Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, one of the biggest companies listed on southern China’s tech-heavy stock exchange, is a fast-growing Chinese medical device maker that is grabbing market share from the likes of General Electric Co. and Siemens AG.

The chemicals that make flexible plastic medical devices may be changing transmission of the electrical impulses that help keep the heart pumping, according to new research.

Chartered chemist Dr Chris DeArmitt has blasted the use of the plastic mesh in surgeries which have impacted the lives of thousands of women.

Use of medical imaging during pregnancy increased significantly in the United States, a new study has found, with nearly a four-fold rise over the last two decades in the number of women undergoing computed tomography CT scans, which expose mothers and foetuses to radiation.