Edwards Lifesciences Corp. has won the FDA’s nod for its Acumen hypotension prediction index (HPI) software with the Acumen IQ finger cuff. Prior to receiving this 510(k) clearance, the low blood pressure prediction software was only available for patients using an invasive arterial line. The Acumen HPI software uses data gleaned from the Acumen IQ cuff, along with machine learning, to alert clinicians if a patient is at risk of hypotension, drops in pumping pressure that reduce the flow of oxygenated blood and nutrients to the body’s vital organs.
PARIS – Tecmoled SAS has just completed the initial testing phase for its wireless oximeter. A prototype has been tested over the past four months on 30 healthy subjects, aged 2 to 70 years, to measure oxygen saturation (SpO₂), heart rate and body temperature.
Almost 11 years to the day after first gaining FDA clearance, the Sonarmed airway monitoring system finally launched on a commercial scale in the U.S. The new rollout appears likely to revive the product’s prospects as it comes with significantly increased financial backing and deep connections to hospitals as a result of Sonarmed’s acquisition by Medtronic plc in December 2020. The system, which uses acoustic technology to identify endotracheal tube obstruction and verify proper tube positioning in neonates and infants who require invasive mechanical ventilation, has been implemented in a small number of hospitals to date.
LONDON – Startup company Glucomodicum Oy is preparing to commercialize a new technique for the needle-free monitoring of blood glucose levels, applying the principles of magnetohydrodynamics to noninvasively extract interstitial fluid through the skin.
Current Health Ltd. closed an oversubscribed series B financing, securing $43 million in a round led by Northpond Ventures. The Edinburgh, U.K.-based company will use the funds to scale up its remote care management platform. Other participants included Lrvhealth, OSF Healthcare, Section 32, Elements Health Ventures, as well as existing investors. With this latest infusion, Current Health has raised a total of $66 million to date.
HONG KONG – Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel have developed a way to instantly monitor blood levels of the antipsychotic drug clozapine. BGU’s solution is based on an electrochemical microsensor developed by Hadar Ben-Yoav from BGU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have taken wearables to a new level with a soft skin patch that integrates functions currently siloed in continuous glucose monitors, wearables, wellness apps and hospital monitors. The all-in-one patch can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure, heart rate, glucose, lactate, alcohol and caffeine.
The U.S. FDA granted 510(k) clearance for Clew Medical Ltd.’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution that can predict hemodynamic instability in ICU patients eight hours in advance of deterioration. The system continuously monitors and stratifies patients by risk level to enable optimization of ICU resources.
HONG KONG – Earlysense Ltd. has sold a contact-free continuous monitoring technology to global med-tech provider Hillrom Holdings Inc. Ramat Gan, Israel-based Earlysense will receive licensing for all intellectual property and technology sold to Chicago-based Hillrom for use outside the hospital along with $30 million in cash, commercial milestone payments and a portion of Hillrom's equity investment
As hospitals faced a deluge of patients early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many implemented remote solutions to manage individuals at home to keep from being overwhelmed – all at a speed unthinkable in more normal times. That experience promises to accelerate and transform telemedicine long after the threat of COVID-19 recedes, according to a report by Vizient Inc.