The researchers who enabled patients with spinal cord injuries to walk independently after implanting programmable electrodes below their lesions have now taken things one step further, restoring direct communication from the brain to the spinal cord, enabling the brain rather than an external computer to direct leg movements.

Although digital health technologies are being developed at breakneck speed, policies to reimburse these new technologies are lacking and are desperately needed if Australia is to be competitive in the digital health space, said speakers during the Andhealth Digital Health Summit in Adelaide on May 23.

Robocath SAS is about to embark on a limited market release of its robotic platform, the R-One+, which will not only make performing coronary angioplasties easier and safer but will protect cardiologists from radiation, CEO Lucien Goffart told BioWorld in an interview. However, the launch comes on the heels of a decision by Siemens Healthineers Inc. to discontinue its robotic-assisted endovascular cardiology business as it did not meet the company’s “initial expectations.”

The U.K. health technology assessment body has given its approval to the use of nine digital health products for treating mental disorders, enabling them to get conditional reimbursement in the National Health Service (NHS), while real world evidence of their cost effectiveness is collected.

GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. launched a 3Dstent imaging tool at the EuroPCR conference in Paris which it said will allow a new perspective on stent visualization, helping doctors do a better job. The company warned however that it is still in the process of validating the technology, which complements existing technologies and provides intraprocedural 3D and multi-slice images of stent but has certain limitations.

Abbott Laboratories received U.S. FDA approval for an expanded indication for its spinal cord stimulator (SCS) devices to include treatment of chronic back pain for individuals who have not had or are ineligible for back surgery. The FDA based its decision on the positive results from the DISTINCT study which showed that 85.2% of patients implanted with the SCS devices achieved significant reduction in back pain compared to 7.1% of those who received conservative medical management.

Aidoc Medical Ltd. has just presented a study using its AI tool in the Netherlands Cancers Institute for detection and worklist prioritization to diagnose incidental pulmonary embolism at routine contrast-enhanced chest CT. The results published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging show a reduction by 15% of the missed rate of incidental pulmonary embolism and by more than 98% of the notification time for positive incidental pulmonary embolism. “Our AI system gives a response related to the interpretation, quantification and workflow management,” Elad Walach, co-founder and CEO of Aidoc Medical, told BioWorld. Due to the growing volume of radiology examinations, particularly in thoracic imaging, and the lack of supply radiologists, the delay between the CT examinations and their interpretation has increased significantly in many practices. This is particularly true for pulmonary embolism (PE).

With AU$20 million (US$13.56 million) in new funding, 4dmedical Ltd. is ramping up its commercialization efforts of its four-dimensional lung imaging platform in the U.S.

Eitan Medical Ltd. plans to launch its Avoset infusion system into the U.S. later this year, following the introduction of the multi-therapy ambulatory infusion system into the European market. The connected Avoset infusion system is expected to transform the way patients receive treatment in post-acute care, as it enables remote monitoring of infusion treatment which will enhance patient safety and improve the user experience.

Moleculight Inc. published a study on the impact of skin pigmentation on the clinical diagnosis of wound infection that could have profound implications for implicit or unconscious racial bias among diagnosticians. The paper in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities pointed to lack of clinical training and educational resources on diverse skin tones and of diagnostic tools to address unique clinical attributes of patients with darker skin tones.