Apple Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Tips on Bluetooth, batteries and Apple vs. Android from Eko Health co-founder and CEO Connor Landgraf

Eko Health’s Core 5000 digital stethoscope has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 300 minutes of continuous use, or up to 60 hours of regular clinical use. The stethoscope uses Bluetooth 4.2 low-energyand offers a wireless listening option. [Photo courtesy of Eko Health]

Eko Health has learned a bit about batteries and Bluetooth while developing AI-powered medical devices to help physicians detect cardiovascular disease.

Eko Health’s devices include hardware — in the form of its Duo and Core digital stethoscopes — and algorithms that analyze the acoustic and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals collected by those handheld devices. Together, their hardware and software is cleared by the FDA to detect heart murmurs, atrial fibrillation (AFib) and signs of low left ventricular ejection fraction.

Related: How Eko Health’s AI-powered stethoscope detects early signs of heart failure

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Samsung could battle Apple over non-invasive glucose monitors

A stock photo of the Galaxy Watch. [Image courtesy of Samsung]Bloomberg reports that Samsung has eyes on developing non-invasive glucose monitoring technology, potentially pitting it against Apple.

The report says the electronics company wants to develop continuous blood pressure checking along with glucose monitoring. It comes as part of an effort to incorporate health features in Samsung devices, like its Galaxy Ring, Bloomberg says. Hon Pak, a Samsung executive in charge of this push, told the outlet in an interview that the company is putting “significant investment” toward these new functions.

According to Bloomberg, Samsung is considering several possible avenues for this technology, including miniaturization. Pak expects to see non-invasive glucose monitoring hit the market in some form within five years, the outlet said.

While the report has no projected timeline for the Samsung project itself, if and when it moves forward, it will likel…

Court grants AliveCor stay in patent battle with Apple as PTAB investigation goes on

A figure from AliveCor’s patent, included in the PTAB ruling

The United States District Court of the Northern District of California allowed AliveCor a stay in legal proceedings against tech giant Apple.

AliveCor and Apple have a longstanding legal battle ongoing over the use of ECG technology for detecting AFib. Last week, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) agreed to institute three of AliveCor’s Inter Partes Reviews (IPR) against Apple’s countersuit. The PTAB previously ruled in December 2022 that AliveCor’s claims surrounding U.S. Patent No. 10,595,731 B2 were unpatentable. This proved a setback to AliveCor in the intellectual property fight with Apple and its AFib detection technology.

The latest ruling confirms a continuation of the stay requested by AliveCor until all IPRs in the case are heard. AliveCor views Apple’s countersuit as an effort to derail its original patent infringement case over the ECG technology.

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Court denies Apple’s watch ban appeal in Masimo patent spat

The Apple Watch Series 9 [Image courtesy of Apple]Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals declined to grant a longer pause on the Apple Watch import ban as a result of patent litigation with Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) + .

Shares of MASI grew 2.1% to $122.57 apiece just before the market closed today on the back of the news.

The patent battle goes back as far as January 2020, centering around light-based pulse oximetry technology used by the watches. Masimo develops a number of technologies that use pulse oximetry, including its recently FDA-cleared W1 smartwatch.

A turning point in the long-running dispute came in October when the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in Masimo’s favor. The ITC recommended a limited exclusion order for infringing Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality. It found that Apple violated U.S. laws by incorporating this patented technology in its products.…

Apple reportedly pulling pulse oximetry from watches if Masimo appeal fails

The Apple Watch Series 9 [Image courtesy of Apple]Federal customs officials have reportedly approved Apple’s workaround to continue importing Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches if it fails in its appeal of an import ban in its patent dispute with Masimo.

The consumer tech giant has told U.S. Customs and Border Protection that redesigned watches “definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality,” according to a Masimo filing with the Federal Circuit that was recounted in media outlets. Masimo said the agency has signed off on Apple’s plan to get around the International Trade Commission import ban, though the decision has not yet been published in the Federal Register.

In a statement shared with MassDevice, Masimo said: “Apple’s claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability. It is especially important that one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies res…

PTAB to review Apple’s ECG patents amid legal battle with AliveCor

A figure from AliveCor’s patent, included in the PTAB ruling

The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) will review two Apple-owned electrocardiogram technology patents in an infringement suit as AliveCor looks to reverse the board’s opinion from December 2023.

A panel of administrative patent judges granted AliveCor’s bid for a review, citing a “reasonable likelihood” that AliveCor would successfully show the unpatentability of Apple’s technology. The PTAB will formally review the validity of certain patent claims, considering AliveCor’s arguments. However, it’s important to note that this is just the beginning of the process, and no final decisions on the patentability of the claims have been made yet.

In a statement to MassDevice, AliveCor said: “AliveCor applauds the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions to institute Inter Partes Review (IPR) of two patents Apple meritlessly asserted aga…

The 10 biggest diabetes tech stories from 2023

Medtronic, EOFlow, Dexcom, Beta Bionics and Tandem Diabetes Care all contributed some of the biggest diabetes technology stories of 2023.

It was another banner year for diabetes technology, with regulatory approvals, product launches and M&A all playing their part.

Diabetes technology’s impressive 12 months marked a major trend across medtech as a whole, too.

In 2022, the diabetes space saw plenty of progress from some of its biggest names and this past year proved no different. Big hitters like Dexcom, Abbott, Medtronic, Insulet and more all contributed to some of the biggest stories in 2023. External factors — like popular GLP-1 drugs and big tech names looking to enter the space — also made the cut.

Here are 10 of the most intriguing diabetes technology stories from the past 12 months.

Medtronic was set to buy EOFlow — until it wasn’t

The medtech giant made a big splash in the insulin delivery space when it announced its plan to buy South K…

Apple Watch ban goes into effect after Masimo patent battle, presidential review

Sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 have been halted as a result of an ongoing patent dispute with Masimo. [Image courtesy of Apple]President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto an import ban on Apple Watches after the government ruled in favor of Masimo (NYSE: PHG) + in a patent spat.

The long-running battle between companies came to a head last week when Apple paused sales of two models of its smartwatch. This spat centers around light-based pulse oximetry technology used by the watches. Masimo develops a number of technologies that use pulse oximetry, including its recently FDA-cleared W1 smartwatch.

This followed an an October ruling in Masimo’s favor from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC recommended a limited exclusion order for infringing Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality. It found that Apple violated U.S. laws by incorporating this patented technolog…

Apple reportedly stops U.S. sales of certain smartwatches amid Masimo patent spat

Apple stopped sales of its Watch Series 9 due to a patent dispute with Masimo. [Image from Apple]Apple reportedly paused sales of two models of its smartwatches in the U.S. as it looks to resolve a patent dispute with Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) + .

Apple confirmed the decision in a statement to 9to5Mac.

The patent spat goes back as far as January 2020, centering around light-based pulse oximetry technology used by the watches. Masimo develops a number of technologies that use pulse oximetry, including its recently FDA-cleared W1 smartwatch.

A turning point in the long-running dispute came in October when the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in Masimo’s favor. The ITC recommended a limited exclusion order for infringing Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality. It found that Apple violated U.S. laws by incorporating this patented technology in its products.

When the ITC issue…

ITC rules in favor of Masimo in Apple Watch patent spat, stock rises

The W1 smartwatch [Image from Masimo]Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) + announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in its favor in an ongoing patent battle with tech giant Apple.

Shares of MASI ticked up more than 5% at $85.26 apiece by midday trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — fell slightly.

The ITC recommended a limited exclusion order for infringing Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality. It found that Apple violated U.S. laws by incorporating this patented technology in its products, Masimo said. The exclusion goes into effect after a 60-day presidential review period, according to a news release.

“Today’s ruling by the USITC sends a powerful message that even the world’s largest company is not above the law,” said Joe Kiani, founder, chair, and CEO of Masimo. “This important determ…

Masimo trade secret suit against Apple ends in mistrial

Masimo’s W1 smartwatch [Image from Masimo]The ongoing patent spat between Masimo (Nasdaq:MASI) + and Apple has another twist as a federal judge declared a mistrial.

A federal judge in California made the ruling yesterday after jurors could not come to a unanimous verdict, according to a Reuters report.

A Masimo spokesperson issued the following statement following the ruling:

“While we are disappointed that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, we intend to retry the case and continue to pursue legal redress against Apple. As we begin that process, the United States Trade Commission is scheduled in the coming months to decide whether to ban the importation of certain models of the Apple Watch, following a ruling last year by an Administrative Law Judge that Apple infringed one of Masimo’s patents for pulse oximetry.”

Reuters reported that an Apple statement says the company …

The biggest medical device VC deals of 2022

Enable Injections, which makes the enFuse device, raised $215 million in January 2022. [Photo courtesy of Enable Injections]

Last year was definitely a slower year for medical device VC deals than the year before.

Biofourmis was the only medical device developer in the 10 largest healthcare VC deals of 2022, according to a ranking provided to Medical Design & Outsourcing by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

Because we love devices at Medical Design & Outsourcing, we asked SVB for a ranking of 2022’s largest medical device VC deals after Biofourmis, which raised $325 million in its 2022 series D round. (The year before that, CMR Surgical’s $600 million Series D financing round was the largest medical device VC deal of 2021.)

SVB obliged, once again drawing upon its own proprietary information and data from Pitchbook. The dealmakers include device developers with innovative methods for …