BEIJING – More and more companies and researchers in China are rolling out artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems that can process hundreds of computed tomography (CT) images in seconds to speed up diagnosis of COVID-19 and assist in its containment.

Neurovasc Technologies Inc., of Laguna Hills, Calif., has entered a strategic partnership with the Wego Group that includes $34 million in funding to support the company’s product portfolio development and global clinical trial program. Specifically, the funding first will go toward studies of the company’s stent-retriever, designed to treat patients suffering an acute ischemic stroke, in markets such as Japan, the EU, U.S. and China.

LONDON – The COVID-19 epidemic has reached a “decisive point” as the number of new cases in the rest of the world exceeded the number of new cases in China, and seven countries reported infections for the first time.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Medical supply manufacturers in Argentina have seen a surge in demand for their products from China, which is reaching out globally for the goods it needs to deal with the outbreak of COVID-19.

The latest mutation to the coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, has sparked a reaction by many national governments, but the expense associated with development of vaccines and diagnostics is considerable. Ron Klain, who served as the Obama administration’s coordinator for the response to the Ebola virus, said during an Aspen Institute seminar that drug makers took a hit in their efforts to develop a vaccine for the Ebola virus, and thus there is a need to de-risk these and other development efforts in the private sector.

HONG KONG – The recent coronavirus (2019-nCov) scare has led to a rush of demand for masks that could soon strain pharmaceuticals and med-tech companies alike. In Hong Kong, queues for surgical masks now snake around the block.

HONG KONG – A team of researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) claim to have invented the world’s fastest portable 2019-nCoV diagnostic device. From sampling to testing, the device is apparently able to detect the novel coronavirus in just 40 minutes. In comparison, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology that is currently in use can take between 1.5 to 3 hours. The device draws on the latest microfluidic chip technology from Shenzhen Shineway Hi-Tech Co. Ltd.

BEIJING – Share prices of Chinese biotechs that partner with Gilead Science Inc. have surged in China this week, after the U.S. firm’s remdesivir was identified as the most promising drug candidate to treat 2019-nCoV.

The market for multinational medical device companies in China has largely been driven by use only in major public hospitals for patients who pay mostly or entirely out-of-pocket. But that’s continuing to change in ways that could offer a window onto medical device trends in the region over the coming decades.

BEIJING – Chinese regulators are speeding up to approve more test kits for the deadly coronavirus that already has killed 170 people and infected more than 7,700 globally. Companies also are working around the clock to develop better products and maintain supplies.