Able Innovations Deploys ALTA Robotic Patient Delivery Platform in the U.S.
Able Innovations, a Canadian medical robotics firm, has partnered with Lahey Hospital & Medical Center to launch its ALTA robotic patient‑handling platform in the United States, marking the first U.S. deployment. The system automates lateral patient transfers, allowing a single caregiver to move patients safely between beds, imaging tables, operating rooms and stretchers. By reducing manual lifting, ALTA aims to lower musculoskeletal injuries, improve patient dignity, and generate operational efficiencies. The company also highlights a potential 90% reduction in greenhouse‑gas emissions compared with disposable transfer aids over a decade.
Diatom-Based Microrobots Show Promise for Targeted Photodynamic Therapy of Glioblastoma
Researchers at China’s Shenyang Institute of Automation have created magnetically controlled microrobots from diatom frustules for glioblastoma photodynamic therapy. The robots retain natural chlorophyll, serving as a built‑in photosensitizer, and can be steered via external magnetic fields to tumor sites....
LLNL-Led Study Uses Machine Learning, Veterans’ Health Records to Identify ALS Drug-Repurposing Candidate
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and partners applied causal‑inference machine learning to electronic health records of more than 11,000 U.S. veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The analysis, published in The Lancet Digital Health, identified 27 existing medications that correlate with longer...
FDA to Unify Agency’s ‘Fragmented’ Safety Surveillance System
The FDA launched the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a unified dashboard that merges seven previously fragmented safety databases into a single platform. Four databases are already live, with the remaining three slated for integration by May, covering drugs, vaccines,...
FDA to Unify Agency’s ‘Fragmented’ Safety Surveillance System
The FDA has launched the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a unified platform that merges seven previously fragmented safety‑surveillance databases. Four of those databases are live today, with the remaining three slated for integration by May 2026. The agency processes...
FDA Clears Intravascular Device Billed as ‘World’s Smallest Camera’ as Physicians Share New Data
Vena Medical secured FDA clearance for its Vena MicroAngioscope System, marketed as the world’s smallest intravascular camera, for peripheral artery imaging. The device provides real‑time color images without X‑ray fluoroscopy by pairing a balloon distal access catheter with a saline...
How AI Is Helping Improve Heart Health in Rural Australia
Google Australia, together with Wesfarmers Health, SISU Health, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Latrobe Health Services, is launching a $1 million AI‑driven program to tackle heart disease in remote communities. The initiative uses Google for Health’s Population Health AI,...
A.I. Chatbots Want Your Health Records. Tread Carefully.
Microsoft unveiled a new Copilot feature that lets users upload health records and wearable data for AI analysis, joining Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic in testing similar health‑focused chatbots. The tools promise high‑level health overviews but raise privacy and accuracy concerns....
Verily Me: A Safe, Private New Space to Check Your Symptoms
Verily has moved its consumer health app, Verily Me, out of beta and into general availability on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The platform is powered by Violet, an AI companion that conducts a guided, multi‑turn intake...
Safety-Net Providers Tackle AI Adoption as Medicaid Cuts Loom
Safety‑net health providers are bracing for massive Medicaid cuts enacted by the recent "Big Beautiful Bill," which will strip billions from state programs and impose strict work‑requirement reporting. At the 2026 HIMSS conference, experts warned that these changes could trigger...
PharmaShots Magazine-March-2026 Edition
AI is reshaping clinical trial oversight by moving from periodic checks to continuous, real‑time intelligence. Advanced analytics and machine learning now power predictive, risk‑based monitoring that aggregates data from decentralized sites, wearables, ePROs and multiple clinical systems. This integration enables...
How Collective Intelligence Could Soon Reshape Medical Decision-Making
Recent advances in collective intelligence and artificial intelligence are enabling large‑scale, data‑driven collaboration among clinicians. Studies show that pooling independent physician judgments can lift diagnostic accuracy from roughly 46% to 76%, and hybrid human‑AI constellations outperform either humans or models...
Campaigners Claim NHS Palantir System Could Be Accessed by Police and Immigration
Campaigners, including Medact and Amnesty International, warn that the NHS's £330 million Palantir Federated Data Platform (FDP) could allow police and immigration officials to access confidential patient records. Palantir denies any legal ability to share data with government departments, stating the...
Innovaccer, Databricks Partner to Operationalize Healthcare AI
Innovaccer announced its Gravity platform has earned Built on Validated Partner status with Databricks, confirming production use of the lakehouse stack. The partnership integrates Delta Lake, Databricks SQL, and Managed MLflow into Gravity’s AI infrastructure, streamlining data transformation and model...
The Prior Auth Panic: WEDI Survey Reveals Providers Are Stalling as the CMS API Deadline Looms
The CMS Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Final Rule requires all health‑care entities to deploy specific prior‑auth APIs by January 1, 2027. A February 2026 WEDI survey shows payers have largely caught up, with only 10% still idle, down from 43% a...
AMA Finds 70 Percent of Physicians See AI as a Burnout-Reduction Tool
The AMA’s 2026 Physician Survey shows AI adoption has more than doubled, with 81% of doctors now using AI tools versus 38% in 2023. Physicians average 2.3 AI use cases, driven by clinical documentation and research summarization. Seventy percent view...
Insulet Reports EVOLUTION 2 Study Results for FCL Automated Insulin Delivery System in Type 2 Diabetes
Insulet presented data from its EVOLUTION 2C feasibility study of a fully closed‑loop (FCL) automated insulin delivery system for adults with type 2 diabetes at ATTD'26. In the 24‑patient trial, the final algorithm raised time‑in‑range (TIR) to an average 68%,...
Olympus Unveils VISERA ELITE III Platform to Improve Surgical Visualisation
Olympus has introduced the VISERA ELITE III surgical imaging platform in the United States, the third joint offering from the Sony‑Olympus Medical partnership. The system combines continuous auto‑focus, true 4K, 3D, narrow‑band and fluorescence (IR/ICG) imaging in a single software‑driven unit that...
A Balloon Electrochemical Sensor for Conformal Interfacing With Intestinal Wall and Real‐Time Monitoring of Serotonin Release
Researchers have created a balloon‑shaped electrochemical sensor using gold nanotubes that expands to conform to the soft curvature of the intestinal lumen. The device is inserted endoluminally, inflates to mimic physiological distension, and records real‑time serotonin (5‑HT) release from the...
North West London and North Central London ICBs Look to Procure £3.8m End-to-End Digital Solution
North West London and North Central London Integrated Care Boards have launched a preliminary market engagement to procure an end‑to‑end digital solution for complex care commissioning, with a budget of up to £3.8 million. The platform will replace outdated systems, improve...
Codoxo’s Deepfake Detection Identifies AI-Generated Medical Records for Health Plans
Codoxo has launched Deepfake Detection, an AI‑driven solution that scans medical documentation, diagnostic images and claim context in seconds to flag synthetic or manipulated records. The tool embeds explainable risk scores into payer fraud‑prevention workflows, enabling health plans to intercept...
Closing the Gap: Why Timely Pediatric ADHD Assessment Is a Digital Health Imperative
ADHD affects roughly 7 million children in the United States—about 11.4% of the 3‑17‑year‑old population—and prevalence has risen by a million since 2016. Nearly 30% of diagnosed children receive no medication or behavioral therapy, and formal assessment remains uneven across geography,...
C2N Diagnostics Partners with BeauBrain Healthcare to Offer PrecivityAD2 Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease in South Korea
C2N Diagnostics has signed a partnership with BeauBrain Healthcare to introduce its PrecivityAD2 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease in South Korea, targeting patients aged 50 and older with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Clinical studies published in JAMA and npj...
Cairn Surgical Reports the FDA De Novo 510(k) Submission for BCL System to Improve Accuracy of Lumpectomy
Cairn Surgical has filed a De Novo 510(k) application with the U.S. FDA for its Breast Cancer Locator (BCL) System, a device designed to improve the accuracy of breast‑conserving surgery. The company completed a pivotal U.S. trial that demonstrated a...
Wiley and OpenEvidence Partner to Integrate Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Into Clinical AI
Wiley is licensing its extensive portfolio of peer‑reviewed medical content to OpenEvidence, the clinical AI platform used by more than 40% of U.S. physicians. The deal brings the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Clinical Answers, and over 400 Wiley...
Dr. Tanvi Jayaraman on Oura Ring’s First Female-Focused LLM and the Future of AI Wellness Chatbots
Oura Health, the Finnish wearable maker behind 5 million rings, has unveiled its first proprietary large language model (LLM) built exclusively for women’s health. The model powers Oura’s in‑app Advisor chatbot, delivering answers drawn from clinically vetted studies rather than generic...
Dementia Telehealth Company Isaac Health Adding Health Systems to Partner Mix
Isaac Health, a telehealth platform for brain health and dementia, announced a partnership with NYU Langone Health, adding a major health‑system channel to its primarily payer‑focused model. The collaboration creates an integrated referral pathway that combines virtual specialty care with...
Carrum, Virta Join Forces on Employer Weight Management Solution
Carrum Health and Virta Health announced a partnership delivering a full‑spectrum weight‑management solution for self‑insured employers. The collaboration links Carrum’s value‑based surgical care with Virta’s virtual nutrition coaching, medication management and GLP‑1 prescribing. It creates a seamless pathway from conservative...
Research Supports the Integral Role of Ultrasound in Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Sonex Health and the Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures published a manuscript in the Journal of Ultrasound Medicine confirming that ultrasound‑guided carpal tunnel release (UGCTR) is as effective as traditional open or endoscopic surgery while offering superior patient comfort...
Experts Develop First-of-Its-Kind Fully Robotic MRI-Compatible System for Neurosurgery
Researchers at Children’s National Hospital have unveiled BrainBot, the first fully MRI‑compatible robotic system designed for neurosurgery. The air‑powered platform delivers millimetric accuracy while allowing surgeons to image and intervene simultaneously inside the scanner. Backed by a $2 million NIH grant,...
FDA Clears New Large-Bore Catheter for Challenging Stroke Cases
Toro Neurovascular has obtained FDA clearance for its Toro 88 Superbore Catheter, a large‑bore device engineered for challenging stroke interventions. The catheter promises enhanced support, trackability, and stability, addressing the time‑sensitive nature of neurovascular procedures. UCLA interventional neuroradiologist Dr. Satoshi Tateshima...
Giovanni Traverso
Giovanni Traverso, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician‑scientist who bridges gastroenterology and engineering as an associate member of the Broad Institute, director of the Laboratory for Translational Engineering, MIT associate professor, and Harvard gastroenterologist. His lab creates ingestible electronics, robotic capsules,...
Safer Large DNA Insertion Moves Genetic Medicine Toward Scalability
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, in partnership with Full Circles Therapeutics, have introduced a circular single‑stranded DNA donor platform called INSTALL that enables kilobase‑scale gene insertion without triggering the cGAS immune sensor. The method combines a short double‑stranded DNA segment...
Simple 'Cocktail' Of Amino Acids Dramatically Boosts Power of mRNA Therapies and CRISPR Gene Editing
Researchers at Biohub identified a three‑amino‑acid cocktail—methionine, arginine and serine—that dramatically improves lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of therapeutic mRNA and CRISPR components. Co‑administering the supplement boosted protein expression up to 20‑fold and raised gene‑editing rates from roughly 25% to nearly...
Re: The Impact of Skin Tone on Performance of Pulse Oximeters Used by NHS England COVID Oximetry @Home Scheme: Measurement...
A recent BMJ letter highlights a study showing pulse oximeters used in NHS England’s COVID Oximetry @home scheme perform less accurately on patients with darker skin tones. The author cites the U.S. FDA’s January 2025 draft guidance, which calls for...
Proton Beam Hope for Asbestos Cancer Patients
UK researchers have launched a proton‑beam trial to treat mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos‑related cancer with no cure. The therapy delivers high‑dose radiation precisely, aiming to lift two‑year survival from roughly 30% to 50%. About 50 patients have been enrolled so...
Endometriosis Study Aims for Safer Diagnosis
A Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust‑led clinical trial is testing a non‑invasive electrode‑based method to diagnose endometriosis, marking the first such study within the NHS. The technique records small‑intestine muscle activity, which researchers claim shows a pattern unique to patients with...
For ₦1,300 a Month, inDrive Drivers in Nigeria Can Now Access Healthcare Services
InDrive Nigeria has teamed up with health‑tech startup Heala to embed affordable medical coverage into its driver app. Eligible Platinum drivers can subscribe to plans starting at ₦1,300 ($1) per month, granting tele‑consultations, prescriptions, pharmacy pick‑up and diagnostic services without...
Maven Clinic Launches Direct-to-Consumer Platform Nationwide Featuring GLP-1 and Hormone Care
Maven Clinic, known for its B2B telehealth services covering 28 million lives, has opened a beta waitlist for a new direct‑to‑consumer platform that will be available to women across the United States. The DTC offering bundles virtual access to more...
Amazon Wants to Be Your First Stop for Health Questions —Here’s What Its New AI Assistant Does
Amazon has launched Health AI, an artificial‑intelligence assistant embedded in its website and mobile app that lets shoppers check symptoms, receive possible causes, and get treatment suggestions. The tool can direct users to telehealth visits or nearby providers, extending Amazon’s...
Digital Health's New Challenge: Empowering Users without Adding Complexity
At the 2026 HIMSS Global Health Conference, leaders highlighted a growing tension in digital health: rapid innovation can add complexity for clinicians and patients. They showcased Mass General Brigham’s AI‑powered ambient documentation, which after a pilot with 800 clinicians showed...
HIMSS Survey: 60% of Health Systems Can’t Protect Unmanaged Medical Devices
A new HIMSS‑Elisity survey reveals that 62% of health systems cannot secure unpatchable or agentless IoMT devices, while 56% struggle with basic inventory visibility. The same respondents cite microsegmentation as the preferred defense, yet 40% fear it will disrupt clinical...
Health IT Leaders Must Stay on Top of AI that Delves Into Clinical Workflows
At HIMSS 2026, Medicomp Systems CEO David Lareau warned that health systems are rapidly embedding generative AI into clinical documentation, coding and decision‑support workflows. While large language models promise efficiency, their probabilistic nature can introduce inaccuracies into patient records, jeopardizing...
The Circuitous Route of Prescriptions Requires Special Attention
At HIMSS 2026, Buzz Health president Joseph Kleiman highlighted a fundamental shift in the prescription journey, moving from a linear claim flow to a complex, real‑time routing model that incorporates multiple pricing checks and benefit options. Advances in API‑based integrations...
Microsoft: AI Tools Now Handle 50M Health Questions Daily
Microsoft reported that its consumer AI tools, including Bing and Copilot, now field more than 50 million health‑related questions each day. An analysis of over 500,000 anonymized health conversations in January 2026 showed health is the top topic on mobile devices,...
HIMSS26: WVU Medicine Expands Abridge Ambient AI Platform Across 25 Hospitals
WVU Medicine announced expansion of Abridge’s ambient AI platform to over 2,800 clinicians across its 25‑hospital network. The rollout, driven by clinician advocacy, aims to alleviate physician burnout in rural West Virginia. Post‑implementation surveys of more than 200 providers reported...
“If We Fix Referrals, We Fix Flow, and Flow Is the Foundation of Sustainable NHS Dentistry.”
The NHS Confederation’s report highlights that fragmented dental referrals are a core barrier to sustainable NHS dentistry. Digital referral optimisation, as demonstrated by NEC Rego, standardises forms, embeds clinical guidance and delivers real‑time data to Integrated Care Systems. Early pilots in...
HIMSS26: CharmHealth Launches CharmCopilot, an Embedded Multi-Agent AI Assistant for EHR Workflows
CharmHealth has introduced CharmCopilot, an embedded multi‑agent AI assistant built directly into its electronic health record platform. The company is offering the core AI capabilities to existing customers at no additional charge, positioning the tool as a cost‑disruptive solution. Its...
HIMSS26: Imprivata Introduces Agentic Identity Management to Secure and Govern AI Agents
Imprivata unveiled Agentic Identity Management at HIMSS26, a platform that secures and governs AI agents used in clinical documentation, prior authorizations, and triage. The solution treats AI agents as managed identities, issuing short‑lived tokens and enforcing least‑privilege access across both...
Alignment with Data Exchange Standards Is a Must for Digital Transformation
At HIMSS26, Sequoia Project’s Didi Davis unveiled the second USCDI v3 data‑usability guide, expanding coverage to all data classes and emphasizing provenance, traceability, and persistent identifiers. The 60‑page guide outlines use cases across provider‑to‑provider, provider‑to‑public‑health, and provider‑to‑consumer exchanges, aiming to curb...