its high ra...

this article, after explaining the concept of peace building in the framework of united nations peace operations, considers the challenges facing it. peace operations are a complex and inter-related set of activities which lack clear legal status in the united nations charter, but are accessible instruments for the maintenance of international peace and security. despite the fact that peace bui...

The greatest burden of surgical disease exists in low- and middle-income countries, where the quality and safety of surgical treatment cause major challenges. Securing necessary and appropriate medical supplies and infrastructure remains a significant and under-recognised limitation to providing safe and high-quality surgical care in these settings. The majority of surgical instruments are sold...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Few standardized testing procedures exist for instruments intended for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery. These testing procedures are critical for evaluating surgical skills and surgical instruments to ensure sufficient quality. This need is widely recognized by endoscopic surgeons as a major hurdle for the advancement of Natural Orifice Translumenal En...

For ease of use and to aid precision, left-handed instruments are invaluable to the left-handed surgeon. Although they exist, they are not available in many surgical centres. As a result, most operating theatre staff (including many left-handers) have little knowledge of their value or even application. With specific reference to cardiac surgery, this article addresses the ways in which they di...

The Northwest Society for Classical Studies (NWCS) was honored and privileged to have Professor Larry Bliquez speak on one of his favorite topics, the surgical instruments found in classical archeological sites and described in classical literature. Professor Bliquez is a distinguished and popular University of Washington professor, trained in classical (Latin and Greek) philology, winner of th...

In radiosurgery, a moving beam of radiation acts as an ablative surgical instrument. Conventional systems for radiosurgery use a cylindrical radiation beam of fixed cross section. The radiation source can be moved only along simple, standardized paths. A new radiosurgical system based on a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm has been developed to overcome limitations of conventional systems. We a...