A new position paper from the International Society of Hypertension pinpoints the benefits and drawbacks of novel blood pressure management technology, including the latest cuff-based and cuffless and wearable devices like BP-measuring watches and rings.

The U.S. FDA granted Brightheart SAS 510(k) clearance for its artificial intelligence software which helps doctors detect congenital heart defects in fetuses. The software will transform prenatal ultrasound evaluations of the fetal heart and improve the outcomes for newborns, Cécile Dupont, Brightheart’s CEO, told BioWorld.

The recent agreement between Devyser Diagnostics AB and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to collaborate to obtain U.S. FDA approval for a next-generation sequencing (NGS) test for kidney transplant monitoring allows the test to be democratized, Fredrik Alpsten, CEO of Devyser to BioWorld.

Three years after the U.S. FDA approval of Abbott Laboratories’ Amplatzer Amulet, results of its investigational device exemption trial failed to notably differentiate Abbott’s left atrial appendage occluder system from Boston Scientific Corp.’s market-dominant Watchman device beyond the ability to forego anticoagulants quickly after implantation.

Researchers from North Carolina State University filed for protection of miniaturized, wireless, wound-monitoring sensors that may be incorporated into swabs or wound dressings for real-time, accurate assessment of wound status.

Boston Scientific Corp.’s OPTION study demonstrated left atrial appendage closure with the Watchman Flx device reduced risk of stroke compared to management with direct oral anticoagulants or warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation following cardiac ablation. Results were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024 and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Smartcardia SA received U.S. FDA clearance for mobile outpatient cardiac telemetry for its seven-lead live ECG monitoring patch and cloud platform. With the approval, the solution can now be used for remote live monitoring of a patient’s ECG and immediately notify clinicians in cases of arrhythmias.

Despite government efforts to prop up biopharma and med-tech research toward creating women’s health products, companies must eventually reach out to the private markets to bring their inventions to the next stage of development. Anna Zornosa-Heymann, a women’s health investor, serves as a part-time contractor with the U.S. NIH’s SEED (Small business Education & Entrepreneurial Development) office, where she helps companies move from government to external funding. Government funds are “excellent to pay for research … but those funds don’t allow you to build a first-class team and to develop a sales apparatus,” she told BioWorld.

Makers of devices and diagnostics face a new set of policy questions following the 2024 U.S. general elections, but many of the impending changes at the executive branch seem directed more toward drugs and vaccines, seemingly leaving the device and diagnostics industries largely out of harm’s way.

While women make up half the world’s population and own two out of every five businesses, there are substantial knowledge gaps about conditions affecting their health – mostly due to decades of research excluding women from clinical trials and investment decisions.