Diagnostics

This week, HistoSonics announced it will bring its ultrasound system for destroying liver tumors into VA hospitals, Edwards Lifesciences reports encouraging TRISCEND II trial results at TCT, study finds blood test for CRC screening are less cost-effective than alternatives, and more.

Medtech Insight talked with GE HealthCare’s chief AI officer Parminder “Parry” Bhatia at HLTH about the firm’s new CareIntellect for Oncology offering to help clinicians make efficient use of multimodal patient data, his vision for projects within AI Innovation Lab, and the future of AI in health care.

University of Cambridge's soon-to-be spun-out Nimble Genomics is among grant-winning projects in Capital Enterprise's Cancer Tech Accelerator. Medtech Insight spoke to clinical oncologist and Nimble founder Henno Martin and co-founder Radek Lach to learn more what about the brain cancer blood test’s prospects in an increasingly competitive liquid biopsy space.

Clinical labs and diagnostics firms alike are still grappling with the likely impact of the FDA’s final rule on LDTs, speakers said in a recent webinar. Key areas of concern: The potential for lab consolidation, lack of clarity on when clearance is necessary, research-use tests, and the hesitation imposed by an ongoing lawsuit and upcoming election.

Medtech Insight was on the ground at HLTH looking for innovative companies. Learn about seven start-ups using AI to help physicians detect conditions including prostate and breast cancers, seizures and heart failure; assess patients for cognitive decline validate and deploy algorithms, and monitor patients in and out of the hospital.

This week, Medtronic and Hologic announced major safety issues; the US government awarded $110m to innovators in women’s health; CDC partnered with Quest on a bird flu diagnostic; and more.

Medtech Insight spoke with Vicky Demas, CEO of Identifeye, about plans for bringing the company’s AI-powered retinal screening system for early detection of diabetic retinopathy to primary care facilities. More than 50% of the roughly 38 million Americans who have diabetes skip retinal screenings at present, increasing risk of developing the leading cause of blindness in adults.

The medical device industry supports the FDA's draft guidance document on Diversity Action Plans but seeks flexibility and clarity, especially for international and IVD trials, and recommends using real-world data for postmarket studies.

As the 6 May deadline to implement the FDA’s final rule on lab-developed tests approaches, attempts to stop the rule from taking effect are set to play out in court. A panel of experts discussed the potential impact of these legal efforts, should they be successful, at the Medtech Conference in Toronto.

Start-ups pitched a diverse deck of innovative technologies to three judges and an audience of potential investors, strategics and physicians at the Octane Medical Innovation Forum in Irvine, CA. Highlights include neuromodulation company Sinaptica Therapeutics, which won the competition for both “People’s Choice” and “Judge’s Choice.”

This week, J&J announced that it was buying heart failure device firm V-Wave; Procept got the FDA’s OK on a clinical trial of its Aquablation treatment for prostate cancer; and CMS began to consider Medicare reimbursement of Abbott’s TriClip tricuspid repair device.

The College of American Pathologists wants a US district court to scrap the FDA’s final rule that unilaterally assumes oversight of lab-developed tests, but not because the college feels the agency has no business regulating them. Helena Duncan, senior director of quality at CAP, explained the college’s position to Medtech Insight.

The European Parliament intends to send an official message to the European Commission to try and push for an early revision of the Medical Device Regulation.

Marabio Systems says the new funding will help accelerate efforts to bring a blood test to market in 2025 that will accurately determine if a mother is a carrier of antibodies that cause MARA, a subtype of autism that believe to cause more severe behavior.

The European Commission’s proposed timeframe for revising the MDR and IVDR is far too long, Parliament believes, and is resulting in increasingly outdated products in healthcare establishments around European threatening patient care.

The Octane Medical Innovation Forum brought together industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors to discuss a range of topics. Medtech Insight was on the ground to bring some memorable perspectives from industry leaders.

Having 50 notified bodies under the Medical Device Regulation is a landmark achievement for the EU after a long and slow, journey to reach this point.

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted a de novo authorization to the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test, making it the first over-the-counter flu test to be cleared outside the emergency use pathway.

The US FDA’s Office of Women’s Health provides a research roadmap to address health concerns specific to women. The FDA recently updated the roadmap, outlining areas in which further research is needed.

Just as manufacturers need to implement corrective and preventive action plans, so this is an essential part of how a notified body functions; new guidance explains how.