Short takes: Teladoc intros hospital bed fall risk detector, Veradigm’s AI scribe, Lucid’s pill-sized esophageal cancer diagnostic, Cortica’s $80M raise for autism treatment, LG NOVA startup winners

November 27, 2024 | by

Turkey bites before Thanksgiving:

Teladoc debuts Virtual Sitter, a hospital bed system for fall detection risk. It uses AI to assess the risk of a patient falling from a hospital bed. The risk is determined by the patient moving within or outside set spatial boundaries (Bounding Box). It can also determine limb movements, whether the patient is sitting up or lying down, and can screen out other people in the room. The AI is coupled with human observation by a nonclinical trained staff monitor who can speak with the affected patient. Virtual Sitter integrates with Teladoc’s TV Pro devices and enables the live monitor to view up to 25% more patients. Falls out of beds are a major cause of hospital injury with over 1 million patients affected and 30% experiencing lasting injuries. TV Pro and Virtual Sitter are in Teladoc’s integrated care unit that has done fairly well in recent quarters. FierceHealthcare, Teladoc release in Yahoo Finance

Veradigm introduces a virtual scribe. The Veradigm Ambient Scribe is designed to ease the burden of EHR documentation. It uses  generative AI from AvodahMed to automatically capture and transcribe real-time patient-provider interactions into structured medical notes. It integrates into the Veradigm EHR. Veradigm release. Meanwhile, the long-drawn-out Veradigm sale has not advanced but betting is that it will be wrapped by year’s end [TTA 13 Nov].

Lucid Diagnostics introduces a diagnostic for detecting esophageal cancer cells without endoscopy. Esophageal cancer is deadly (50% mortality in Stage 1), difficult to detect but is common in those suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Endoscopy for these high-risk patients is highly invasive, requires IV anesthetic, and its complexity is a barrier to detection of pre-cancerous cells, where it is most curable via ablation. The noninvasive EsoGuard biomarker test uses a detection device about the size of an easily swallowed vitamin pill and is attached to a thin catheter. The catheter collects cells in about a minute which are then analyzed for genetic markers associated with esophageal precancer and cancer. It was FDA-cleared in 2019 and is the only test of its type, but awaits coverage by Medicare and commercial insurers. MedCityNews 

Cortica raises $80 million for its childhood autism diagnosis and treatment offering. The raise was a venture round from Morgan Health, a unit of JP Morgan, Nexus NeuroTech, and Autism Impact Fund.  It provides applied behavior analysis, diagnostic testing, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and other services through its 24 centers in eight states and also via virtual counseling in schools and homes. Its purpose is to integrate the often fragmented care autistic and neurodivergent children receive.  The current funding will be used to expand the number of center locations, for value-based contracts with insurers, and to integrate guarantees focused on faster evaluation, diagnosis and treatment, as well as clinical outcomes. Since 2018 it has raised $255 million. MedCity News, FierceHealthcare

And winding it up….

Korean electronics company LG throws its cap into the startup competition business. LG’s NOVA is not salmon or Brazilian music but the North America Innovation Center of LG Electronics. Ten startups presented at LG’s InnoFest in San Francisco, focusing on  life sciences, open innovation, health tech, AI, smart life, and cleantech. The three winners were chosen as the most promising in driving impactful change. 

  • First Place ($15,000): mDETECT Inc. – Developer of highly-sensitive cancer blood tests using DNA sequencing, offering a universal approach to monitoring therapy response and detecting cancer progression. 
  • Second Place ($10,000): Glidance – Independent mobility for people who are blind or have low vision with Glide, the first AI-powered intelligent guide, which enhances confidence, safety, and autonomy. 
  • Innovation for Impact ($10,000): Oncoustics – Transforming low-cost point-of-care ultrasound devices into powerful diagnostic tools for early detection and monitoring of liver diseases using AI. 

The winners’ next step is collaborating in LG NOVA’s Mission for the Future Program which includes marketing, partnerships, and additional resources.  LG release

Short takes 2: Humana’s CEO changeover; Owlet Dream Sock CE Mark, UK approval; TytoCare goes to school; LG enters home health with Primefocus; Samsung $92M buys Sonio (FR); raises by Blackwell in health cybersec, Watershed Health

May 16, 2024 | by

Keeping it short and sweet for the end of the week.

Payer Humana changing out CEOs. The wrap for current CEO Bruce Broussard is coming a little earlier than anticipated, with the planned changeover to Jim Rechtin on 1 July. Mr. Broussard will depart the board of directors but stay on as a ‘strategic advisor’ until 2026, which is a typical arrangement for CEOs usually tied to compensation. Mr. Rechtin’s experience prior to joining Humana as president/COO in January was as Envision Healthcare’s CEO and with OptumCare and DaVita. Last year, Humana and Cigna failed to merge after shareholders disapproved and the evident conflict in PBMs [TTA 13 Dec 23]. 2024 earnings were revised downwards in April due to ongoing losses in Medicare Advantage plans. Release, FierceHealthcare

Owlet’s Dream Sock now has EU CE Mark, UK medical device approvals. The European medical device clearance by the EU notified body was announced on 2 May, with the UK certification following on 14 May. As certified for the EU and UK, the Dream Sock is intended for use with healthy infants between 0-18 months and 2.5-13.6 kg. The Dream Sock measures oxygen saturation and pulse rate which are reported on a smartphone app and on a base station to provide baby sleep insights. In the US, it was FDA cleared under de novo last November. It is sold without prescription through retailers and directly through Owlet. Owlet plans to debut it in Germany, France, and the UK later this year. CE Mark, UK releases. Mobihealthnews

TytoCare expands a logical market–school RPM. Their school health initiative that started before the pandemic has added or expanded in five healthcare systems. This brings primary and urgent care services to over 2,500 schools in 31 states. Three of the five systems are Cone Health (North Carolina), Sentara Health (Virginia), and A Plus Family HealthCare (Kentucky). TytoCare works with school nurses and adminstrators for remote diagnostics, not only for children presenting with illness but also for monitoring children with chronic conditions. Blog, Mobihealthnews

LG NOVA launches Primefocus Health in North America. LG, well known for monitors and TVs in healthcare settings, is introducing a “provider-focused, patient-centric healthcare platform” to connect patients in home care with their providers. It will use “innovative non-invasive technology for tracking patient progress for multiple medical conditions, which can be integrated with the provider’s electronic health record system, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for ease of use.” No demos or further specifics are provided.  LG NOVA is LG Electronics North America Innovation Center and demonstrates an interest in additional healthcare expansion. Release, Mobihealthnews

LG’s rival Samsung buying France’s Sonio for $92 million. The fetal AI ultrasound company originally partnered with Samsung Healthcare France in 2021 in order to confirm the efficacy of its AI for pregnancy/prenatal monitoring. It raised a $14 million Series A last year for a US commercial launch of their AI FDA 510(k) cleared Sonio Detect, a machine-agnostic AI assistant software for reporting and imaging. Samsung Medison, the ultrasound division of Samsung, must await French regulatory approvals, including the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance. Release, MedTech Dive

And in latest fundings:

Healthcare focused Blackwell Security now has a $13 million Series A, led by co-creators General Catalyst and Rally Ventures. The funding will expand their Managed Healthcare Extended Detection and Response (MHXDR) offering. They are also acquiring their first CEO, Geyer Jones, from cybersecurity/IoT companies Cylera and RSA.  Release, Mobihealthnews

New Orleans-headquartered Watershed Health completed a $13.6 million venture round funding. This was led by First Trust Capital Partners with participation from FCA Venture Partners, Create Health Ventures, Impact Engine, 450 Ventures, LDH Ventures II/Launchpad Digital Health, and others that adds to a 2022 $9.8 million venture round. The new funding will be to expand their SaaS platform plus grow the engineering, development, customer success and sales teams. Watershed is a care coordination platform with a community focus that connects clinical and non-clinical providers such as SDOH resources. Release