TORONTO – Edmonton’s University of Alberta is lending its neuromotor research smarts to a wearable, machine learning driven sensors platform developed by Menlo Park, Calif., and Calgary, Alberta-based Protxx Inc. for better managing the future care of patients suffering from neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

Hydrocephalus involves the buildup of excess fluid in the brain. It affects more than 1 million people in the U.S. – most of them children – and can result in brain damage and related neurological impairments. Shunt implants are the standard treatment to drain that fluid, but more than half of them fail within the first couple of years of placement.

Amsterdam-based Royal Philips NV has launched a five-day, wearable biosensor patch that monitors respiratory and heart rates once every minute, as well as assesses contextual information such as posture, activity level and ambulation. The wearable, disposable patch, dubbed the Philips Biosensor BX100, has received FDA clearance and a CE mark and is intended for use in lower acuity hospital care.

Wearables giant Fitbit Inc. has kicked off its first large-scale, virtual study to evaluate how well its wrist-worn technology can spot episodes of irregular heart rhythm that might indicate atrial fibrillation (AF). The study, part of a broader plan to equip Fitbit devices with new tools to speed the detection of a range of conditions, is open to people in the U.S. ages 22 and older who own a Fitbit that tracks heart rate.

Artificial intelligence-focused Chronolife SAS, of Paris, has secured class IIa medical certification from the EU for its smart T-shirt, which has the new brand name Keesense. The reusable, washable T-shirt is designed for comfortable, round-the-clock use. It works by transmitting data to a paired smartphone app via Bluetooth.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been managed with widely varying degrees of success around the world. Artificial intelligence (AI), which can help to power all sorts of efforts, has been enlisted thus far in limited ways. But researchers at a virtual conference held on April 1 by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence explored some of the ongoing and potential applications of AI to systematize efforts to fight COVID-19.

Zurich-based startup Ava Science Inc. recently issued a public call for partners and funding to further research the potential usefulness of its fertility wearable, known as Ava Bracelet, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco-based startup Element Science Inc. has raised a massive financing in support of the first product that is part of its next-generation digital wearable platform. The $145.6 million series C financing is slated to support the company through clinical trial completion and commercial launch of its Jewel Patch Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator.

The FDA has granted over-the-counter (OTC) clearance to the first noninvasive wearable to treat stress urinary incontinence. The device, known as Innovo, uses electrical stimulation to strengthen pelvic floor muscles and is integrated into fitted shorts. It was already available by physician prescription in the U.S. since an FDA clearance in early 2019.

Diabetes is the first med-tech sphere that is coalescing for Verily Life Sciences LLC, but cardiology could be next. The South San Francisco-based business that’s part of Google parent Alphabet Inc. has received a second FDA clearance for its Verily Study Watch as an irregular pulse monitor. After a 2017 debut, it was first cleared by the agency about a year ago for use to take an on-demand electrocardiogram (ECG).