In the latest salvo of the ongoing battle between Apple Inc. and Masimo Corp. over the use of a blood oxygen technology, a U.S. federal appeals court paused an International Trade Commission (ITC) ban on Apple’s watches. Apple reported on Dec. 19 that it would pull the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 from its website on Dec. 21 and from its retail locations after Dec. 24, in response to an exclusion order issued by the ITC in October.
Asia continues its push to be the global leader with precision health and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) models for diagnosing disease. Most health care systems in Asia’s major markets include universal health care coverage and are leaning toward electronic health records, paving the way for seamless use of data. At the same time, AI/ML is making its way across the entire health care spectrum, including applications to diagnose breast cancer, kidney disease, cognitive decline, depression and even retinal imaging to detect cardiac disease.
Luma Vision Ltd. raised $22 million in financing that will allow the company to secure U.S. FDA approval and prepare for commercialization of its 4D cardiac imaging technology platform, Verafeye. The series A3 financing round was led by existing investors EQT Lifesciences, ABV Uni Fund and imec.xpand. Luma also added three new investors comprising an undisclosed multinational strategic investor, Atlantic Bridge Growth Fund and Bayern Kapital.
Branelie Health Inc. seeks patent protection for a computer-implemented method and system for predicting appropriateness of treatment options for the management of traumatic brain injuries, particularly concussions.
Researchers from Hebei Medical University and affiliated organizations have discovered new folate receptor (FR)-targeted fluorescent probes for tumor detection.
Biotelemetry Inc. and its subsidiary, Lifewatch Services Inc., agreed to pay $14.7 million to settle a whistleblower case alleging overbilling for remote cardiac monitoring. The qui tam case contended that the company’s online portal for its ACT-3L/MCT-3L device and its staff consistently and intentionally forced physicians’ staff to select or themselves selected the most expensive application for the device, despite intent and even written instructions to choose a less expensive service.
After years of battling to retain its hold on Grail Inc., Illumina Inc. finally announced that it will be unwinding the ill-fated acquisition of the multi-cancer early detection test maker. In addition to stiff opposition from activist investor Carl Icahn that cost Illumina’s previous CEO and board chair their positions, European and U.S. regulators have consistently opposed the deal.
Respiratory imaging technology company 4Dmedical Ltd. is acquiring Imbio LLC for $45 million to create a comprehensive portfolio of cardiothoracic imaging technologies. The news comes on the heels of U.S. FDA clearance of 4Dmedical’s computed tomography lung ventilation analysis software in November 2023.
Researchers at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) have disclosed drug conjugates comprising fluorescent-labeled dye covalently linked to a radionuclide and a ligand targeting glutamate carboxypeptidase II (NAALADase; NAAG peptidase, FOLH1; PSMA) acting as positron-emission tomography (PET) and fluorescent imaging agents for diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine protease that is highly overexpressed in the stroma of most epithelial-derived tumors – including pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancers – in the context of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).