Research Roundup

Transfusion method saves lives

Removing white cells from blood before transfusion has most likely saved the lives of 50 to 60 heart surgery patients at Strong Memorial Hospital since 1998 and reduced the cost of treatment. These results, and a review of this scientifically proven but controversial procedure--leukocyte-reduced transfusions--appear in the September 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology. Lead author Neil Blumberg, director of the Transfusion Unit and Blood Bank at Strong, says other medical institutions will almost certainly save money and reduce patient complications if they switch from using unmodified blood to leukocyte-reduced blood.

Osteoporosis screening urged

A panel of experts has recommended that women 65 and older should be routinely screened for osteoporosis to reduce their risk of fracture and spinal abnormalities. Jonathan Klein, associate professor of pediatrics, and Paul Frame, clinical professor of family medicine, are members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which made the recommendation in the September 17 Annals of Internal Medicine. The task force concluded that screening and treating women in this age group would prevent the greatest number of fractures.

Curry protects cancer patients

A team of researchers at the Wilmot Cancer Center, led by Ivan Ding, assistant professor of radiation oncology, has found that curcumin, a substance in curry long believed to have health benefits, seems to protect skin during radiation therapy. Doctors say that while further study is needed, cancer patients could consider eating foods with curry during their radiation treatment.

"This is significant because skin damage is a real problem for patients undergoing radiation to treat their tumors," says Paul Okunieff, professor of radiation oncology. "If a nontoxic, natural substance can help prevent this damage and enhance the effectiveness of our radiation, that's a winning situation."

'Data hiding' improves

Scientists from the University and Xerox Corporation have invented a new way to hide information within an ordinary digital image and to extract it again--without distorting the original or losing any information.

Called "reversible data hiding," the new technique will offer a new encoding option for digital image users, particularly in sensitive military, legal, and medical applications.

The technique, described in a paper presented at the IEEE 2002 International Conference on Image Processing in Rochester on September 24, was codeveloped by Mehmet Celik, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, and A. Murat Tekalp, professor of electrical and computer engineering, along with Gaurav Sharma and Eli Saber of Xerox. Their collaborative research was done in the Center for Electronic Imaging Systems.

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