Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania have developed an algorithm to better personalize immunotherapy treatment. The algorithm works by examining neoantigen quality, not just their quantity. Neoantigens are proteins that are the result of genetic mutations in a tumor.

HONG KONG – Singapore's Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Lucence Diagnostics Pte. Ltd. have teamed up to develop a next-generation decision support tool for liver cancer patients. The visualization tool, known as Liver3D, was designed to reduce the risks associated with liver cancer surgery. It does so by developing machine learning models based on radiology images of liver cancer patients for clinical decision support.

PARIS – Incepto Medical SAS, of Paris, raised $6.2 million from three French venture capital funds – Axa Venture Partners, Bpifrance through its Patient Autonome Fund, and Cap Decisif – to develop its artificial intelligence (AI) medical imaging platform. "This funding round is a first step toward accelerating [the] rollout of our [AI] medical imaging solutions on a grand scale throughout France," Incepto CEO Antoine Jomier told BioWorld MedTech.

Houston-based startup Braincheck Inc. scooped up $8 million in series A funding in a round led by S3 Ventures and Tensility Venture Partners, along with True Wealth Ventures and Nueterra Capital. Braincheck launched its digital cognitive assessment tool in 2015 and a cognitive care planning solution in 2018, and now the company is looking to broaden its footprint with physician practices, hospitals and health systems. Proceeds from the financing will help to build the company's sales and marketing and clinical development teams in Houston, as well as production development staff in Austin.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical practice is in its infancy, but a group of medical societies has published a paper that proposes the development of a code of ethics for artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology. The paper underscores a number of concerns, including that some developers fail to fully appreciate the potential consequences of seemingly innocent slip-ups in the development and validation of that algorithm.

BOSTON – The shift to value-based care models and rise in digital technologies is causing medical device companies to rethink how and where they invest in innovation. There's less emphasis on core and adjacent product investments and more focus on transformational advances that don't just add new bells and whistles but expand access, improve outcomes and lower costs. Just what that looks like and how companies are adapting to this new innovation landscape was the focus of a session at the Medtech Conference this week.

HONG KONG – Dreamed Diabetes Ltd., of Petah Tikva, Israel, has received both FDA clearance and the CE mark for an insulin dosing decision support software based on artificial intelligence (AI).

In retrospect, it seems inevitable that an algorithm would be appointed to a board of directors. Hong Kong-based Deep Knowledge Ventures named Vital (an acronym for Validating Investment Tool for Advancing Life Sciences) to its board five years ago and credits it with making better decisions than its fellow members, humans all.