Med-tech stocks experienced a turbulent year of ups and downs in 2024, as the BioWorld Med-Tech Stock Index saw lows of almost 15% and gains of nearly 5% before closing the year up 0.21%. This modest rebound follows consecutive declines of 4.44% in 2023 and a steep drop of 39.58% in 2022.
Clarius Mobile Health Corp. received U.S. FDA clearance for the Clarius OB artificial intelligence biometric measurement tool, which is designed to improve access to accurate prenatal monitoring in low-resource regions. The system automatically estimates fetal age, weight and growth intervals critical to assessing fetal health and early identification of potential issues and multiple pregnancies.
Butterfly Network Inc. expanded its collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Global Ultrasound Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase access to maternal/fetal ultrasound technology. The program will bring 500 IQ+ systems and ultrasound training to six provinces in South Africa, following a successful introduction in late 2022 in Kenya.
Ultrasound companies, Caption Health Inc. and Ultromics Ltd. are linking up to jointly offer Caption’s AI software platform with Ultromics’ Echogo deep ultrasound analytics for cardiovascular disease detection.
The second day of the FDA workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) in health care featured several interesting proposals, including that AI will be used in health care without the aid of a health care professional. John Martin, chief medical officer at Butterfly Network Inc., of Guildford, Conn., said the time is ripe for AI-assisted ultrasound in the home, which he claimed could reduce rehospitalizations in heart failure, one of the holy grails in U.S. government efforts to restrain health care spending growth.
