San Jose, Calif.-based Align Technology Inc. has won the FDA’s nod for its Itero Element 5D imaging system. The company said the Itero Element 5D is the first intraoral scanner with near-infrared imaging (NIRI) technology capable that visualizes the internal structure of the tooth in real time.

Test developers frustrated by FDA’s resistance to at-home testing

The surge of interest in testing for the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen has led to some innovative tests and test strategies, including at-home tests. However, the U.S. FDA has indicated that it is wary of both at-home testing and specimen collection in other than supervised settings, a policy that is meeting with criticism from test developers.

Astrotech enters COVID-19 fight with screening instrument for lung diseases

Astrotech Corp., of Austin, Texas, has a broad range, having developed mass spectrometers for the agriculture industry. It also manufactures and sells chemical analyzers for use in the airport security. Now, it is looking to help in the fight against COVID-19. Specifically, it is developing the Breathtest-1000 to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person’s breath that could indicate an infection, including COVID-19 or the resulting disease, pneumonia.

Noninvasive ventilation specialist Resmed explores its options to aid in the COVID-19 pandemic

Like so many other ventilator providers in recent days, Resmed has committed to ramping up production. It aims to triple its ventilator output and multiply its ventilation mask production by 10. But the San Diego-based company’s specialty is not mechanical ventilation that requires intubation which is most commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU), although it does produce some of those. It focuses, rather, on noninvasive ventilators that are used in the ICU, hospitals and at home. Resmed already has experience helping to manage COVID-19 patients in China – and is exploring the extent to which noninvasive ventilators, which are much more commonly available, can be useful to support them.

COVID-19 is causing supply issues for ventilators in France

PARIS – With more than 10,000 people now infected, 3,626 hospitalized and 450 having died, France is in third place of European countries most affected by the coronavirus epidemic, after Italy (35,700 cases) and Spain (13,910 cases). The exponential spread of COVID-19 has led to a surge in demand for respiratory therapy equipment in intensive care units. “The large-scale cancellation of non-urgent surgery in French hospitals has freed up capacity for resuscitation and intensive care beds, as well as a buffer stock of ventilators with which to face the epidemic,” Jérôme Salomon, who heads the Department of Public Health at the French Ministry of Health, told BioWorld. Salomon recognizes, however, that the situation is problematic for the six regions most affected in France: Ile de France, Grand Est, Corsica, Bourgogne Franche Comté,  Hauts de France and Auvergne-Rhône Alpes.

Free access to BioWorld coronavirus articles

The articles from BioWorld’s ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak are available at www.bioworld.com/coronavirus. Note that we have added three critical tables which are constantly updated:

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