Reports of unusually high death rates for COVID-19 patients on ventilators have raised alarms, and some doctors are looking to reduce reliance on the breathing machines when possible. To advance that goal, Lungpacer Medical Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, has obtained an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. FDA for its Lungpacer diaphragmatic pacing therapy system (DPTS) for immediate use in ventilator patients at high risk of weaning failure, including patients with the novel coronavirus. Read More
Ultraviolet (UV) light has a long-standing track record in use as an antimicrobial. But the primary limitation to using UV light in relation to the human body is that it can also potentially damage its cells. A group of researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif., known as the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) team, is now researching safe UV technology for use in COVID-19 treatment. Read More
The Trump administration has posted an update to its plan to reopen the U.S. economy, this time with a slightly different twist on testing. This plan not only calls on local governments to administer tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also calls for two antibody tests per person under some circumstances, an approach that should beef up both the positive and negative predictive values compared to a single antibody test. Read More
DUBLIN – Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. and its academic and clinical collaborators have provided a first glimpse at the utility of a liquid biopsy test as a screening tool for picking up cancers in an asymptomatic population. In an interim one-year readout of data from the prospective five-year DETECT-A study in 10,000 women, an early version of Thrive’s Cancerseek test picked up 26 cancers ahead of standard-of-care screening, while the latter modality picked up another 24 cancers that Cancerseek missed. Read More
Armonk, N.Y.-based International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) launched the Rapid Supplier Connect network to help government agencies and health care organizations tap into new, non-traditional suppliers now producing devices and equipment needed to battle COVID-19. Membership in the blockchain-based network is free through Aug. 31, 2020, to qualified participants. Read More
LONDON – Leading genome sequencing groups are launching the first meta-analysis in the hunt for genetic factors that explain why some people have worse COVID-19 symptoms than others, after agreeing to share patient sequence data from around the world. The COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (CHGI), set up by scientists at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), now includes 151 registered studies that are searching for genetic variation associated with severity and outcomes. Read More
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Acamp, Coala Life, Emtensor, Illumina, Invivoscribe, Labshares Newton, Meridian Bioscience, Pensees, O-Two Medical Technologies, QuantalRF, Quest Diagnostics, Seastar Medical, Seqll, Stryker, Wright Medical, Sunstar JSC, Synaptive, Wyss Institute. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Chronolife, Edwards Lifesciences, Exthera, Icecure, Life Spine, Lungpacer Medical, Medipines. Read More
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting medical devices and technologies, including: Health Quality Ontario, Imagination Engines. Read More
Keeping you up to date on recent developments in oncology, including: Small tumors and large motion effects dampen treatment effect in IMPT; Pancreatic cancer uses autophagy to hide from immune system; NRF2 wakes sleeping tumor cells; Cancer renders patients more susceptible to COVID-19. Read More
