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Radiology is still skeptical of AI
In the past year, venture capitalists have continued to invest significantly in startups developing AI for medical image analysis and support, with some groups projecting a $30 billion market by 2031. But AI products are still a hard sell for many radiology practices — even those at the forefront of testing new technologies, Katie reports. ‘If I had to pitch an AI model I would want to adopt, I would focus less on things that improve incremental efficiency,’ said Hari Trivedi, co-director of the Health Innovation and Translational Informatics lab at Emory University. To decision-makers at hospitals, that might mean passing over image detection software and investing in natural language processing and other tools that can streamline workflows or take tasks off the plates of physicians. Read more.
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Elizabeth Holmes on defense
Prosecutors on Tuesday attempted to poke holes in Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ contention that she was not to blame for deficiencies in Theranos’ blood tests and the allegedly fraudulent financial projections given to investors, The Verge reports. In the cross-examination, prosecutors got Holmes to admit that even after lawyers had warned about language on Theranos’ website suggesting its tech was better than the standard, she used the superlatives in pitch decks to investors anyway. And Holmes admitted that she doctored reports for drug companies before sending them to Walgreens, which invested in Theranos.
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Ultimately, for all her attempts to pass responsibility, prosecutors got Holmes to admit that — as the person with a controlling stake in the company and the power to fire everyone, including her former boyfriend, COO Sunny Balwani — she was responsible for the operations at Theranos. The cross-examination is scheduled to continue Tuesday.
Patients’ pocketbooks and telemedicine
A majority of patients still prefer in-person medical visits over virtual visits, a new survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults published in JAMA Network Open.Two-thirds of those surveyed said they want a hybrid model for future health care, with some combination of video and in-person appointments.The researchers asked people who said they preferred in-person care whether their choices might change if an in-person appointment cost $30 out of pocket, compared to a $10 video visit. Half said they’d opt for the pricier visit to see a provider in real life — a finding that raises more questions for telehealth providers forecasting their future after the pandemic boom.
It’s that time of year again
DELOITTE
It’s December, which means that industry observers of all kinds are trotting out their year-end round ups and predictions for the year ahead. The chart above comes from Deloitte, which predicts that total sales of wearable devices will increase to 320 million in 2022 and 440 million by 2024, ‘as new offerings hit the market and more health care providers become comfortable with using them.’ The biggest segment here will continue to be consumer wearables — Fitbits and Apple Watches — but Deloitte expects the medical side of the market to pick up speed. (Watch this space for our roundups and predictions in the weeks ahead.)
A fresh round of FDA greenlights
This week, two companies announced they had received FDA clearance for their health tech products. PrecisionOS received 510(K) approval for its software that – when paired with a virtual reality headset – can be used by surgeons to plan out procedures on immersive images of patients. The FDA also cleared Regulora, a prescription digital therapeutic developed by metaMe Health. The app delivers a 12-week course of Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy to treat pain in adults with irritable bowel syndrome.
A deal for everyone
Digital pharmacy solutions business Truepill announced it would launch a dedicated Covid-19 virtual care platform that will allow its customers to offer white label services to deliver consultations and next-day delivery of antiviral medications once authorized.
announced it would launch a dedicated Covid-19 virtual care platform that will allow its customers to offer white label services to deliver consultations and next-day delivery of antiviral medications once authorized. Zoom launched a beta test of a new integration with Cerner ‘s EHR. The video conferencing company previously had a similar integration with Epic ‘s medical record.
launched a beta test of a new integration with ‘s EHR. The video conferencing company previously had a similar integration with ‘s medical record. SafelyYou , which uses AI and video to detect falls in long-term care facilities for seniors, raised a $30 million Series B round led by Omega Healthcare Investors — and Omega Healthcare will prepay $10 million to install SafelyYou across its 944 facilities. SCAN Group also participated in the round.
, which uses AI and video to detect falls in long-term care facilities for seniors, raised a $30 million Series B round led by — and will prepay $10 million to install SafelyYou across its 944 facilities. also participated in the round. The EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute, announced that it has inked a 5-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud. Of note: EMBL hosts the AlphaFold Database of predicted protein structures from Google Cloud’s fellow Alphabet subsidiary DeepMind.
New-ish faces at the top
Caption Health , which uses AI on heart ultrasound diagnostics, added a member to its board of directors: Joseph DeVivo , president of hospitals and health systems at Teladoc Health .
, which uses AI on heart ultrasound diagnostics, added a member to its board of directors: , president of hospitals and health systems at . Kheiron Medical Technologies grew its cancer technologies team with the hire of Ben Glocker , a machine learning and medical imaging researcher.
grew its cancer technologies team with the hire of , a machine learning and medical imaging researcher. Graphite Health, a digital healthcare startup, named a new chief operating officer: Ryan Smith, vice president and chief information officer of Intermountain Healthcare, which was one of the first few health systems to join Graphite Health.
What we’re reading
https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/radiology-artificial-intelligence-telehealth-pricing/?utm_campaign=rss
