With the cost of next-generation genome sequencing rapidly decreasing, it’s the hard job of interpreting the results that is preventing genomics from helping doctors care for patients in the clinic.
Omicia is trying to ease the difficult job of interpreting whole-genome sequencing with its new Opal Clinical platform, which is sold as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). With Opal, hospitals and diagnostic labs can launch genetic studies faster and interpret results more accurately and quickly, the company says.
The government and, increasingly, commercial insurers, are reimbursing health systems for caring for patient populations based on the value of care given, not on the amount of care given. So hospitals and clinics are hell-bent on finding ways to cut costs, and lab tests are seen as one of the biggest culprits for waste.
A startup called Viewics hopes to cut that waste with an analytics platform that gives doctors, administrators, and lab managers a clear look at the cost and real diagnostic value of the tests being ordered. Studying and understanding this, the thinking goes, might change test ordering habits for the better.
When stem cells were first culled from human embryos sixteen years ago, scientists imagined they would soon be treating diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other diseases with cells manufactured in the lab.
It’s all taken longer than they thought. But today, a Massachusetts biotech firm reported results from the largest, and longest, human test of a treatment based on embryonic stem cells, saying it appears safe and may have partly restored vision to patients going blind from degenerative diseases.
Genomics will someday be your doctor’s major weapon for keeping you healthy throughout your life.
The San Francisco-based genetics company Invitae is pushing hard toward making that a reality. The company has developed a test that sequences 218 types of genes to find markers that might point toward health problems in the future.
The company has now taken a sizable $120 million funding round from The Broe Group, Decheng Capital, Deerfield Management, OrbiMed, Perceptive Advisors, Rock Springs Capital, and Wellington Management Company, among others. The company isn’t saying who led the round.
Presque cinquante ans après la première greffe du coeur réalisée par le Professeur Barnad, l'Université de Cape Town (UCT) gagne à nouveau la reconnaissance internationale, cette fois dans le domaine de la recherche sur les valves cardiaques.
Most people are lucky not to have to take any medications on an ongoing basis. But for folks with chronic conditions, it can be awful to manage.
Enter Pillpack, a company whose online pharmacy coordinates with doctors and insurance providers to deliver people the right medications at the right time, without all the hassle. The company is announcing today that it closed an $8.75 million funding round about a month ago, not too long after disclosing its first $4.1 million in funding back in February.
The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will receive a top national award for the year’s most outstanding intellectual property licensing deal, for technology transfer of a pioneering, low-cost meningitis vaccine launched in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2014 Deals of Distinction Award will be presented to the two federal agencies and their collaborators by the Licensing Executives Society at the society’s 50th annual meeting, Oct. 5-8 in San Francisco.
Just last year, NoCamels reported on a breakthrough method to aid the heart heal itself following a heart attack, using gold nanoparticles. Now, following further testing and developments, the Tel Aviv University research team has discovered a way to heal the heart using tissue taken from patients’ own bodies, together with energy-conducting gold particles.
Connected Health refers to electronic methods of health care delivery that allow users to deliver and receive care outside of traditional health care settings. Examples include mobile medical apps, medical device data systems, software, and wireless technology.
FDA's role in connected health continues to evolve along with medical device technology. The FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) plays an important role in enabling a connected health environment while assuring that patients stay safe and the new technologies work as intended. Currently, CDRH is focusing its efforts in several different areas including:
Health information technology (HIT) presents tremendous benefits to the American public, including greater prevention of medical errors, improved efficiency and health care quality, reduced costs, and increased consumer engagement However, if HIT is not designed, developed, implemented, maintained, or used properly, it can pose risks to patients.
