German regulators have unveiled their initial report covering the prescription and deployment of reimbursable health apps. The survey was carried out by Hamburg-based health insurance fund Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) in conjunction with Bielefeld University in North Rhine-Westphalia and health care economics analysis research bureau Vandage GmbH, also based in Bielefeld.

A team of researchers from France has started subjecting e-health applications marketed in France to a new scoring tool. This involves rapidly assessing the relevance and potential of software solutions in the medical sector. The results of their study have been published this summer in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR).

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may soon have a new way to better manage their health without increasing doctor visits. Nuvoair AB reported that a trial in two U.S. locations showed that 80% of participants with COPD experienced a reduction in hospitalizations as well as improvement in quality of life using the company's integrated digital app and counseling program.

Shanghai Aitrox Technology Co. Ltd. (Fosun Aitrox) completed strategic financing of over ¥100 million (US$14.8 million) to develop its pipelines in artificial intelligence (AI)-aided diagnosis platforms. This financing was led by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd. and Sinopharm-CICC (Shanghai) Private Equity Investment Management Co. Ltd.

Syncthink Inc. is preparing to launch its neurological impairment and disease diagnostic in Europe, after securing CE marking for the ocular biomarker device. The company is raising a new round of funding to support commercialization of the Eye-Sync system and has two projects exemplifying applications of the device running with academic collaborators in the U.K.

Recent U.S. FDA actions could transform decades of prostate cancer care. Two companies focused on prostate cancer received good news from the FDA for their artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software. Bot Image Inc. gained FDA clearance for its medical device computer-aided detection and diagnostic tool, Prostatid. The agency also provided FDA investigational device exemption for Avenda Health Inc.’s Focalpoint ablation system that enables more accurate mapping of a patient’s prostate cancer for better surgical results.

The U.S. FDA granted digital therapeutics company Bodyport Inc. 510(k) clearance for its heart monitoring weight scale. The digital solution includes sensors and algorithms that measure hemodynamic biomarkers to assess heart function and fluid status when patients take their daily weight. San Francisco-based Bodyport told BioWorld the platform is for heart failure (HF) patients in the U.S.

The European Commission launched a new research initiative with $10 million from Horizon Europe, the E.U.’s research and innovation program, to create a cutting-edge decision-making tool to help clinicians and patients select the best lung cancer treatment based on each patient’s specific needs and circumstances. The I³Lung initiative brings together 16 international partners from Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and Israel.

Medtronic plc inked an agreement to combine its patient care technologies with a wearable, remote monitoring platform developed by Pasadena, Calif.-based Rockley Photonics Inc. The Bioptx contains compact, photonics-based sensors inside a wristband to monitor a range of biomarkers beyond standard blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry and glucose levels, making Rockley and Medtronic’s development partnership, said Rockley Chair and CEO Andrew Rickman, “a terrific match.”