Anti-diabetes surgery tops new medical innovations list

Bariatric surgery for treatment of type 2 diabetes as been named as the best medical innovation for 2013 by staff at the Cleveland Clinic.
The weight loss treatment received the most votes from doctors and researchers at the clinic due to its effectiveness in treating diabetes, as well as obesity.
The ability to control type 2 diabetes in obese patients was first reported as an unexpected side benefit of the surgical procedure. But its anti-diabetes effect is now recognised by insurance companies in the US, with insurers widening the criteria they use to cover bariatric surgery because of its effectiveness in controlling type 2 diabetes.
The 2013 Cleveland Clinic list of the biggest, most significant medical innovations was selected by staff from 150 nominations of emerging technologies.
Criteria for getting on the list included the number of people that can potentially be helped by the product or procedure, and the chances of it achieving commercial success.
Other products that made it onto the top 10 list included new drug therapies for prostate cancer, femtosecond laser surgery for cataracts, mass spectrometry for diagnosing bacterial infections, handheld optical scans for melanoma and breast tomosynthesis imaging for cancer detection.