Cleerly Inc. snapped up $43 million in a series B fundraising round to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced imaging to better understand heart disease and more accurately project patient outcomes. Vensana Capital led the round with participation from the American College of Cardiology, Cigna Ventures, Dititx Partners, Lrvhealth (formerly Long River Ventures), New Leaf Venture Partners and returning investors.

Brain Scientific Inc. plans to acquire Piezo Motion Corp. in an all-stock transaction expected to close in July 2021. The deal depends in part on the successful closing of a $5 million funding round. At closing, Brain Scientific will acquire 100% of Piezo’s outstanding shares along with its assets and liabilities. Piezo Motion’s shareholders will receive the number of shares of Brain Scientific’s common stock equal to 100% of its issued and outstanding shares immediately prior to closing on a fully diluted, as converted basis.

As demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven health assessment platforms grows, software developer Ada Health GmbH has signed more than 10 new partnerships with key players across life sciences, insurance and health systems. These include pharmaceutical partners Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Sanofi SA, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as Taj Digital Health, Sutter Health, and more.

Mindup, an Israeli digital health incubator, added Phenofast Ltd. to its portfolio this week, banking on the startup’s ability to resolve a critical, ongoing problem for hospitals and community physicians treating patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs). Phenofast hopes to bring clarity to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and relief to patients in record time.

Heralded as a potential turning point for U.S. innovation in the 21st century, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260, is a big step closer to becoming law. The Senate voted 68-32 June 8 to pass the sweeping $250 billion bipartisan bill intended to give the U.S. an edge over China when it comes to innovation and investment in several critical industries.

Hemex Health Inc.’s newborn screening for sickle cell disease substantially reduces the labor involved for parents and providers in testing for the potentially fatal condition. The test had previously been able to test infants 6 weeks and older on the company’s Gazelle platform.

Heralded as a potential turning point for U.S. innovation in the 21st century, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260, is a big step closer to becoming law. The Senate voted 68-32 June 8 to pass the sweeping $250 billion bipartisan bill intended to give the U.S. an edge over China when it comes to innovation and investment in several critical industries, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing.

Alivecor Inc. has elevated its patent dispute with Apple Inc. to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in a move that could damage the latter’s foray into digital health. Alivecor is alleging that Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., has infringed on Alivecor patents for electrocardiogram monitoring technology, a development that may foreshadow a continuing legal struggle between the two companies for a large and rapidly growing market.

Hematologists juggle two competing needs, and often multiple lenses, to really see what’s happening in a blood sample. Essentially, they need to see both the veins on an individual leaf and the forest, but lack a digitized system that can provide images of both. Scopio Labs Ltd.’s recently FDA-approved X100 with Full Field Morphology Peripheral Blood Smear (FFM-PBS) application addresses this need by combining computational photography imaging with artificial intelligence tools.

A check up by Khosla Ventures determined that Docbot Inc. was healthy enough for the prominent biotech investor to take the lead in a $4 million series A round. The new funds bring the artificial intelligence company to a total of $8.5 million in capital raised to date. Other participants included Bold Capital Partners, Collaborative Fund and Boutique Venture Partners.