TORONTO – A “silent epidemic” all but “ignored” by medical technology developers. That’s how Carlo Perez, founder and CEO of Swift Medical Inc., described the hesitancy of the industry to directly tackle chronic wound care through development of more advanced medical imaging and diagnostic systems. Undaunted, U.S. and Canadian investors have raised $35 million in series B funding to advance development and uptake of Swift Medical’s own AI-powered, digital wound care platform.

Abbott Laboratories has secured FDA clearance for its latest optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging platform powered by the company’s new Ultreon software. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered imaging software allows doctors to view coronary blood flow and blockages more clearly, aiding in care management and treatment decisions.

The annual scramble for elevated payment rates under the U.S. Medicare inpatient rule has concluded, and at least one artificial intelligence product came up short in its bid for a new technology add-on (NTAP) payment. However, Medtronic plc, Boston Scientific Corp. and Cook Medical Inc. all secured or sustained NTAP payments for products that are critical for patients with a variety of life-threatening conditions, such as severe pulmonary valve regurgitation in pediatric patients.

Iterative Scopes Inc. picked up $30 million in series A financing to advance artificial intelligence (AI)-powered precision medicine for gastroenterology. The money will be used to further develop the company’s algorithms and to propel its growing life sciences businesses. Spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by founder and CEO Jonathan Ng, the company is developing AI-driven computational tools to identify appropriate treatments and guide clinical trials for patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.

Intervenn Biosciences raised $201 million in a series C financing led by new investors Softbank Group, Heritage Provider Network, Irving Investors and Highside Capital Management. The proceeds are earmarked to speed development and commercialization of Dawn, a liquid biopsy assay for immune checkpoint inhibitor prediction, and to expand the network of partnerships on the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven glycoproteomics platform.

PARIS – Peek Health SA raised $3.5 million in series A funding to ramp development of its 3D pre-op digital planning tools used in orthopedic surgery. This investment was led by two Portuguese venture capital firms: Grosvenor House of Investments SCR SA and Portugal Ventures SA.

Medtronic plc got a thumbs up from the FDA for two Accurhythm algorithms to detect atrial fibrillation and asystole in patients who have heart rhythm abnormalities. The new artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms are designed for use on the company’s Linq II insertable cardiac monitor (ICM). Dublin-based Medtronic said the Accurhythm AI algorithms will be available on its Carelink Network later this year for use with all implanted Linq II devices in the U.S.

Rsip Vision Ltd. has maintained its momentum with a couple of new software module releases, one focused on sports medicine and another for robotic assisted surgery. The most recent release is a software module that enables deep learning-based segmentation of joint cartilage from MRI scans of hips, knees and ankles. “It's about using AI-based auto segmentation to provide clinically valuable measurements,” Moshe Safran, the CEO of Rsip Vision U.S., told BioWorld.

PARIS – The French government reported setting up the “Artificial Intelligence and Cancer” association, a public-private partnership that brings together the French National Cancer Institute (INCA), the Health Data Hub and the Health Industry Alliance for Research and Innovation (ARIIS), along with eight commercial firms. The eight commercial firms, whose identities have not yet been released, are drawn from a large consortium of pharmaceutical and information technology firms and health care insurers, that has been around since 2019.