The $4.5 million in seed funding that Acorai AB recently raised will allow the company to continue its forward momentum in developing its technology to support the treatment of patients living with heart failure, Matthew Mace, co-founder and chief scientific officer told BioWorld. In practice, this means that with the funds the company will be able to meet its “projected timelines on the path toward regulatory approval in the U.S., focus on market entry and get the device into the hands of health care professionals sooner.”

A U.K. national health service (NHS) hospital has begun offering Allurion Technologies Inc.’s swallowable gastric balloon to patients struggling to lose weight for surgery. The move is a boon for the company amid rising competition in the weight loss market from GLP-1 agonists.

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG recently received U.S. FDA clearance for the latest generation of its femtosecond laser, the Visumax 800, with its Smile pro software, for surgically treating nearsightedness, with or without astigmatism.

B-rayz AG received CE mark for its Data Adaptive Neural Artificial Intelligence (DANAI) technology that helps clinicians with breast cancer detection. The company hopes that DANAI, which introduces a custom AI-based framework that can adapt to clinicians needs and grow smarter in the process, will revolutionize the diagnostic landscape for breast imaging and transform the lives of millions of women.

Genotype assay testing can detect new variants of the COVID-19 virus six days faster than whole genome sequencing (WGS), with results returned in just three days — compared to nine for WGS — according to a study published in the Lancet Microbe.

Clarius Mobile Health Inc. received CE mark for its latest wireless hand-held whole-body ultrasound scanner, the Clarius PAL HD3. The scanner combines both phased and linear arrays on a single head which provides high image quality of superficial and deep anatomy allowing for better diagnostic capabilities and patient care.

Dxcover Ltd. initiated three pivotal trials to measure the efficacy of its liquid biopsy platform for early detection of brain, colorectal and lung cancers. The company hopes the trials will provide the evidence needed to gain regulatory approval and begin commercial operations of its diagnostic technology in Europe and the U.S.

Quibim SL recently launched its artificial intelligence (AI)-based software QP-Brain, which is designed to detect early-stage neurodegenerative diseases, after it received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance, as well as CE and UKCA marks from the EU and U.K. regulators, respectively. QP-Brain quantifies and presents data from patients’ brain images to help clinicians with early diagnosis and treatment strategies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and dementia.

Onera Technologies BV raised €30 million (US$32.7 million) in a series C funding round that will allow the company to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of its patch-based sleep test system. The funds will also go towards concluding the development of the company’s second-generation polysomnography (PSG) system.

Medtronic plc received the greenlight from the U.S. FDA for its latest deep brain stimulation system, the Percept RC. The rechargeable neurostimulator includes the company’s sensing technology which captures data from brain signals and allows for more personalized therapy.