Phonak AI-Powered Hearing Aids Recognized with 2026 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards
Phonak’s Virto R Infinio and Infinio Ultra Sphere hearing aids have won the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards in the health category, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. The devices use AI to dynamically adjust settings and directly process sound with a deep neural network, improving speech clarity and reducing background noise in real‑world environments. The recognition arrives as Sonova, Phonak’s parent company, reported FY24/25 sales of roughly $4.3 billion and net profit of about $600 million, underscoring the commercial relevance of AI‑enhanced hearing solutions. The awards signal a broader industry shift toward intelligent, user‑centric audio health technologies.
VR Simulation Boosts Nurses' Skills in Handling Aggressive Patients
Edith Cowan University researchers have piloted a 20‑minute virtual reality de‑escalation program, I‑VADE, with 221 nursing students, finding a statistically significant boost in confidence for managing aggressive patients. The immersive training emphasizes communication, situational awareness, and decision‑making, and captures interaction...
China Approves World’s First Implantable BCI
China's National Medical Products Administration has granted approval for the world's first commercially available implantable brain‑computer interface (BCI). Developed by Shanghai's Borui Kang Medical Technology, the system uses implanted electrodes to translate neural signals into commands for an assistive glove,...
AI to Power Singapore's Next-Gen Cancer Profiling Test
Singapore’s National Cancer Centre (NCCS) has launched a S$6 million (≈US$4.7 million) three‑year collaboration with precision‑oncology firm Lucence and A*STAR’s Diagnostics Development Hub to create UNITED 2.0, an AI‑powered cancer profiling test. The platform will combine whole‑exome and whole‑transcriptome sequencing, delivering a comprehensive...
AI Shifts Non-Communicable Disease Risk Prediction Beyond Genetics
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have created CardiOmicScore, an AI-driven tool that integrates genomics, proteomics and metabolomics to predict cardiovascular disease risk. Using UK Biobank data, the model achieved C‑index values of 0.69‑0.82, markedly higher than traditional polygenic...
New Zealand Begins Genomics Testing Pilot and More Briefs
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand launched a two‑year genomics testing pilot with Illumina, targeting over 6,000 cancer and rare‑disease samples. The initiative seeks to localise roughly half of the 4,000 tests currently sent abroad, cutting the current $2.3 million annual overseas...
These Medical X-Rays Are All Deepfakes — and They Fool Even Radiologists
A new study in Radiology reveals that radiologists often cannot distinguish AI‑generated X‑ray images from authentic scans, with only 41% initially suspecting synthetic data. After being informed about the presence of deepfakes, participants correctly identified real versus fake images 75%...
Why Pure DTC Doesn’t Work in Healthcare, Per Muse Capital
Muse Capital partner Rachel Springate argues that pure direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) models rarely succeed in healthcare because they ignore insurance and system constraints. She highlights a hybrid approach where startups first attract consumers, prove outcomes, then integrate with payers and health...
UCSF and Biohub Scientists Develop New Material to Grow More Consistent Lab Organs
Scientists at UCSF and the Biohub have engineered a seaweed‑derived alginate‑Matrigel composite that behaves like wet sand, enabling precise 3D bioprinting of stem cells. The material’s stress‑relaxation properties allow printed cells to stay positioned while the tissue self‑organizes, producing organoids...
MRI-Guided Ablation as Effective as Surgery for Prostate Cancer Treatment
MRI‑guided TULSA ablation matches or exceeds robotic radical prostatectomy for intermediate‑risk prostate cancer. In the CAPTAIN trial of 211 patients, TULSA halved rates of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, eliminated blood loss, and shortened hospital stays. Functional recovery was faster,...
Arizona Moves to Implement Rural Health Transformation Program as Funding Targets Workforce, Telehealth Expansion
Arizona is moving from planning to implementation of its Rural Health Transformation Program, securing roughly $167 million in federal funds. The state’s plan emphasizes workforce development, telehealth expansion, and infrastructure upgrades to address clinician shortages in its 11 % rural population. Arizona...
AI Governance, Veteran Care Among Panel Subjects at HIMSS26
At HIMSS26, a dedicated panel examined AI governance alongside the Department of Veterans Affairs’ initiatives to embed artificial intelligence in veteran care. Speakers highlighted how AI tools can streamline clinician workflows, personalize patient interactions, and accelerate decision‑making. The discussion also...
HHS Finalizes HIPAA Transaction Standard for Health Care Attachments
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule on March 20 establishing a uniform electronic format for health‑care claim attachments under HIPAA, along with mandatory electronic signature requirements. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services projects the...
Study Makes Promising Advances in Accurately Diagnosing Sepsis
Doctors at Liverpool and Cardiff University, together with 20 NHS hospitals, completed a large randomized trial of a rapid procalcitonin‑guided algorithm for suspected sepsis. The study of 7,667 emergency patients showed a 17% relative drop in mortality—from 16.6% to 13.6%—equating...
New Tongue-Swab TB Test Could Help Eradicate The Disease, WHO Says
The World Health Organization has endorsed a new near‑point‑of‑care molecular test that uses a simple tongue swab to detect tuberculosis in under an hour. Developed by PlusLife on its MiniDock platform, the device costs up to 90% less than GeneXpert...
17 Spine Surgery Firsts in Q1
During the first quarter, leading spine surgeons performed a series of first‑in‑human procedures, showcasing new devices and techniques ranging from a standalone ALIF system to augmented‑reality‑guided resections. Notable milestones included Curiteva’s Inspire ALIF, Dymicron’s Triadyme‑C cervical disc, icotec’s CMORE CT...
Training the Future of AI-Powered Surgery
The integration of artificial intelligence, extended reality (XR) and immersive simulation is redefining how surgeons learn to operate advanced robotic systems. FundamentalXR’s CEO Richard Vincent explains that data‑driven, scalable simulations combined with precise haptic feedback can replicate real‑world procedures in...
How Health Care Workers Use Medical Manikins
Medical schools and hospitals are increasingly relying on high‑fidelity simulators—lifelike manikins that can bleed, cry, sweat, and even speak—to train nurses and physicians. These devices, such as the pregnant model "MamaAnne," allow students to practice complex, fast‑changing scenarios without endangering...
When Doctors Prescribe Horoscopes: The Trouble With Biological Age Tests
Consumer epigenetic "biological age" tests promise a single number that reflects a person’s true health trajectory, but they actually measure DNA methylation patterns correlated with chronological age. Research‑grade clocks can predict mortality risk, yet the kits sold to patients lack...
Carda Health Appoints Chief Medical Officer Peter Antall to Lead Clinical Expansion
Carda Health announced the appointment of Dr. Peter Antall as chief medical officer to lead its expanding clinical team of more than 120 professionals. Antall, a veteran of Amwell and Brightline, will drive the scaling of Carda’s virtual cardiopulmonary rehabilitation...
Conn. Lawmakers Push for EMS Response Time Transparency
Connecticut lawmakers are advancing SB 238, which would require the Department of Public Health to build an online dashboard that publicly displays EMS response times broken down by geography, call type, and time of day. Current EMS data is two years...
AI Doctor Startup Doctronic Garners $40M
Doctronic, a New York‑based AI doctor startup, announced a $40 million Series B round, bringing its total capital raised to $65 million. The funding, co‑led by Abstract and Lightspeed Venture Partners, will fuel expansion into pediatrics and deepen partnerships with academic institutions, payers,...
Imaging Interoperability Offers a Lifeline to Rural Hospitals and the Patients Depending on Them
Rural hospitals, already strained by shrinking Medicaid enrollment and decades of closures, now face an acute threat: 315 facilities are at immediate risk of shutting down and another 450 are in serious jeopardy. A core driver of this crisis is...
GE HealthCare Secures FDA 510(k) Clearance for Photonova Spectra Photon-Counting CT
GE HealthCare obtained FDA 510(k) clearance for Photonova Spectra, its photon‑counting CT system. The scanner uses Deep Silicon detectors with 8‑bin energy resolution, delivering simultaneous spectral and high‑definition images in a 0.23‑second rotation. NVIDIA GPU‑accelerated reconstruction handles the 50‑fold data...
Digital Health: Gamifying Recovery with MLB The Show 26
MLB The Show 26, Sony’s flagship baseball simulation, is being repurposed as a digital‑health tool to gamify physical and cognitive rehabilitation. By embedding reward systems, progress tracking, and multiplayer interaction, the game transforms repetitive therapy into an engaging experience. Therapists...
Choosing Alert Types For Quiet Rooms Vs High-Traffic Wards
Patient monitoring systems must align alert methods with room dynamics. In quiet patient rooms, discreet solutions such as pressure‑sensitive pads, low‑volume local alarms, pager alerts, and nurse‑call integration minimize disturbance while still notifying staff. High‑traffic wards require louder audible alarms,...
EHR Giants Have Entered the AI Arena. What Does It Mean for Startups?
Legacy EHR giants such as Epic and athenahealth have begun embedding AI-native features—including real‑time charting and automated scribing—into their platforms, turning AI from a niche add‑on into a core capability. This shift challenges health‑AI startups that previously dominated the space,...
Samsung Medison to Unify Two U.S. Imaging Businesses as Samsung HME America
Samsung Medison announced that its two U.S. imaging units, Neurologica and Boston Imaging, will merge under the new corporate identity Samsung HME America. The consolidation brings together ultrasound, digital radiography and CT operations into a single, globally‑branded organization. Samsung says...
United Health Services: Talkspace Acquisition Shows The New Normal For Hybrid Healthcare
United Health Services completed the acquisition of virtual behavioral health platform Talkspace at $5.25 per share, valuing the company at roughly $835 million enterprise value. The purchase brings about 6,000 licensed clinicians into UHS’s network, directly addressing chronic staffing shortages and...
PromptWell and Ellipsis Health Partner to Transform AI Patient Engagement
PromptWell and Ellipsis Health have announced a partnership that merges PromptWell’s AI‑driven timing engine with Ellipsis Health’s emotionally intelligent voice agent, Sage. The combined platform predicts the exact moment a patient is most likely to answer and then engages them...
Predicting Severe Diabetes Complications Using Administrative Claims Data in Maryland
A Maryland‑wide predictive model using Medicare fee‑for‑service claims and publicly available social‑determinant data generated risk scores for 346,614 beneficiaries, released on June 7 2024. The model retained 95 statistically significant factors out of 219 candidates and produced a mean score of 0.0124,...
Publicis Health and Talkspace Partner to Improve Treatment Adherence and Real-World Outcomes
Publicis Health announced a strategic partnership with Talkspace to embed Wisdo Health’s AI‑driven peer‑support platform into life‑sciences patient engagement programs. The collaboration adds personalized community groups and guided coaching to address social health gaps that drive medication non‑adherence. By detecting...
Liqcreate Launches Dental Resin Designed to Eliminate Separating Agents in Orthodontic and Prosthetic Acrylic Workflows
Netherlands‑based Liqcreate has launched Separation Model, a dental photopolymer that embeds a non‑adhesive agent, removing the need for separate separating media in acrylic orthodontic and prosthetic workflows. The resin is compatible with most DLP, MSLA and laser 3‑D printers operating...
Photon-Counting CT Better than Conventional CT in Lung Cancer
A prospective study of 200 adults compared low‑dose photon‑counting CT (PCCT) with conventional energy‑integrating detector CT for lung cancer imaging. PCCT reduced effective radiation dose by 66% (1.36 mSv vs. 4.04 mSv) and iodine load by 27%, while adverse reactions fell to...
The Future of Community-Based Healthcare Models
Community‑based healthcare is evolving from a peripheral add‑on to a primary delivery model, driven by decentralization, digital platforms, and value‑based economics. The approach embeds local clinics, health workers, and digital ecosystems to provide continuous, location‑specific care. Membership structures and managed...
Monitor Your Glucose Levels With Expert-Recommended Continuous Glucose Monitors
Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have shifted diabetes care from finger‑stick tests to real‑time, app‑connected monitoring. The latest Dexcom G7, launched after the article’s original date, features a smaller sensor and enhanced alert system, while a range of OTC options such...
Meet the CIO | HealthBridge CTO Anton Fatti on the Future of Digital Health
HealthBridge CTO Anton Fatti says AI and cloud computing are reshaping healthcare administration while keeping the doctor‑patient relationship central. He notes that AI already automates paperwork, allowing clinicians more face‑time with patients. Fatti, who joined in February 2025, highlighted HealthBridge’s...
Mobile App Development in Telehealth Matters Now More Than Ever
Telehealth has evolved from a supplemental channel into the primary interface for care delivery, driven by mature infrastructure and patient expectations. Mobile app development—especially Android due to its worldwide device penetration—has become the core conduit for patient access, provider coordination,...
AbbaDox AI Helps Imaging Centers Save Thousands of Staff Hours
AbbaDox introduced operational AI across its CareFlow platform, automating order intake, patient scheduling, and follow‑up coordination for outpatient imaging centers. Its FaxAI module classifies and extracts data from faxed physician orders, processing them 6.6 times faster than manual methods while...
This Serial Entrepreneur Wants The FDA To Approve His AI Doctor
Serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky is launching Certuma, a startup aiming to create the first FDA‑approved AI doctor. The company raised $10 million in seed funding at a $60 million valuation and is targeting 25 low‑risk conditions such as UTIs and sore throats....
PointClickCare Launches Next-Gen EHR for Practice Groups
PointClickCare unveiled a next‑generation electronic health record tailored for practice groups, tightly integrated with its flagship post‑acute care platform used by over 30,000 organizations. The solution embeds AI‑driven Ambient Scribe and clinical risk insights directly into physician workflows, promising measurable...
“Mid-Life Health Crisis” Hits Millennials and Gen-Xers as Private Scans Soar
Britain’s mid‑life adults (30‑59) now account for 56% of all private diagnostic scans, a six‑fold increase since 2022, driven largely by chronic pain and preventive health concerns. With NHS waiting lists exceeding two million and delays over six weeks, private...
A Dynamic Yolk–Shell P–N Heterojunction With Coupled Shear Stress‐Triggered Tribo‐/Piezoelectric Effect for Catalytic Thrombolysis
Researchers introduced a yolk–shell BFO@tBT‑C nanoparticle that exploits shear stress at clot sites to trigger coupled tribo‑ and piezoelectric effects, generating reactive oxygen species for thrombolysis. The dynamic p–n heterojunction yields potentials 3.6‑ and 2.1‑fold higher than isolated triboelectric or...
Reinforced Biotubes: Readily Available Regenerative Vascular Grafts
Researchers Cheng, Zhi and Midgley have unveiled reinforced biotubes—bioengineered vascular grafts that combine living cells with nanofibrous reinforcement—to address durability and availability limits of current grafts. The tubes are fabricated in bioreactors, seeded with smooth‑muscle and endothelial progenitor cells, and...
Chinese Surgery Robot Outperforms Humans, Cuts Brain Imaging Time by 29%
Chinese researchers unveiled the YDHB‑NS01 cerebrovascular intervention robot, which cuts brain angiography time by roughly 29%, shaving nine minutes off a standard 38‑minute procedure. In a head‑to‑head trial at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the robot matched manual methods with...