Diagnostics & Healthcare News

Investors in digital health have been busy this year. In the first half of 2017, 188 startups took in $3.5 billion in investments—a record-setting amount. It’s not hard to see why. Patients and providers are both looking to digital health tools to get better treatment and improve the relationship dynamic. With all that money flowing into…

“Do you know what the number one failing of biotech entrepreneurs who try to get into medical devices is?” a senior healthcare VC (who asked for anonymity so he could speak freely) asked me over lunch recently. (Disclosure/reminder: I work at a cloud genomics company; this VC is not an investor, and focuses mostly on…

The nominees for the best medical technology of 2017 were recently announced for the 11th Annual Prix Galien USA Awards. The Galien Foundation, the host of the awards, hands out the the Prix Galien Award annually to examples of outstanding biomedical and technology product achievement designed to improve human condition. Before candidates can qualify for…

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, wearable technologies are the worlds current number one fitness trend (Thompson, 2015, 2016). By providing patients with an instant biofeedback, wearables not only have the possibility to prevent injury and overuse, but also to optimize training  (Düking, Holmberg, & Sperlich, 2017) which becomes of special interest in…

For more than a decade now, 3D printing as a concept has promised a revolution in everything from construction to food production but, on the surface, you might think things haven’t changed much. This couldn’t be further from the case, however, particularly in medicine where 3D printers have set in motion a future where many…

A student-designed medical device to diagnose pneumonia has been named the winner of the student category of Fast Company‘s 2017 Innovation by Design Awards. The device, called Tabla, was created by Adam Rao, a medical student at UCSF and a student in the UC Berkeley/UCSF joint Ph.D. program in bioengineering, and Chen Bao and Jorge Ruiz, both…

Backed by a $35 million federal grant, Texas A&M University System is leading a group of academic partners, private companies and federal agencies in a quest to develop cutting-edge, affordable technologies for underserved populations suffering from diabetes and heart disease. The prestigious award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center will fund the Precise…

The Australian government has announced that it is investing AU$13.3 million into medical technologies to help people living with severe mobility issues and chronic back pain. The AU$500 million Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) will invest AU$5 million into Rex Bionics for the development of a hands-free robotic device to assist in rehabilitation; AU$5 million into…

Healthcare has special challenges securing information and devices. The consequences of a successful hack can be, at their worst, extreme results on people’s health and well-being. Medical records are worth more on the black market than identity data, and thus make health records particularly vulnerable to theft and ransomware attacks. As a result, healthcare organizations…

A medical device manufacturing center with room for early-stage companies is slated to move into City Garage this fall. The 10,000 sq. ft. space within the Port Covington innovation hub will house manufacturing operations for Indianapolis-based Engineered Medical Systems, as well as an accelerator to provide resources for companies that are in the development phase. The Engineered Medical…