Insightec Ltd. broadened its CE mark approval for the Exablate Neuro, a focused ultrasound platform which treats essential tremors, to allow patients to have their second side treated. With some 60 million people estimated to be affected by essential tremor globally, Insightec hopes that with both sides treated, patients will have full body relief from tremor and therefore be able to resume everyday activities.
An international team of researchers have developed a new blood test that could detect Parkinson’s disease earlier than current methods. The test, a real-time PCR-based assay, called Mito Dnadx, uses blood to identify damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) caused by the neurodegenerative condition. Based on the findings published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the test could allow rapid, noninvasive and accurate identification of Parkinson’s disease (PD) before it causes much damage to the nervous system.
The U.K. government continues to pump money into research projects focusing on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care as it looks to technology to help diagnose and treat patients. It provided £2 million (US$2.5 million) in funding to test innovative ways to tackle cancers with poor survival rates.
Limaca Medical Ltd. received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Precision for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) biopsy device which the company said allows for faster, more efficient and safer collection of tumor tissue samples. The approval follows the receipt of breakthrough device designation, and the deployment of the device into the U.S. market should lead to more efficient and effective diagnosis of GI cancers.
Gradient Denervation Technologies SAS closed a €14 million (US$15 million) series A financing round that will help the company with the ongoing clinical development and evaluation of its ultrasound-based catheter device to treat pulmonary hypertension. The financing round was led by Asabys Partners, with participation from Thuja Capital and founding investor Sofinnova Partners.
Nemaura Medical Inc. recently raised $6.5 million in non-dilutive funding through a clean debt facility with no warrants or convertible elements. The funding came from its existing lender and is expected to fund Nemaura’s ongoing efforts to commercialize its daily disposable, wearable glucose sensors.
Ibex Medical Analytics Ltd. closed a $55 million series C financing round that will allow the company to expand its footprint in the U.S. to meet the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered diagnostic solutions. Ibex has developed the Galen platform which offers AI solutions that allow pathologists to accurately and rapidly detect and diagnose cancer. The company also reported the launch of Galen Breast HER2, a new software which will play a critical role in helping oncologists identify effective therapies for breast cancer patients.
Israel’s venture capital firm Pitango has raised $175 million for a new fund focused on backing entrepreneurs leveraging data science, artificial intelligence (AI), medical devices and novel biology to transform health care. Pitango Healthtech II is the firm’s second fund dedicated to health care and will see investment go into 15 companies ranging from those at the seed stage to those wanting commercial stage investment.
Amber Therapeutics Ltd. has acquired Bioinduction Ltd. as well as its neuromodulation therapy platform, Picostim Dyneumo. Amber is currently using the platform, an implantable system to deliver its closed-loop therapy for mixed urinary incontinence, Amber-UI, in a first-in-human study. With early indications confirming the safety and feasibility of the surgical procedure and adaptive therapy, it made sense to acquire the hardware which allows for the therapy to work, CEO Aidan Crawley, CEO and co-founder of Amber told BioWorld.
Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled implantable bio-sensing device that can change shape and adapt to maintain drug treatment and bypass scar tissue build up. As the foreign body response continues to impact the longevity of implantable medical devices that treat many conditions, the researchers hope that the Fibrosensing Dynamic Soft Reservoir (FSDSR), capable of monitoring fibrotic capsule formation and overcoming its effects via soft robotic actuations, can change the way patients body respond to therapeutic treatments.
