Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

Lunit is expanding its deployment of an AI imaging solution to South Korean military facilities and troops overseas. This comes following the successful pilot deployment of Lunit INSIGHT CXR, its AI-powered chest x-ray analysis software, last year in the army, navy, and air force medical institutions, including the Armed Forces Medical Command and the Armed Forces Capital Hospital. The company has been supplying its chest x-ray analysis solution to military-run medical facilities as part of the AI Convergence project of the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency. WHY IT MATTERS In the fourth year of its participation in the project, Lunit is helping further improve access to diagnostic and treatment services in remote areas where military troops are stationed, such as navy ships. Particularly, it plans to develop a customised AI solution that will be linked with portable x-ray imaging equipment to greatly increase care accessibility. THE LARGER TREND Lunit has been participating in the South Korean government's AI Convergence project since 2020 through its consortium with biotech company Basgen Bio. Aside from military facilities, Lunit INSIGHT CXR has also been deployed globally over the past few months. Lunit recently secured partnerships with the Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital in Brazil and with Radlink in Singapore to enhance their chest x-ray analysis capabilities using AI. Early this year, Lunit disclosed its plan to open a wholly-owned subsidiary in Europe to assist with its sales and network expansion.

Dozee scores 510(k) for AI contactless sensor for RPM Indian medical device company Dozee has received the United States Food and Drug Administration's 510(k) clearance for its proprietary contactless sensor for remote patient monitoring. The Dozee sensor sheet, which is placed under a hospital bed mattress, captures micro-vibrations from patients using Ballistocardiography. These vibrations are then converted into vital signs data, including heart and respiration rates, which are presented via a cloud-based remote monitoring dashboard to healthcare teams. According to Dozee, this latest regulatory win allows it to realise its mission of bridging the gap in healthcare staffing shortage by promoting the adoption of automated patient monitoring systems across secondary and tertiary public hospitals in India and beyond. SURGLASSES gets 510(k) for AR spinal navigation system Taiwan Main Orthopaedic Biotechnology Co., also known as SURGLASSES, has also obtained a US FDA 510(k) clearance for its AR-based spine navigation system, Caduceus S. Intended for use in complex spine surgeries, the AR system allows surgeons to superimpose 3D spinal anatomy on a patient. The system is also equipped with multiple trackers and displays preoperative planned trajectories via a 3D AR head-mounted display, which enables projections from the navigation system into the HMD and provides a full field view of the patient. This latest 510(k) clearance, which followed Taiwan FDA's approval in August, allows SURGLASSES to launch its spinal navigation system in the US in the first quarter of 2023. Lunit secures AI contracts in Hong Kong, Mongolia, Brazil South Korean medical AI company Lunit signed several contracts this week to deliver its Lunit INSIGHT AI imaging solutions in multiple markets. Its chest x-ray solution INSIGHT CXR will be deployed at Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital in Brazil, one of the largest hospitals in Latin America. Lunit INSIGHT MMG, its AI mammography solution, will also be dispatched to Hong Kong Women's Imaging Hospital in Hong Kong and to two more sites in Mongolia, the National Cancer Center of Mongolia and the Breast Clinic of Ulaanbaatar. AI brain imaging solution Neurophet Aqua enters Japan Another South Korean medical AI player, Neurophet, has entered into a partnership to commercialise its AI-powered brain imaging solution in Japan. The company inked an exclusive distribution deal with Clairvo Technologies, a medical device importer under the Marubeni Group, to market its flagship product Neurophet Aqua. The product is a degenerative neurological disease diagnosis support software that detects brain atrophy and degeneration of the white matter as observed in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. It can generate an analysis report within five minutes, Neurophet claims. Ubitus carries Smart Surgery's VR surgery simulation app Taipei-based metaverse solution provider Ubitus is rolling out a VR-driven surgery simulation application by Smart Surgery Technology. Aiming to make the surgical practice accessible to medical students and doctors, the Sim Surgery app provides a visual experience of operating on 3D organ models using personal VR. It also uses AI to help practitioners make accurate judgments in conducting surgery. Running on Ubitus, Smart Surgery can stream high-quality 3D anatomical models to an all-in-one VR headset without the need for a high computing power device onsite. FWD Group offers mental health access from ThoughtFull Singaporean startup ThoughtFull has tied up with FWD Group to provide insurance customers with access to digital mental health solutions. This partnership will allow FWD's insurance clients to access a wide range of services and tools on ThoughtFull's AI-powered mobile platform ThoughtFullChat, including video therapy, one-on-one therapy sessions, mental health coaching via text and audio messaging, science-backed content and emotional health trackers. These services are part of FWD's Mind Strength protection product, which provides extensive medical coverage from initial diagnosis to ongoing treatment. Access to ThoughtFullChat is now live for FWD clients in Hong Kong and Thailand with other selected FWD markets to follow in the future. XtalPi, Singapore's EDDC collab for AI drug research on NSCLC treatment China and US-based AI drug R&D company XtalPi is partnering with Singapore's national platform for drug discovery and development, Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC). XtalPi will be applying its AI technology, automation platform, and expert knowledge to discover novel treatment candidates against a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) target chosen by EDDC. NSCLC accounts for over 80% of all lung cancer cases worldwide. Despite increasing interest and investment in drug research, there are still major unmet needs for effective targeted therapy options for NSCLC patients to achieve better outcomes, XtalPi noted. SmartFuture unveils integrated first responder platform Singapore-based health tech company SmartFuture has launched a new integrated rapid response solution. According to a press statement, the First Responder Platform enables real-time monitoring of health vitals, doctor consultation, and timely action during emergency situations. It consists of a kit for connected medical devices, a tablet-based first responder application, and a web portal for partner emergency assistance providers. SmartFuture said its latest offering is ideal for offshore locations, such as oil and gas, shipping, airlines and mining; emergency response services like fire fighting, ambulance, and disaster response; and educational institutions for their field trips.

In addition to its ultra-effective mRNA vaccine, Pfizer believes it could have another weapon to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The company reported on Wednesday that its rheumatoid arthritis blockbuster Xeljanz significantly lowered the incidence of death or respiratory failure in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 pneumonia in Brazil. “To effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a critical need for multiple therapeutic options to treat patients who have contracted the virus,” Tamas Koncz, CMO of Pfizer Inflammation & Immunology, said in a statement. The trial — conducted in collaboration with the Academic Research Organization (ARO) from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo, Brazil — enrolled 289 hospitalized adults who were not on ventilation. Most of the patients (89.3%) also used glucocorticoids during hospitalization, predominantly dexamethasone. Patients in the treatment arm received two 10 mg doses a day, for up to 14 days or until hospital discharge. At Day 28, death or respiratory failure occurred in 18.1% of Xeljanz patients, compared to 29% in the placebo group (p=0.04). Death from any cause through day 28 was 2.8% in the Xeljanz group and 5.5% in the placebo group. As for safety, serious adverse events occurred in 20 patients (14.1%) in the Xeljanz group and 17 patients (12%) in the placebo group. “We look forward to our continued collaboration as we analyze the full dataset from this study and assess next steps,” Koncz said. US halts distribution of Eli Lilly’s mAb combo to Rhode Island due to variants The US government is adding Rhode Island to the list of states that will no longer receive Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 monoclonal antibody combo treatment due to an elevated frequency of concerning variants. Combined frequencies of the Gamma (or P.1) variant first identified in Brazil and the Beta (B.1.351) variant first identified in South Africa now exceed 10% in Rhode Island and are trending upward, according to the CDC. And results from in vitro assays, using “pseudo-virus particles,” suggest that Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab and etesevimab combination isn’t active against either variant. As a result, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR) is pausing the distribution of bamlanivimab and etesevimab — and etesevimab alone, to pair with an existing supply of bamlanivimab at one facility — to Rhode Island “until further notice.” The government has already slammed the brakes on distribution to Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, where the frequency of the Gamma and Beta variants has also surpassed 10%. Back in March, the US government and Eli Lilly agreed to halt all distribution of bamlanivimab alone due to the “sustained increase” of coronavirus variants countrywide. However, all treatment delivery sites were still able to order Lilly’s combo treatment, or Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, the ASPR and FDA said. Going forth, the ASPR said healthcare providers in the previously mentioned states should rely on Regeneron’s REGEN-COV and GlaxoSmithKline’s sotrovimab, which are “likely to retain activity” against the Gamma and Beta variants. “ASPR and FDA will continue to work with the CDC and the National Institutes of Health on surveillance of variants that may impact the use of the monoclonal antibody therapies authorized for emergency use,” the ASPR said in an announcement. Hundreds of health workers who received Sinovac’s vaccine are infected with Covid-19 — report Despite receiving Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine, more than 350 medical workers in Indonesia have been infected with the virus, according to Reuters. The shot — which was just effective enough to meet regulatory standards — was given the World Health Organization’s OK for emergency use earlier this month. It’s also the first Chinese Covid-19 vaccine to be considered by the European Medicines Agency, which kicked off a rolling review of the inactivated vaccine back in May. Badai Ismoyo, head of the health office in Kudus, said most of the workers are asymptomatic, but dozens have been hospitalized, according to Reuters. And across the whole country, at least six health workers have died from Covid-19 after receiving the vaccine (one of them had only received a first shot). The outbreak is believed to be caused by the Delta variant, first identified in India, Reuters reported. Upon filing for conditional market authorization with China’s National Medical Products Administration back in February, Sinovac said that trial results from Brazil and Turkey suggested the shot prevented 50.65% of all Covid-19 cases, 83.70% of cases requiring medical treatment, and 100% of hospitalizations, and severe or fatal cases 14 days after the second dose was administered. Australia pushes age limit for AstraZeneca’s vaccine to 60 Months after limiting the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to people over 50 years old, Australia is now pushing the age limit to 60, Reuters reported. The move follows the deaths of two people who had received the vaccine, Australia’s Minister for Health Greg Hunt told Reuters. Sixty cases of blood clots have been linked to the vaccine, out of 3.3 million doses administered in the country, he said. “This updated advice received today is based on new evidence demonstrating a higher risk for the very rare (thrombocytopenia syndrome) condition in the 50-59 year-old age group,” Hunt said, per Reuters. It marks the latest restriction around AstraZeneca’s shot following a series of safety concerns. After conducting an in-depth review of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and splanchnic vein thrombosis cases back in April, the EMA concluded that very rare but sometimes fatal blood clots should be listed as a side effect for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine. However, a number of countries have moved to restrict the vaccine’s use to people under a certain age. Germany said back in March that it would stop using the vaccine in people under 60 years old, and in April the Philippines followed suit. That same week, the French health regulator Haute Autorité de Santé said patients under 55 who had received the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine should get their second dose from one of Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna’s mRNA-based shots. Officials recommended a 12-week interval between each dose. In May, the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation called to restrict the use of the vaccine to only those who are over 40 years old. For a look at all Endpoints News coronavirus stories, check out our special news channel.