Researchers at The University of Osaka developed the Balloon-Assisted Bronchoscope Delivery (BDBD) technique and in a first-in-human clinical trial, the team successfully demonstrated that this technique is both safe and effective, enabling access to lesions smaller than 20 mm. By using a small balloon to gently widen airways, it allows endoscopes to reach deep, peripheral lung tumors, promising more accurate cancer diagnosis and new minimally invasive treatment options.

A new Northwestern Medicine study introduces a first-of-its-kind online calculator that uses percentiles to help younger adults forecast and understand their risk of a heart event over the next 30 years. With rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension rising among younger Americans, the study authors say identifying long-term risk earlier could help bend the curve on future heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide.

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal JMIR Mental Health by JMIR Publications highlights a critical risk in the growing use of Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4o by researchers: the frequent fabrication and inaccuracy of bibliographic citations.

Despite decades of government inquiries, significant differences in palliative care remain in Sweden. A new series of studies shows that the national governance is not working as intended, and that access to end-of-life palliative care depends on where the patient lives.