NLS Commentary

Lessons from two rare kidney diseases

Rickard Brånemark, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at Integrum, has traveled to Ukraine eight times to train surgeons in an advanced Swedish implant technology for amputees. The need, he writes, is difficult to overstate – and the question now is how quickly the technology can be scaled up to meet it.

Both the detection of pyrogens in general and that of bacterial endotoxins in particular are undergoing a period of transition.

What if health data was stored in the exact same format, using the exact same coding and conventions at each university hospital in the Nordics? Then a researcher could write one analysis script and run it everywhere. Results can be compared or combined instantly, without moving sensitive data. Studies that once were impossible or took months to complete could be done in weeks, all while preserving privacy.

Why the supply of skills and competence matters for Nordic global competitiveness.

In December last year, Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency concluded that the country’s pharmaceutical stockpiles are insufficient to cope with a crisis or war. That is a serious conclusion. Their report outlines 130 measures to address this, 40 of which are considered to be high priority. But the key question is: how will the stockpiling work in practice?