The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed to expand the volume and type of information it will require of companies seeking to merge with competitors, a move the agency said is predicated in part on concerns about the influence of non-U.S. entities in American markets. Whatever one thinks of the justifications, this proposal would not only dramatically expand the volume of data required of those who propose to merge with other companies, but also add a large volume of work to agency staff at a time when the FTC is complaining that it lacks the resources to do its job.

Eisai and partners collaborate to develop digital tools for dementia

A group of international partners with expertise in therapeutics, technology, health data management and data science have joined forces to develop a range of digital tools that will predict and monitor dementia. The two-year pilot project launched in the U.K. will see the unique group focus their initial efforts on developing data and digital solutions to complement existing treatments as well as solving issues related to the prediction, prevention, management, and treatment of dementia related disorders.

EAN 2023: Answer to AI’s big data pitfalls is more data

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to entice. On the exhibition floor at the 2023 Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, one company’s booth featured “Mindart” technology. A passersby could answer a short series of prompts, and get a unique image based on the input made by generative AI. Entertainment aside, medically speaking, AI applications “are still research,” Riccardo Soffietti told his audience at one of several sessions devoted to AI. “But obviously, research is the future.” At the meeting, Soffietti was one of a number of speakers giving a taste of what that future might look like if things go well – but also if they don’t.

UK’s MHRA formally accepts extended timeline for acceptance of CE marks 

The difficulties in rolling out the European Union’s Medical Device Regulation (MDR) are well known, but the attendant delays continue to exert ripple effects in other markets. The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has formally extended the time frame for acceptance of existing CE marked devices into the U.K. market, another demonstration of the ongoing turmoil associated with the herky-jerky deployment of the MDR.

Sensome forges partnership with Asahi Intecc for next-generation AI-assisted guidewire

Sensome SAS revealed a partnership with Asahi Intecc Co, Ltd. to develop the next generation Clotild smart guide wire. Asahi Intecc is taking on the manufacturing role for Sensome’s smart guidewire designed for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. “Thanks to this alliance with Asahi, we can now push the boundaries of medical technology with the potential to profoundly impact patient outcomes worldwide,” Franz Bozsak, CEO and co-founder of Sensome, told BioWorld.

Cerevasc and Lianmedical partner in Asia’s neurology device market

Cerevasc Inc. has formed a partnership with Lianmedical Co. Ltd. to introduce the former’s medical devices for neurological diseases in the Asian market. Shanghai-based Lianmedical will help market Cerevasc's eshunt system and related products in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. Massachusetts-based Cerevasc develops minimally invasive treatments for patients with neurological diseases. It’s eshunt system provides percutaneous transvenous-transdural access to the central nervous system, and Cerevasc claims it is the first minimally invasive treatment for communicating hydrocephalus.

Touchlab initiates nurse robot pilot study

To date the use of robots in nursing has been limited to getting them to fetch and carry supplies, take samples to the lab, remotely measure temperatures, or maybe provide social stimulation. Now in Laakso Hospital, Helskini, Finland, a robot is getting hands on to patients on a stroke ward, in a three-month pilot designed to assess which of 350 tasks in a nurse’s job description it is best suited to perform. The robot, called Välkky or Bright Spark, is controlled by a nurse who directs its activity in response to signals gathered by piezoresistive pressure, force and friction sensors in a flexible electronic skin encasing the robotic hand. These signals are interpreted and transmitted in real time to a haptic glove that in effect enables the nurse to feel exactly what Välkky is ‘feeling.’

Holiday notice

BioWorld's offices will be closed in observance of Independence Day in the U.S. No issue will be published Tuesday, July 4.

Also in the news

Alma, Arup Laboratories, Biotricity, Centogene, Fortrea, Labcorp, LCA Automation, Lifera, Lumiradx, Lunit, Mediwound, Novacyt. Photonmed, Rewalk Robotics, SHL Medical