New York-based Apos Medical Assets Ltd., doing business as Aposhealth, has been developing a shoe that provides some relief from pain and disability in patients who are candidates for total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and the Apos shoe seems to have gained a toehold in the U.K. market. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has provided a guarded recommendation for the use of the Apos shoe in the U.K., although the agency still has questions as to how long use of the shoe can delay the need for TKA.

Diabeloop SA reported a partnership with Novo Nordisk A/S. The med-tech is planning to integrate DBL-4pen, its self-learning algorithm for multiple daily injection therapy, into Novo Nordisk's connected, reusable insulin pens: Novopen and Novopen Echo Plus. “Our partnership is designed to deliver more automated solutions to people with diabetes, optimizing outcomes and improving quality of life,” Cecile Ferracci, CCO of from Grenoble, France-based Diabeloop, told BioWorld.

Sirius Medical BV reported successfully closing a $13 million series B round to develop its tumor localization technology. This round was led by Holland Capital Management BV, with support from existing investor BOM Capital BV – through their vehicle, Brabant Ventures – along with Curie Capital BV and Team Holmium BV, plus major investment from Sirius Medical’s management and team. Norgine Ventures Management Ltd., joined as a new investor in this round.

A new method for imaging microvascular blood flow which will allow for better diagnosis of vascular diseases such as diabetic foot ulcers has been developed by researchers from the department of biomedical engineering at Linkoping University, Sweden, in cooperation with Perimed AB.

Okwin Inc. is leading a consortium of hospitals and pathology labs from across France as part of a €33 million (US$36 million) project to develop and deploy new digital pathology artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve cancer care. The project, called Portrait, is backed by the French government, and the hope is that by producing more efficient and accessible diagnostic tools, clinicians will be able to better tailor treatments to individual patients at an earlier stage of the disease.

Accyourate Group S.p.A has stepped up the commercialization of its e-shirt, a 100% textile smart T-shirt which enables continuous real-time monitoring of biomedical and vital body signals. Accyourate joins a host of companies releasing products in the wearable device market as different technologies for health care including heart rate monitoring, fitness, breathing, temperature levels and fall detection get more sophisticated and grow in popularity.

France is tightening access to the reimbursed health care market for digital medical devices. The national Digital Healthcare Agency (ANS) reported that a standard interoperability and safety system for digital medical devices is coming into force.

The Gustave Roussy cancer center, specializing in cancer treatment, and its technology transfer subsidiary Gustave Roussy Transfert, reported the creation of startup Orakl SA, which develops a technology for modeling cancer tumors called the patient tumor avatar. Orakl leverages a unique collection of patient tumor avatars, combining biological and clinical data to fuel the therapeutic arsenal to fight cancer.

Sofinnova Partners launched a new investment strategy focused on digital medicine in a sign that investment in European startups, especially those at the intersection of biology, data and computation is returning. “It cannot be stressed enough that there is a need in the market for this,” said Edward Kliphuis, partner in the Sofinnova Digital Medicine Strategy.