News and Resources from the WTWH Media Life Science Network - Page 216 of 968

iCad lays off 28% of its workforce in restructuring plan

iCad (Nasdaq:ICAD) announced that it enacted a restructuring plan that includes a workforce reduction of approximately 28%.

The Nashua, New Hampshire-based cancer detection and therapy solution developer said that equates to approximately 23 employees. It attributed the restructuring plan to ongoing industry and macroeconomic pressures. iCad’s restructuring aims to support long-term strategic goals and reduce operating expenses.

The company believes this aligns its cost structure to focus on areas that are more likely to generate the best long-term results. It officially committed to this restructuring on March 20.

iCad is the latest medtech company to slash its headcount as macroeconomic pressures continue to mount. In fact, MassDevice has reported on more than 19,000 medtech workers let go across the industry since mid-2022. (Here’s a list of the layoffs that have affected the industry. Have a tip about layoffs at your company or within the…

AlphaFold: Redefining drug discovery with digital biology and AI

[Christoph Burgstedt/Adobe Stock]

At the Nvidia GTC 2023, DeepMind’s Founder and CEO, Demis Hassabis, provided an in-depth look into the seismic potential of their protein folding AI system, AlphaFold. Hassabis said AlphaFold was a contender for the organization’s “biggest project to date.”

Hassabis noted that DeepMind’s AlphaFold has made strides in addressing the protein folding problem, a challenge that has stumped scientists for more than five decades. The protein folding problem involves predicting the 3D structure of proteins solely from the amino acid sequence. Until AlphaFold, determining a protein’s structure was a complex and time-consuming process, often taking years of experimental work.

At the end of 2022, the company announced that it updated AlphaFold with the structure predictions of more than 200 million proteins.

Hassabis explained the enormity of the challenge, …

FDA issues final rules for transitioning away from COVID-19 authorizations

The FDA this week announced a transition plan for medical devices that fall with the emergency use authorization enforcement policies issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guidances that set forth COVID-19-related enforcement policies for certain devices initially stated that they were intended to remain in effect for the duration of the pandemic declaration. The declaration is now anticipated to expire at the end of the day on May 11, 2023.

In an announcement on March 13, the FDA revised the guidance documents to state that it would continue to be in effect for 180 days after the declaration expires unless a different intended duration is set forth in the finalized version of the guidance.

The enforcement policies relating to the following devices used during the COVID-19 public health emergency:

Remote digital pathology devices Imaging systems Non-invasive fetal and maternal monitoring devices used to support patient monitoring Telethermographic sy…

ViCentra now offers Kaleido insulin pump in the Netherlands

The Kaleido insulin pump. [Image from ViCentra]ViCentra recently announced that it made its Kaleido insulin pump system available for users in the Netherlands.

Utrecht, the Netherlands-based ViCentra designed its insulin pump system as a small, light and accurate platform. The company says the system “lets people with diabetes live life on their own terms.”

Kaleido features pulse technology that provides continuous micro-dosing of insulin. With a simple appearance — and 10 color combination options — the user can personalize their treatment in many ways.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

Researchers have developed a robotic, hands-free wheelchair

Researcher Adam Bleakney demonstrates the robotic, hands-free wheelchair. [Image courtesy of the University of Illinois]

Collaborators at the University of Illinois say they developed a robotic wheelchair that provides a novel mode of mobility to individuals with physical disabilities.

These researchers received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2020. With these funds, they aimed to develop that novel wheelchair. Today, two years in, the project produced a working prototype and a pending patent.

Their goal: penetrate the wheelchair market that hasn’t changed much since the first patent in the 1800s, according to the university website.

“Manual wheelchair users, due to this traditional design, have a lot of issues,” said Elizabeth T. Hsiao-Wecksler, professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. “It’s difficult to fit in tight spaces, [the …

AI breakthroughs in medtech: 7 ways to enhance healthcare

[Image from Pixabay]

Whether it’s OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s new Bing or Google’s Bard, 2023 is the year when generative artificial intelligence entered the popular consciousness.

In the medtech space, it seems as though every company is seeking ways to incorporate some form of AI into the digital features of their products and services.

So what is artificial intelligence good at so far when it comes to advancing medtech and healthcare in general? Here are seven recent examples:

1. Helping physicians identify medical problems quickly

GI Genius’ AI-based enhancements place green boxes around areas that may need extra scrutiny during a colonoscopy, helping to prevent physicians from losing their focus. [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Interest is growing in artificial intelligence that can help radiologists, gastroenterologists and othe…

Exploring the potential of Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma

[Alexander/Adobe Stock]

Carbon tracking is a challenge in many industries, including the pharma sector. Companies are looking to manage their carbon emissions more effectively and meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, noted Maxence Cacheux, Zblocks co-founder and chief revenue officer. “They need to measure their internal carbon emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions from the energy they use (Scope 2) and indirect emissions from their suppliers (Scope 3),” he noted. Although adoption is early, Zblocks executives believe there is a clear need for Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma. “The challenge that blockchain can solve is is the lack of transparency and trust in carbon accounting and trading systems,” Cacheux said. “There are gaps in reporting. Additionally, all the data you’re collecting from multiple sources can be potentially tampered, and there is no auditability.” Web3-ba…

Getinge’s Datascope has another serious intra-aortic balloon pump recall

The Cardiosave Hybrid system. [Image from FDA]The FDA issued a notice determining a recall of Getinge subsidiary Datascope’s Cardiosave intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious kind.

This recall relates to the Swedish medtech company’s Cardiosave Hybrid and Cardiosave Rescue IABPs. Both devices were subject to a separate recall that the FDA determined was Class I in December 2021.

Getinge’s Datascope subsidiary initiated their latest recall of an estimated 2,300 devices on Jan. 9, 2023. They distributed affected devices between March 6, 2012 and July 20, 2017, according to an FDA notice.

To date, Getinge received 44 complaints related to the latest issue with no reported injury or death.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Tubing & Extrusion.

This implantable drug delivery system is self-powered

Researchers say they could trigger drug delivery with LED light. [Image courtesy of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab/Northwestern University]

Researchers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Northwestern University developed technology that uses external light sources to trigger the delivery of drugs.

Yamin Zhang and Dr. Colin Franz of Shirley Ryan and John Rogers of Northwestern led the research team. They say their technology represents the first implantable drug delivery system triggered by external light sources. These light sources of different wavelengths offer an alternative to electronic power.

They also say it’s the first such system capable of absorption by the body. It could avoid surgical extraction while still allowing active control and programming by the operator. The team published a study highlighting this device in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This RNA sensor could trigger cells to turn on a synthetic gene

Caption:MIT researchers demonstrated that their RNA sensor could accurately identify cells expressing a mutated version of the p53 gene, which drives cancer development. [Image courtesy of MIT/iStock]

Engineers at MIT designed a new way to trigger cells that could lead to targeted therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Using an RNA sensor for the trigger, the researchers ensure that synthetic genes activate only in specific cells. They demonstrated that the sensor could accurately identify cells expressing a mutated version of the p53 gene, which drives cancer development. Additionally, they found they could turn on a gene encoding a fluorescent protein only within those cells.

With this approach, the engineers feel they can develop sensors to trigger production of cell-killing proteins in cancer cells, sparing healthy cells, too. They see the possibility of developing treatments for other diseases, too…

Medtronic prices $2 billion of senior notes

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced that its Medtronic Global Holdings S.C.A subsidiary priced an offering of senior notes worth $2 billion.

The financial move comes at the same time that the world’s largest medical device company engages in significant expense reductions. The idea is to boost the company’s resilience against the present macroeconomic headwinds.

The wholly-owned subsidiary — Medtronic Luxco — priced the offering of two different groups of senior notes. The first, with a principal amount of $1 million, includes 4.25% senior notes due in 2028. Medtronic Luxco’s second group of notes features $1 million of 4.5% senior notes due 2023.

According to Medtronic, it intends to fully and unconditionally guarantee all of Medtronic Luxco’s obligations under the notes. The company guarantees this on a senior, unsecured basis.

Medtronic said in a news release that it expects to use proceeds to repay indebtedness. It expects t…

Masimo announces corporate governance, executive pay changes

Masimo (Nasdaq:MASI) announced today that it made a series of changes to its board of directors and governance policies.

The company attributed the changes to an ongoing board refreshment and governance review process. Regular engagement with stockholders informed these changes, according to a news release.

“We recently visited several of our large stockholders and had good discussions with them,” said Joe Kiani, Masimo founder, chair, and CEO. “Based on their feedback, as well as feedback we previously received from other stockholders, the Board has decided to make a number of changes.”

Masimo’s independent board directors unanimously elected H Michael Cohen as the board’s lead independent director. Cohen holds responsibility for leading meetings of the independent directors. He also presides at meetings of the board at which the chair (Kiani) is not present and provides input on agendas and materials in advance of board meetings.

Oth…