Spry Health Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., a company that focuses on health management technologies and remote patient monitoring, reported the launch of Loop Signal. This solution is a new clinician-led monitoring service using the U.S. FDA-cleared Loop System that aims to reduce avoidable hospital visits and improve at-home monitoring of patients who either have, are suspected of having or at risk for COVID-19.

More than a dozen robotics researchers expressed the need for robots to play a greater role in managing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as in future preparedness. They pointed to three broad medical areas where robots can make a difference: clinical care with applications such as telemedicine and decontamination; logistics for delivery and handling of medical waste; and reconnaissance such as quarantine enforcement.

The stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate March 26 on a vote of 96-0 does more than throw $2.2 trillion into the war against COVID-19. “This is not … a stimulus package. It is emergency relief,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor before the vote.

Like so many other ventilator providers in recent days, Resmed Inc. has committed to ramping up production. It aims to triple its ventilator output and multiply its ventilation mask production by 10. But the San Diego-based company’s specialty is not mechanical ventilation that requires intubation, which is most commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU), although it does produce some of those.

Astrotech Corp., of Austin, Texas, has a broad range, having developed mass spectrometers in agriculture and manufacturing and selling chemical analyzers for use in the airport security and other applications. Now, it is looking to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Everlywell Inc. stepped back from its announcement that consumers could access at-home testing for COVID-19 starting on March 23, 2020, following a U.S. FDA update that cautioned against fraudulent at-home tests.

Despite seeing good growth in 2019, with net sales jumping to almost $2.4 million vs. $993,000 over the previous year, Electrocore Inc. has suspended its guidance due to uncertainty over COVID-19. The company previously said full-year revenue should be in the range of $7 million to $9 million.

The pressure is rising on the Trump administration to activate the Defense Production Act (DPA) for the COVID-19 outbreak as the Senate yet again reconsiders an economic stimulus package. Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) unveiled the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act in an effort to force the White House to mandate the production of needed supplies, a bill that is likely to languish until Congress can move on economic relief legislation.

With an eye toward helping those potentially suffering from COVID-19, Mountain View, Calif.-based Alivecor Inc. said its six-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), known as the Kardiamobile 6L, now is allowed for use in the measurement of a patient's QTc and detection of QT prolongation. The Kardiamobile 6L enables patients to take a six-lead ECG outside a doctor’s office.

With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to rise and with people social distancing and quarantining, at-home diagnostics and telehealth offer the means for doctors and patients to get vital answers and care without meeting face to face. Now, Los Angeles-based Scanwell Health has gained exclusive rights to license and distribute a rapid serology test from Innovita Biological Technology Co. Ltd., of Hebei, China, for at-home testing of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.