Recent U.S. FDA actions could transform decades of prostate cancer care. Two companies focused on prostate cancer received good news from the FDA for their artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software. Bot Image Inc. gained FDA clearance for its medical device computer-aided detection and diagnostic tool, Prostatid. The agency also provided FDA investigational device exemption for Avenda Health Inc.’s Focalpoint ablation system that enables more accurate mapping of a patient’s prostate cancer for better surgical results. Read More
The largest study to date assessing the use of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis to detect cancer in advance of symptoms has completed enrollment of 140,000 healthy volunteers. The study, being run in the U.K. National Health Service (NHS) by the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and cfDNA diagnostics specialist Grail Inc., is using Grail’s Galleri test to look for cancer-specific methylation patterns in blood. Read More
The U.S. FDA granted digital therapeutics company Bodyport Inc. 510(k) clearance for its heart monitoring weight scale. The digital solution includes sensors and algorithms that measure hemodynamic biomarkers to assess heart function and fluid status when patients take their daily weight. San Francisco-based Bodyport told BioWorld the platform is for heart failure (HF) patients in the U.S. Read More
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is an established method for gaining an appreciation of the sources of closure of the coronary arteries, but its use in the peripheral vasculature is not quite as well established. Nonetheless a new paper makes the case that IVUS may be appropriate for widespread use in connection with diseases of the peripheral vasculature, a position that could lead to a considerable expansion of sales of IVUS systems. Read More
The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued a pair of health technology assessments related to regurgitation of the tricuspid valve, one each for valve leaflet repair and for valve annuloplasty. Read More
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: 908 Devices, BD, Brainscope, Labcorp, New England Donor Services, Rockley Photonics, Specialist Direct, Trace Analytics. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Avenda, Bodyport, Bot Image, Cerevasc, Imspex Diagnostics, Medalliance, Neuroone. Read More