Homeland Security has issued a warning for a set of critical-rated vulnerabilities in Medtronic defibrillators which put the devices at risk of manipulation. These small implantable cardio-defibrillators are implanted in a patient’s chest to deliver small electrical shocks to prevent irregular or dangerously fast heartbeats, which can prove fatal. Most modern devices come with wireless […]
View More Homeland Security warns of critical flaws in Medtronic defibrillatorsCategory: Food and Drug Administration
FDA approves esketamine nasal spray, the first new major depression drug in more than 30 years
In one of the most significant milestones for depression treatment in decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved a new drug with esketamine, a derivative of ketamine. Made by Johnson & Johnson under the brand name Spravato, the drug is meant to be taken as a nasal spray in […]
View More FDA approves esketamine nasal spray, the first new major depression drug in more than 30 yearsHelping children overcome their mobility challenges, Trexo Robotics gets a Y Combinator boost
Manmeet Maggu and Rahul Udasi didn’t know it when they met at the University of Waterloo 11 years ago, but the bond they forged in late-night study sessions as roommates has helped drive their work to create an exoskeleton that provides mobility for children with disabilities. The fruit of that labor is Trexo Robotics, which […]
View More Helping children overcome their mobility challenges, Trexo Robotics gets a Y Combinator boostFDA warning brings controversial young blood transfusion company to a halt
On Tuesday, the FDA issued a warning to anyone who might be inclined to give their old bones a jolt with fresh blood harvested from the young. The idea is pretty far from mainstream, even in Silicon Valley, where the ultra-wealthy have a keen interest in the cutting edge of life-extension science. Still, there’s apparently […]
View More FDA warning brings controversial young blood transfusion company to a haltBiotech AI startup Sight Diagnostics gets $27.8M to speed up blood tests
Sight Diagnostics, an Israeli medical devices startup that’s using AI technology to speed up blood testing, has closed a $27.8 million Series C funding round. The company has built a desktop machine, called OLO, that analyzes cartridges manually loaded with drops of the patient’s blood — performing blood counts in situ. The new funding is […]
View More Biotech AI startup Sight Diagnostics gets $27.8M to speed up blood testsBill Gates-backed Vicarious Surgical adds a virtual reality twist to robots in the operating room
In an operating room in rural Idaho, doctors prep a patient for surgery. They make a tiny, thumb-sized incision into the patient and insert a small robot while across the country a surgeon puts on a virtual reality headset, grabs their controllers, and prepares to operate. While this scene may seem like science fiction now, […]
View More Bill Gates-backed Vicarious Surgical adds a virtual reality twist to robots in the operating roomJ&J spends $3.4 billion in cash for Auris Health’s lung cancer diagnostics and surgical robots
Johnson & Johnson’s robotic surgery and medical device division, Ethicon, is dropping $3.4 billion in cash to pick up Auris Health, a developer of robotic diagnostics and surgical devices initially focused on detecting and treating lung cancer. The healthcare giant said an additional $2.35 billion in payouts may be possible if Auris hits certain milestones. […]
View More J&J spends $3.4 billion in cash for Auris Health’s lung cancer diagnostics and surgical robotsFDA chief summons Altria and JUUL to Washington to discuss teen vaping
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is calling Altria and Juul to meet in Washington to discuss their tie-up and how it impacts the companies’ plans to combat teen vaping. Earlier this year, Altria invested $12.8 billion investment in Juul. “After Altria’s acquisition of a 35 percent ownership interest in JUUL Labs, Inc., […]
View More FDA chief summons Altria and JUUL to Washington to discuss teen vapingAs threats proliferate, so do new tools for protecting medical devices and hospitals
Six months after an episode of “Homeland” showed hackers exploiting security vulnerabilities in the (fictional) Vice President’s pacemaker, Mike Kijewski, the founder of a new startup security company called Medcrypt, was approached by his (then) employers at Varian Medical Systems with a unique problem. “A hospital came to the company and said we are treating […]
View More As threats proliferate, so do new tools for protecting medical devices and hospitalsLack of transparency in healthcare startups risks another Theranos implosion
Are more Theranos -style scandals looming for investors in healthcare startups? A team of researchers associated with the Meta Research Innovation Center at Stanford thinks so. They’ve published a paper warning investors in life sciences startups that a systemic lack of transparency exists in their portfolio companies — creating the possibility for more multi-billion dollar implosions and […]
View More Lack of transparency in healthcare startups risks another Theranos implosionBose hearing aid gets FDA approval
For the 37.5 million adults who have trouble hearing without a hearing aid, Bose has a new product for you. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved audio technology company Bose to market a new hearing aid device. Dubbed the Bose Hearing Aid, it’s designed to let people with audio impairments fit, program and control the […]
View More Bose hearing aid gets FDA approvalThe FDA OK’d an app as a form of birth control
Don’t want to get pregnant? There’s a Food and Drug Administration approved app for that. The FDA has just given the go ahead for Swedish app Natural Cycles to market itself as a form of birth control in the U.S. Natural Cycles was already in use as a way to prevent pregnancy in certain European […]
View More The FDA OK’d an app as a form of birth control