COVID-19

A Peloton Tread+ device
By  Dave Muoio 03:06 pm March 24, 2021
Peloton's acquisition spree. Bloomberg reports three smaller acquisitions by connected fitness company Peloton Interactive over the past several months. These include AI voice assistant company Aiqudo in February, as well as fitness smartwatch maker Atlas Wearables and interactive workout mat Otari in the final quarter of last year. Peloton told the publication that the three deals had closed and...
By  Dave Muoio 03:07 pm March 17, 2021
AI isn't ready for COVID-19 prime time. A systematic review of published this week in nature machine intelligence warns that new models using machine learning to review chest radiographs and chest computed tomographies for COVID-19 have major methodical deficiencies or underlying biases. Among the 62 published or pre-print papers outlining these approaches, the authors wrote that not a single one...
By  Sara Mageit 06:58 am March 17, 2021
A service allowing national apps to talk to each other has been set up by the European Commission, allowing users to receive a warning if they were in contact with someone who has indicated that they have tested positive for COVID-19.  Adopted by the majority of the Member States, the service works according to a “decentralised” system where the calculations happen in the user’s app. In...
covid-19, breath test, dha
By  Rachel McArthur 06:54 am March 16, 2021
A rapid breath test that is reportedly capable of detecting COVID-19 within 60 seconds is currently being trialled in Dubai. Developed by Breathonix, a company associated with the National University of Singapore (NUS), the breath test is being assessed for accuracy by the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) and Dubai Health Authority (DHA). A total of 2,500...
mental health, HelloSelf
By  Sara Mageit 05:46 am March 16, 2021
London-based brain tech startup for digital therapy services, HelloSelf has raised a £5.5 million Series A funding round from VC firm OMERS Ventures. Harry Briggs, OMERS Ventures Managing Partner will join the board. WHY IT MATTERS In the UK, around 15 million people experience mental health issues each year. The Centre for Mental Health estimates up to 10 million people will need either new or...
COVID-19, vaccine
By  Sophie Porter 02:49 am March 16, 2021
Recently-formed Rokote Laboratories Finland is developing an intranasal vaccine against COVID-19 utilising specialised gene transfer technology. The company, which has emerged from University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and University of Helsinki (UHEL), is currently seeking investment to support the further development and marketisation of the vaccine, with human trials hoped to take place within...
Facebook COVID-19
By  Laura Lovett 11:38 am March 15, 2021
Facebook is the next tech giant to join the vaccine search and booking game. This morning Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company is connecting to a new COVID-19 vaccination tool that helps users find where they can get vaccinated and opening times. The data is powered by VaccineFinder, a tool created by Boston Children's Hospital with CDC support, which also gives users links to...
COVID-19, Oxford University Hospitals
By  Sara Mageit 08:18 am March 15, 2021
The Israeli blood diagnostics company, Sight Diagnostics behind delivering lab-grade full blood count (FBC) results to emergency departments, has deployed Sight OLO at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS FT. The deployment allows FBC testing for patients attending the emergency departments in the UK and is supporting the validation of an AI triage system for COVID-19....
Vaccination programme, COVID-19, coronavirus
By  Sara Mageit 09:36 am March 8, 2021
In a Cell study, an experimental intranasal vaccine created by scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine has shown to bring about an immune response in the mucosa which prevents COVID-19 infection. Researchers have since developed an intranasal biotechnology spray which makes it difficult for the virus to attach to human cells, and when used daily it is able to block transmission...
By  Dave Muoio 04:36 pm March 5, 2021
The FDA has issued its first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test that does not require a prescription and can be used at home. Developed by Cue Health, the Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over the Counter Use was first authorized for point-of-care use last June. It uses a nasal swab sample collected from the lower nose to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and...