Astek Diagnostics Inc. has wound up a successful $2 million early stage VC funding round to support the development and launch of a medical device designed for the speedy recovery of patients suffering from urinary tract infections (UTI). The Baltimore-based startup has designed a benchtop analyzer and disposable cartridge called the Jiddu that can detect bacterial infection in urine in one hour.

A non-invasive retinal exam may soon enable clinicians to visualize the future for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). When combined with an artificial intelligence algorithm, an exam accurately predicted CKD prior to symptom onset in a study published in Digital Medicine.

Rapid point-of-care diagnostics company Lumos Diagnostics Inc. saw its stock shoot up 327% on the news that it finally gained U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Febridx rapid, point-of-care test for bacterial infections. Febridx is a finger prick blood test that can indicate if a person has a bacterial or viral acute respiratory infection within 10 minutes.

The U.K. government created a new £21 million ($US26.55 million) fund to accelerate the roll out of artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostics and treatment tools across the NHS. The AI Diagnostic Fund will enable hospitals to bid for funding to speed up the deployment of the most promising AI imaging and decision support tools to help patients with cancers, strokes and heart conditions.

The U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) has concluded an analysis that found fault with Medicare payments for genetic testing under CPT code 81408, a code that covers tests for a variety of mutations of medical interest. According to OIG, these claims were often paid $2,000 each despite poor oversight from Medicare administrative contractors (MACs), raising the risk that a substantial percentage of roughly $888 million in claims paid between 2018 and 2021 were either fraudulent or at best inappropriate.