In a rare update, Neuralink discussed its brain-computer interface and highlighted new monkey telepathic typing, a new surgical robot, and early developments in the restoration of sight in the blind and the restoration of movement and sensation in paraplegics.

Since Neuralink first demonstrated a telepathic game of monkey pong to us 18 months ago, it appears that advancement has been gradual rather than revolutionary.

Co-founder Elon Musk and the Neuralink team demonstrated new video footage of Sake the brain-chipped monkey using the implant to deftly and precisely control a mouse pointer on a screen, clicking on highlighted letters and words to spell out words and phrases suggested by the researchers. The demonstration was live-streamed, reports NewAtlas.

The "N1" implant, which is about the size of a US quarter, is intended to replace a portion of the recipient's skull in such a way that it is undetectable from the outside. It allows for 1,024 channels of two-way communication between the brain and the chip with 64 small, flexible needle probes that are painstakingly placed into the brain tissue at exact locations. It is completely wireless, including charging. The group unveiled the "R1"surgical robot that it used to install the gadget.

According to the company's VP of Implant, DJ Seo, "it's capable of navigating these small threads, which are just on the order of a few blood cells wide, and inserting them consistently into a moving brain while eschewing vasculature." It's pretty good at reliably accomplishing this. Seo went on to suggest that the complete probe insertion procedure should take approximately 15 minutes as the robot exhibited its ability to locate certain brain locations, then skillfully grip the small probes and poke them into the gloopy "brain proxy" of a demo dummy. Both detachable and upgradeable implants will be available. "With this product, the N1 and R1, our initial goal is to help people with paralysis from complete spinal cord injury regain their digital freedom by enabling them to use their devices as good as, if not better than they could before the injury," said Seo. "Over the last year, this has been the central focus of the company, and we've been working very closely with the FDA to get approval to launch our first human clinical trial in the US, hopefully in the next six months."

Related Positive Results for Theranicas Neuromodulation Device

Christine Odabashian, team lead for Insertion Hardware, walked attendees through the Neuralink implant installation procedure. The company hopes this will enable a single neurosurgeon to perform multiple procedures simultaneously, handling the skin, skull, protective duralayer, and other mechanical tasks while delegating the needlework into the actual brain to the R1 robot.

"It'd be very difficult to do manually," she explained. "Imagine taking a hair from your head, and trying to stick it into Jell-o covered by Saran Wrap. And doing this to a precise depth and position, and doing it 64 times within a reasonable amount of time. A neurosurgeon would probably not like it very much if we asked them to do this ... There's not that many neurosurgeons, maybe 10 per million people. It takes a decade or more to train a neurosurgeon, and they're generally very busy, and as you can imagine their time is very expensive. So in order for us to do the most good, and have an affordable and accessible procedure, we need to figure out how one neurosurgeon can oversee many procedures at the same time. This might sound crazy, but probably so did laser eye surgery before Lasik made it normal."

Neuralink intends to use a similar approach to Lasik, starting by using robots just for the most difficult tasks and gradually enhancing their capabilities to become fully automated. In order to manage precise skull cutting without harming the brain, the team is developing an automated CNC-style cutting machine.

Metaverse market in finance insights:

· Vendors: 15+, Including Bank of America Corp., BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, JPMorgan Chase & Co., KB Financial Group Inc., Mogo Inc., National Bank of Kuwait S.A.K.P, NH Investment & Securities Co. Ltd., and Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd., among others

· Coverage: Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors

· Segments: Component, End-user and Geography

In 2017, the metaverse market in finance was valued at USD 25.58 billion. From a regional perspective, APAC held the largest market share, valued at USD 6.09 billion. The metaverse market size in finance is estimated to grow by USD 107.06 billion from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 21.33% according to Technavio, says a press release.

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Metaverse market in finance -  Customer Landscape

To help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies, the report outlines:

· Key purchase criteria

· Adoption rates

· Adoption lifecycle

· Drivers of price sensitivity

For highlights on customer landscape analysis, download a report sample!

‍Related: What Is Metaverse and How Will It Impact Wearable Technology?

‍

Metaverse market in finance - Vendor Insights

The global metaverse market in finance is concentrated. The market is subject to rapidly changing consumer demands and preferences. Vendor performance may be affected by global and regional economic conditions and various other demographic trends. Vendors compete based on several factors such as quality, price, service, brand image, distribution, and marketing. Most vendors are innovating their existing products or introducing new product lines to sustain the market competition. Some vendors are focusing on acquiring smaller brands to increase their market presence. The market is expected to witness the entry of a large number of pure play technology or other players, which will intensify competition during the forecast period. Technavio report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors including:

· Bank of America Corp. - The company offers metaverse in finance through VR Training programs.

· BNP Paribas SA - The company offers metaverse in finance through W.I.R.E.D. (Wearable Immersive Real Estate Dataroom).

· HSBC Holdings Plc - The company offers metaverse in finance with the use of augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality.

‍

Metaverse market in finance - Market Dynamics

Major Drivers:

· Integration with VR and AR platforms

· The emergence of artificialintelligence (AI)

· Increasing popularity and adoption of cryptocurrencies

Key Challenges:

· Privacy and security concerns over metaverse

· Lack of skilled employees

· System configuration issues

The metaverse market in finance report provides critical information and factual data, with a qualitative and quantitative study of the market based on market drivers and limitations as well as future prospects.

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What are the key data covered in this metaverse market in finance report?

· CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2023-2027

· Detailed information on factors that will drive the metaverse market in finance growth during the next five years

· Precise estimation of the metaverse market size in finance and its contribution to the parent market

· Accurate predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

· The growth of the metaverse in the finance industry across North America, Europe, APAC, South America, The Middle East & Africa

· A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of the metaverse market in finance vendors.

The latest results from the Apple Women's Health Study at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found 16.4% of the study population experienced abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). The findings were based on a cohort of 10,000 participants and inclusive of varying ages and races across the US, highlight show large-scale, longitudinal research on menstruation can help advance the science around women’s health and destigmatize menstruation, reportsApple.

Many physicians regard women’s menstrualcycles as an important window into their overall health, but the topic is notably under-researched. Through the Research app, the Apple Women’s Health Study invites women across the US to contribute to research simply by using their iPhone, and Apple Watch if they have one. The landmark study allows for collection of a comprehensive set of cycle tracking and other health data, strengthened through participant surveys from individuals across various stages of their life, varying races, and throughout all US states and territories. Participants control the data types shared with the study, with transparency into how the data will be used for the purposes of the study. Through the Research app, the Apple Women’s Health Study allows for collection of a comprehensive set of cycle tracking and other health data, strengthened through participant surveys, from individuals across various stages of their life, varying races, and throughout all US states and territories.

Related: Apple introduces Apple Watch Series 8

The most frequently tracked symptoms were abdominal cramps, bloating, and tiredness, all of which were experienced by more than 60 percent of participants who logged symptoms. More than half of the participants who logged symptoms reported acne and headaches. Some less widely recognized symptoms, like diarrhea and sleep changes, were tracked by 37 percent of participants logging symptoms. Initial analysis also suggests these symptom trends hold true across a wide range of demographics, including age, race, and geographic location. For example, across Black, Hispanic, and white participants, the most commonly reported symptoms were abdominal cramps, bloating, and tiredness.

“Our study will help to achieve a more gender equal future, in which all people with menstrual cycles have access to the health services and menstrual products needed to feel safe and empowered,” said Dr. Michelle Williams, Dean of the Faculty at Harvard Chan School. “By building a robust generalizable knowledge base, the Apple Women’s Health Study is helping us understand factors that make menstruation difficult and isolating for some people, in addition to elevating awareness of a monthly experience shared by women around the world.”

“These findings take us a step further invalidating and destigmatizing period symptoms,” said Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s Vice President of Health. “Harvard Chan researchers are leaders in the field on this critically important subject, and we couldn’t be more proud to support and help scale their efforts through the Research app.”

The study team will further investigate the preliminary data and submit a detailed analysis, including a breakdown of methods, for peer review and journal publication.

“The preliminary data we are sharing today suggests women across the country have a shared experience of a wide range of menstrual symptoms, and that this natural monthly occurrence is something we should be having more discussions about,” said Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, one of the study’s principal investigators and an assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women’s health at the Harvard Chan School. “We look forward to continuing our work to create a long-term, foundational data set over time, which can inspire more research going forward.”

Electronic skin patches are becoming increasingly popular in medicine. They monitor a patient's health, and are applied e.g. in diabetes treatment, cardiovascular monitoring (ECG) or electroencephalography (EEG). To manufacture these, Quad Industries screen-prints electrodes and biosensors in both small and large quantities.

For example, as part of a collaborative effort with six medical and technological companies, Quad Industries has developed a smart health patch that monitors respiration, heart rate, and soon temperature of Coronavirus patients continuously, remotely, and wirelessly. Originally developed for patients with heart failure and epilepsy, this concept clearly has potential for follow-up of Coronavirus patients. Quad Industries is a longterm partner of WT Wearable Technologies and clearly suitable for our Innovation of the Month!

Sony Electronics announced the availability of its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for the U.S. Sony is re-imagining the hearing device space with a focus on innovation, accessibility, and personalization. With the unique products, developed in partnership with WS Audiology ("WSA"), a leading innovator in hearing aid technology for more than 100 years, Sony will enhance the lives of consumers by combining its unique premium technology, ultimate ease of use, and uncompromised comfort and wearability, to deliver an unprecedented hearing experience that easily bridges the gap between the wearer and their environment.

The first two products to debut from the partnership are the CRE-C10 and the CRE-E10 self-fitting OTC hearing aids, designed with the understanding that one size does not fit all, and that people deserve options that best fit their unique needs, situations, and lives. Utilizing the app, the CRE-C10 and CRE-E10 intuitively adapt to each user's speech and surroundings, blending the latest technology with comfort to meet each individual's hearing goals.

“Many people have ongoing challenges related to hearing loss and because of the negative feeling around it, they often don't seek the help they may need,” says Tyler Ishida, President of Consumer Business Group, Sony Electronics. “As a leader in the audio innovation space, we are thrilled at the opportunity to improve the hearing assistance landscape with cutting-edge yet quite accessible devices that will ensure new over-the-counter solutions for those living with hearing impairment and also help general consumers engage with their surroundings in a deeper, more connected way.

Created for daily use, Sony's goal with these new devices is to break down the current barriers faced by those with signs of mild to moderate hearing loss and provide a simple, app-enabled, do-it-yourself solution that can allow for a better hearing experience. While each device features an easy-to-navigate app interface with customizable options for the wearer's specific hearing needs and preferences, the two models coming to market will provide more choice when it comes to the look and capabilities of high-end hearing devices, Sony said in a press release.

"As a company dedicated to advancing the cause of Wonderful Sound for All, we welcome the introduction of these self-fitting hearing options, with the knowledge that more than 65% of the total U.S. consumer market that needs better hearing care has not yet achieved it," says Carsten Buhl, President, WSA Americas. "We expect these over-the-counter hearing aids to help people begin the journey to better hearing health.

Extremely Easy to Use

Each device can be used soon after purchase by following an easy setup with the Sony | Hearing Control App. Users are guided through a step-by-step process, answering a few brief questions to quickly set up and start using either device in a matter of minutes. The user-friendly app allows each device to communicate with the user's smartphone, letting them quickly personalize settings including volume control and more to ensure the wearer hears exactly what they intend, in multiple environments.

The app also allows the wearer to "self-fit" each device. During the in-app self-fitting process, each Sony device self-adjusts to the most appropriate of pre-defined hearing profiles, based on thousands of actual, real-life audiogram results. Whether the user is in a bustling room or a peaceful nature setting, both models easily adapt to deliver an authentic, connected sound experience that puts the wearer first.

"At Sony, we strive to realize an inclusive world where everyone can participate, and we see this new product line as an opportunity to increase accessibility for many," commented Mike Nejat, Vice President, Engineering with Sony Electronics, and head of Sony's U.S. Accessibility Promotion Office. "With our unique technology heritage, we can help bridge a gap between individuals and their environment."

Two Initial Device Choices

As one of the smallest OTC hearing aids on the market, the CRE-C10 has a sleek, discreet design that delivers exceptional sound quality, yet is virtually invisible when worn and has a long battery life of up to 70 hours of continuous use.

Read more: Bose and Lexie Hearing Partner on Self-Fitting Hearing Aids

The second debuting product is the CRE-E10, which has an earbud-like design combining excellent sound quality and comfort, offering the wearer confidence and convenience. In addition, CRE-E10 has a rechargeable battery for wireless charging that delivers up to 26 hours of continuous use and is also Bluetooth compatible letting the user easily connect to streaming audio or music (iOS only).

Regardless of which device the user selects, both models deliver outstanding noise reduction and directionality, reducing noises from the back and sides depending on the wearer's changing environment. In addition, each device adjusts the sound based on the surroundings to improve the overall listening experience. As Sony works to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology, these new hearing devices are expected to make the conversation more accessible while offering a premium over-the-counter hearing experience at a more affordable price point than current prescription-based devices.  

Price and Availability

The CRE-C10 self-fitting OTC hearing aid has a suggested retail price of $999.99. The CRE-E10 self-fitting OTC hearing aid will be available for purchase this winter at the suggested price of $1,299.99. Both hearing aids will be available on Sony’s website.  

Less than two years after the FDA cleared Theranica Bio-Electronics’ Nerivio neuromodulation armband for migraine and other pain conditions, the company successfully lobbied the agency to expand its indication from adults only to all patients aged 12 and older with episodic or chronic migraine. The company announced positive top-line results in its double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center, pivotal clinical trial in the USA. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of Nerivio for the preventive treatment of migraine in both episodic and chronic migraine patients. The study met the primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant reduction from baseline in monthly migraine days in patients treated with Nerivio, compared with a placebo device.

Subjects who used Nerivio every other day experienced a reduction of 4.0 migraine days per month from baseline, compared to a reduction of 1.3 days in the placebo group (net therapeutic gain of 2.7 days, p<0.0001). The study further analyzed the reduction of monthly migraine days separately for chronic migraine participants, who experienced a reduction of 4.7 days (placebo: 1.6 days, p=0.001); and episodic migraine patients, who experienced a reduction of 3.2 days (placebo: 1.0 days, p=0.003), the company stated in a press release.

40% of the 248 study participants used concomitant preventive medications, mainly prescribed oral medications, CGRP monoclonal antibody injections, and Botox® injections. Similar to the general study population, their separate sub-analysis shows a reduction of monthly migraine days by a gap over the placebo, with a reduction of 3.5 days (placebo: 1.5 days, p=0.03).

The statistically significant superiority of Nerivio over the placebo was further demonstrated in other endpoints. These include mean reduction of monthly headache days (reduction of 4.5 days [placebo: 1.8,p<0.0001]), moderate/severe headache days (reduction of 3.8 days [placebo: 2.2, p=0.005]), percentage of patients experiencing a reduction of headache days and moderate/severe headache days, mean reduction of acute-medication days (reduction of 3.5 days [placebo: 1.4, p=0.001]), and more.

These statistically significant results were obtained on the entire Intent-to-Treat (ITT) dataset of 248 subjects and the most adherent modified ITT (mITT) dataset of 179 subjects. Only one, mild device-related adverse event was reported in the study, which occurred in the placebo group and was categorized as mild and resolved without intervention.

Read more: DyAnsys Neurostimulation Device Receives FDA Clearance

Brian Grosberg, MD, Director of the Hartford Healthcare Headache Program in Connecticut and primary investigator of the study, commented: "These data demonstrate Nerivio's potential to provide a new non-pharmacological preventive treatment option for people with migraine. The high efficacy of Nerivio compared to placebo, with favorable safety and tolerability, suggests that Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) could be a beneficial non-pharmacological therapy option for both preventive and acute treatment of migraine, subject to FDA approval."

"There is a growing recognition that certain chronic pain diseases, such as migraine, may be treated with therapies other than pharmacological agents, or in combination with those. This is validated by clinical evidence from randomized controlled studies such as this one, as well as real-world evidence studies," said Alon Ironi, Chief Executive Officer of Theranica. "It is well known that individuals with migraine have varied responses to therapies, and sometimes respond best to a combination of different modalities. The results of this study further support the notion that migraine care should develop beyond sole pharmaceuticals, and Theranica is a leader in scientifically exploring and applying this novel non-pharmacologic approach for patients and providers."

"We look forward to working with the FDA on the regulatory clearance process, and, in parallel, to sharing detailed information from the study in peer-reviewed publications and upcoming scientific conferences, and to continue advancing this innovative therapy for the preventive treatment of migraine," said Dagan Harris, Ph.D., Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Development at Theranica.

About Theranica

Theranica is a prescribed digital therapeutics company dedicated to creating effective, safe, affordable, low-side-effect therapies for idiopathic pain conditions. The company's award-winning flagship product, Nerivio, is the first FDA-cleared smartphone-controlled prescribed wearable device for acute treatment of migraine, and already serves over 35,000 people with migraine in the USA, including adolescents and veterans. Theranica is expanding its proprietary technology to develop solutions for additional idiopathic pain conditions. Nerivio has received FDA authorization and a CE mark for use in the acute treatment of episodic and chronic migraine in adult and adolescent patients.

Leading diabetes management company Insulet has announced a voluntary recall of 40,846 boxes of the OmniPod (Pod) Insulin Management System due to the possibility that some Pods may have a higher rate of failure than current manufacturing standards. According to Insulet, the devices’ batteries may be at risk of swelling, leaking, or overheating with extended use.

Insulet said it received reports of some Omnipod DASH users having battery problems with their PDM devices, including the battery swelling, fluid leaking from the battery, and in rare cases, extreme overheating. In a letter to users, the company said it plans to ship updated devices to all current Omnipod DASH customers in the coming months. So far, the company said it has not received reports of any injuries related to the battery issues.

The company advised patients to monitor their PDMs for battery problems, including a bulging back cover and the device losing its charge very quickly, overheating, or emitting an odor, reports MedTechDive. If patients notice any of these problems, they should not charge the device, stop using the system and switch to a backup insulin plan as soon as they can. Users can also contact Insulet for a temporary replacement device.

The company plans to replace the PDMs for all of its current Omnipod DASH users globally, incurring an aggregate charge of $35 million to $45 million.

One highly effective method of treating Type I diabetes is Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (CSII). However, with conventional insulin pump technology, CSII therapy is complicated, costly, and inconvenient.

Read more: Abbott Announces New Biosensors Based on Diabetes Monitoring Tech

Insulet’s innovative OmniPod Insulin Management System breaks down the barriers to CSII therapy by continuously delivering insulin without the tubing that “tethers” a traditional insulin pump device to a user. The system also eliminates the need for repeated insulin injections for those individuals who manage their diabetes with daily insulin injections.

According to J.P. Morgan Analyst Robbie Marcus, most of the $35 million to $45 million in costs from replacing the devices is expected to affect the cost of revenue in the third quarter and operating expenses in the fourth quarter and 2023.

BioIntelliSense, a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company, announced its acquisition of AlertWatch, an FDA-cleared, clinically proven patient monitoring solution. AlertWatch uniquely provides robust integration, data analysis and a patented intuitive display of contextual patient data for more efficient, actionable clinical decisions. As part of the recently announced strategic partnership with Medtronic, its Patient Monitoring business will distribute AlertWatch to hospitals throughout the U.S. as a new offering in its HealthCast portfolio.

“The addition of AlertWatch offers healthcare providers comprehensive continuous monitoring solutions, and an accelerated path from adoption to full-scale utilization,” said James Mault, MD, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense. “The patented AlertWatch multi-parameter interface displays and analyzes data from inpatient vitals, the electronic medical record (EMR), laboratory systems, and BioIntelliSense medical-grade wearables, to provide clinical intelligence across care settings and acuity levels.”

Hospitals nationwide are seeking enterprise-grade platforms that optimize labor-intensive processes through automation of data capture combined with scalable exception management and clinical insights from in-hospital to home. Over the past decade, AlertWatch has earned four FDA 510(k) clearances for its specialized product offerings for the operating room, intensive care unit, and labor and delivery unit. AlertWatch is also monitoring patients in general care wards–and now, in the home, said a press release.

The AlertWatch centralized triage dashboard aggregates data and provides clinicians with a composite view of patient vital sign trends, while simultaneously performing advanced analytics and alerting, for proactive clinical decisions. The AlertWatch system has been used to assist with over one million surgeries and over 25,000 births. The AlertWatch operating room solution, when comparing users versus non-users, was associated with a one-day reduction in post-operative length of stay (LOS) and a $3,603 reduction in encounter charges.

“By joining forces with BioIntelliSense, we are thrilled to greatly expand the reach and adoption of our world-class clinical decision support solution,” said Professor Kevin Tremper, MD, Ph.D., founder and President of AlertWatch. “The workflow automation benefits not only help to reduce hospital stays and costs, but also assist clinicians and nurses by alerting them with highly actionable information that prioritizes and personalizes patient care.”

Read more: AloeCare Health And BioIntelliSense Partner Up To Provide Remote Patient Monitoring to Elderly Adults

The BioIntelliSense and AlertWatch platforms are interoperable solutions with extensive third-party and EMR system integration and data exchange capabilities. BioIntelliSense remains committed to an ecosystem approach that provides the flexibility, security, and scalability that is needed to support our customers’ patient monitoring needs.

”I am excited to see our partnership with BioIntelliSense expand so, together, we can help more patients in more places,” said Frank Chan, president of the Patient Monitoring business, which is part of the Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic. “The addition of the AlertWatch system to our HealthCast™ portfolio of connectivity and remote monitoring solutions strengthens our commitment to patient safety and enables workflow efficiency for our customers as they monitor patients in-hospital and at-home.”

ABOUT BIOINTELLISENSE

BioIntelliSense is ushering in a new era of continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence for remote patient monitoring (RPM). Its medical-grade Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform seamlessly captures multi-parameter vital signs, physiological biometrics, and symptomatic events through an effortless patient experience. The medical-grade BioButton wearable device makes remote monitoring and early detection simple. Through the platform’s advanced analytics, clinicians have access to high-resolution patient trending and reporting to enable medical grade remote care from in-hospital to home.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Fitbit in the Federal Court, alleging the smartwatch maker misled customers about their rights over faulty products. The allegations further allege that between May 2020 and February 2022 in particular, Fitbit made representations to Australian consumers that they would not be entitled to any refund for a defective product if they sought to return it after 45 days from the date of purchase or shipment. It’s the second time Fitbit has been thrown out by the ACCC, as follows very similar allegations against the laptop maker in 2018, reports 9BreakingNews.

“Fitbit has again come to the attention of the ACCC for allegedly misleading consumers about their consumer warranty rights,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement, “We are taking this case against Fitbit because we consider the alleged conduct to be serious and that the manufacturers should have processes in place to ensure compliance with the Australian Consumer Law.”

Moreover, Fitbit informed consumers that they weren’t eligible for a second device if they had availed of a replacement device earlier and the original two-year ‘limited warranty period’ of the device had expired. “All consumers have automatic consumer guarantee rights that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified. The consumer guarantee rights exist in addition to any warranties offered by manufacturers,” said Ms. Cass-Gottlieb.

Rea more: Fitbit Gets US FDA Approval For Detecting AFib

“Products must be of acceptable quality, and retailers must provide a remedy for faulty goods which include a repair, replacement, or refund, depending on the circumstances,” she added.

A spokesperson for Fitbit said the company was reviewing the allegations and did not have any further comments.

The regulator does not allege Fitbit is in breach of its 2018 undertaking where the company extended its manufacturer’s warranty from one year to two for Australian consumers.

Facebook parent Meta unveiled a high-end virtual reality headset with the hope that people will soon be using it to work and play in the still-elusive place called the “Metaverse."

The $1,500 Meta Quest Pro headset costs $1,100 more than Meta’s Quest 2 headset (formerly known as Oculus Quest 2) and contains new technologies like high-resolution sensors that let people see mixed virtual and augmented reality in full color. It also has new eye-tracking technology and "natural facial expressions" that mimic the wearer’s facial movements, so their avatars appear natural when interacting with other avatars in virtual-reality environments.

Meta is in the midst of a corporate transformation that it says will take years to complete. The company is trying to evolve from a provider of social media platforms to a dominant power in a nascent virtual-reality construct called the Metaverse — sort of like the internet brought to life or at least rendered in 3D, reports abc.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described the Metaverse as an immersive virtual environment, a place people can virtually “enter” rather than just staring at it on a screen. The company is investing billions in its Metaverse plans that will likely take years to pay off.

VR headsets are already popular with some gamers, but Meta knows that won't be enough to make the Metaverse mainstream. As such, it's setting office — and home office — workers in its sights.

Read more: Facebook and Ray Ban Launch Next-Gen Smartglasses Ray-Ban Stories

“Meta is positioning the new Meta Quest Pro headset as an alternative to using a laptop,” said Rolf Illenberger, founder and managing director of VRdirect, which builds VR environments for businesses. But he added that for businesses, operating in the virtual worlds of the Metaverse is still “quite a stretch."

Meta also announced that its Metaverse avatars will soon have legs — an important detail that's been missing since the avatars made their debut last year.

Catapult Health, a Dallas-based company serving 3,500 employers with over 2 million covered lives, announced the launch of VirtualCheckup for all, a revolutionary new way for employed Americans and their spouses/partners to get their annual wellness exam. By proactively sending a VirtualCheckup engagement kit to each person’s home, Catapult is transforming preventive care into an “auto-enroll” health benefit, much like employers did with their 401(k) plans 20 years ago. Catapult expects their new approach to double or triple the percentage of individuals who get their wellness exam each year.

“The days of people waiting weeks or months to get a doctor’s appointment for an annual wellness exam are over,” says David Michel, CEO of Catapult Health. “And with 80% of Americans avoiding or skipping their preventive care each year, a tsunami of undiagnosed disease is looming on the horizon. It’s time to remove the friction and take the annual wellness visit into each person’s home, virtually.”

Since launching its VirtualCheckup in September 2020, Catapult has already performed over 100,000 in-home virtual checkups nationally. VirtualCheckup is already a covered benefit for hundreds of America’s largest corporations and major national health plans, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield, reports BusinessWire.

To help drive mass adoption, Catapult has partnered with Tasso, a company whose mission is to revolutionize at-home blood collection. “Tasso’s patient-centric device enables easy, virtually painless remote (home) blood collection from a patient’s upper arm,” says Michel.“Getting a routine checkup at the doctor’s office is such a hassle, so we take preventive care into each employee’s home, which most Americans prefer.”

Read more: Evernorth Expands Its Digital Health Formulary

With VirtualCheckup for all, a comprehensive home kit containing Tasso’s device is proactively delivered to each person’s home. Following simple step-by-step instructions, the recipient sends a small blood sample, two blood pressure readings, and a few physical measurements to Catapult’s laboratory in Dallas. A few days later, the participant meets via secure video with a board-certified Catapult Nurse Practitioner who assesses personal and family health history, reviews medication compliance, screens for depression, discusses test results, creates a personal action plan, and refers the individual to health improvement programs offered by their employer or health plan. Catapult’s VirtualCheckup® is a covered benefit offered through employers and health plans nationally.

About Catapult Health

Catapult Health is the leading provider of virtual preventive care in America. With 3,500 employer customers and over 2 million covered lives, Catapult has revolutionized the annual preventive exam with its VirtualCheckup. Catapult’s solution targets health risks that lead to depression, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease and a recent third-party actuarial analysis of 416,000 patient records over 3 years revealed potential savings of $2.19 for every $1 invested.

greenteg AG announces the development of the world`s first fever algorithm for Continuous and Non-Invasive core body temperature tracking on the wrist.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important early detection of fever is to avoid spreading of the disease. But it doesn’t stop with only detecting fever. To guarantee the best possible treatment pathways for patients, monitoring the core body temperature has proven to be one of the most important vital parameters for health professionals. By enabling to track this parameter on the wrist, the acceptance of patients to adhere to continuous monitoring will be further strengthened.

Until two years ago, non-invasive, and continuous tracking of the relevant metric, the core body temperature, has not been possible with wearable devices accurately. greenteg changed that with the chest-worn CORE sensor, and now announces that the R&D department has successfully achieved another breakthrough innovation. Based on data collected on people receiving their second or third COVID-19 vaccination shot, where fever is a common side effect, they developed a new wrist algorithm, which enables detecting fever and continuously tracking its development on the wrist.

Based on the CALERA® solution, greenteg has found a way to compensate the environmental and thermoregulatory influences which are particularly expressed on the wrist. As the wrist is used for thermoregulation, the local temperature behaves opposite to what is observed in the internal organs. It goes down when fever occurs because the body retracts all the heat into its center. Similarly, when the body is recovering from fever, the wrist temperature increases, while the core body temperature sinks to normal levels. These circumstances made the wrist one of the hardest places to measure the core body temperature so far, but with their heat-flux based CALERA® solution and the newly developed algorithm, greenteg now overcomes these problems.

Dr. Lukas Durrer, CTO & Co-founder of greenteg, says: “Developing a fever tracking algorithm on the wrist is like climbing the Mount Everest: both is very hard to do but not impossible. I believe this technology will play a key role in future pandemic monitoring.”

The new wrist algorithm is already in commercialization stage. greenteg could win well-known OEM companies to integrate the Calera® solution into their devices and take advantage of the new fever algorithm for wrist worn devices, one of the first customers is Corsano with the Cardiowatch 287-2.

About greenteg

Founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), greenteg develops, manufactures, and markets thermal sensors and provides consulting on the thermal integration of its products. Its team consists of 40+ specialists in various engineering disciplines, with all sensors fully developed and manufactured in Zurich, Switzerland.

Today, greenteg supplies original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and corporate/university labs around the world with its unique products.

Sigknow, a Taiwan-based Digital Healthcare Solution provider, has newly received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Class II clearance for its Arrhythmia Diagnostic Solution EZYPRO® in June 2022. This is in addition to the full medical device certifications in the Asian and European markets where EZYPRO® is serving.

EYZPRO®, the No. 1 prolonged ECG monitoring solution in Asia, provides healthcare professionals with patented 14-day ECG patch monitor and diagnosis-ready ECG reports fully curated by CRAT-certified ECG analysts.

“Asia has the most diverse climates, from steamy tropical summers to biting cold winters, and hence presents tough challenges for patches. The hypoallergenic waterproof ECG patch monitor of EZYPRO® can accommodate different wear conditions and provide patients with comfortable ECG monitoring experience for 14 days,” said Sigknow CEO Jiayi Lai. “We work closely with cardiologists and healthcare providers around the globe and support doctors with top-notch ECG reports of detailed arrhythmia information. Our ISO information security certified cloud platform assures doctors and nurses of a hassle-free efficient workflow.”

Behind the clinical-ready EZYPRO® Report which supports cardiologists in their arrhythmia diagnosis is a professional ECG analysis team of US CRAT-certified ECG technicians and nurses. Every ECG report is scrutinized by the team before it is released and delivered to Cardiologists. The proprietary ECG AI analysis software embedded with deep learning algorithm brings accuracy and speed to the EZYPRO® reporting service. “Doctors are often impressed by our report quality, from superb ECG tracing, arrhythmias details, to the user-friendly report presentation. EZYPPRO® is cardiologists’ No. 1 choice for arrhythmia diagnosis.”

With team members and representatives headquartered in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, MediBioSense Ltd. was founded in 2015 and is a multi-award-winning healthcare innovation firm with a focus on wearable solutions that have received medical certification.

In terms of wearable medical technology, MediBioSense is a world leader. By offering comprehensive healthcare solutions and wearable (medically approved) technology, they are revolutionizing the way health is assessed, tracked, and treated. Real-time monitoring of the following clinical physiological data is possible with their wearable technology: Heart Rate, ECG, Respiration Rate, Temperature, Blood Oxygen (Sp02), Posture, and Activity Levels.

You would like to learn more about Medibiosense? Do not miss the chance to meet them at the WT Pavilion at MEDICA 2022 from the 14-17^th of November!

Following its US market launch in 2017, Tempdrop is now available in Europe! Revolutionizing how women around the globe manage their fertility health with an advanced monitor. Tempdrop is both FDA and CE registered as a medical proceptive device and has now initiated regulatory steps to become the first non-hormonal, wearable birth control device.

Tempdrop, a wearable sensor with a smart learning algorithm and fertility app, took on a mission to advance women’s reproductive health throughout every stage. In today’s uncertain times, we at Tempdrop believe every woman should be empowered and equipped with the knowledge to take control of their body. That’s where Tempdrop steps in to provide science-based technology to help you track your cycle and identify your fertile window.

For accurate results, other fertility apps require you to wake at the same hour daily to take your oral temperature. Tempdrop, as a wearable, is accurate and hassle-free. Simply wear the sensor on your upper arm during sleep and sync it with the app whenever it's convenient. Tempdrop is specially tailored to women looking to increase their chances of conceiving or practicing fertility awareness methods. It’s also very helpful for women who are interested in tracking their hormonal health.

Michael Vardi, a biomedical engineer, founded Tempdrop after he and his wife were struggling to conceive their second child. He was determined to find a better way to track the ovulation cycle and pinpoint the optimal time for conception.

Tempdrop has bootstrapped its way since 2017, selling direct-to-consumer, and growing organically by building its vibrant community of followers and promoters. Our motto is ‘know your body,' and with the help of AI & personalized data, we have provided tens of thousands of women across the globe with the tool to do just that.

User reviews:

“Love my Tempdrop! It’s giving me a window into my health and my body that I couldn’t have otherwise and is helping me to be the healthiest I can be. Your cycle is 100% a vital sign of health, don’t ignore it.”

“Huge weight off my mind. I purchased a Tempdrop to be able to better chart my cycles for PCOS and for hopefully conceiving a baby. It seemed to track my temperatures accurately despite multiple night waking, and I was able to use the data to fall pregnant! I'm so glad I found Tempdrop!”

“Very very thankful to have Tempdrop in my life! Would highly recommend this to anyone interested in FAM”

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Tempdrop will present at Medica in Dusseldorf this November, a world-leading trade fair for the medical technology industry. Please contact us to arrange a meeting on Zoom or in-person during the event. We’ll be in Hall 12 D33.

Clinical monitoring company Seer Medical has obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Seer Home™ for the diagnosis of epilepsy via multi-day video-EEG-ECG monitoring. Launched in 2017, today Seer is the leading provider of epilepsy diagnostic monitoring in Australia. With this approval, Seer will be able to offer its home-based long-term monitoring to patients across America, opening up access to life-saving neurological monitoring at scale.

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological conditions, affecting more than 3.4 million Americans and more than 65 million people worldwide. 150,000 people in the United States are diagnosed each year.

Clinical-grade brain and heart monitoring from the comfort of the home

‘Seer Home’ is an ambulatory electroencephalograph (EEG) system designed to be used at the patient’s home for week-long studies. A wearable device - the ‘Seer Sense’ - is worn around the shoulders, with electrodes connected to the skull and chest to record brain (EEG) and heart (ECG) signals. These recordings are wirelessly transmitted to a nearby monitoring hub, which stores the data from the wearable and also records video footage synchronized to the EEG-ECG data.

The recorded video data provides additional context and information to the reviewing physician (such as body movement artifacts) to assist in the diagnosis of the neurological condition. On completion of the study, the technology is returned to Seer, and the collected data is reviewed and annotated by a qualified physician, producing a report for the referring doctor.

A new pathway to diagnosis for Americans

“Seer has demonstrated the effectiveness of ambulant diagnostic monitoring in our home market of Australia. Now with this approval, we are delighted to be able to offer a new pathway to diagnosis for Americans with epilepsy - one that does not require a hospital stay and one that will give doctors the data they need to more accurately diagnose and monitor neurological disorders,” said Dr. Dean Freestone, CEO and Co-Founder, Seer.

The FDA study for Seer Home was completed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and in March 2022, Seer joined the inaugural cohort of the Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate, to undertake market validation and clinical readiness activities, states a press release.

Dr. Ben Brinkmann, Associate Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic highlighted the potential for the system to augment the monitoring capabilities of hospitals and healthcare providers. “Seer's wireless EEG monitoring system and AI-enabled review platform have the potential to help people with epilepsy or other episodic events access the care they need more quickly and with less disruption to their personal lives. This technology may be especially impactful in underserved areas with limited access to neurological health care resources,” said Dr. Brinkmann.

With formal approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Seer will continue to engage with hospital networks and potential partners across the US, with sights set on addressing the backlog of patients waiting for long-term monitoring.

About Seer Medical

Seer is reimagining how and where people undergo long-term brain and heart monitoring for faster paths to diagnoses and better patient outcomes. Seer’s solutions include an at-home epilepsy monitoring system and wearable medical devices, mobile apps for tracking and forecasting seizures, and cloud technology that translates big data into useful medical insights. Leading health and technology companies around the globe, such as the Mayo Clinic, King’s College London, Fitbit, Epiminder, and Cochlear have partnered with Seer, alongside support from the Australian and American Epilepsy Foundations. Seer is recognized as one of the world’s top private digital health companies by CB Insights, and the company has received numerous product design awards for its wearable device the Seer Sense, including a Gold IF Design Award and Good Design Awards in Social Impact and Medical and Scientific design.

Corsano Health is launching the company’s second-generation wearable device that accurately measures eight vital parameters and makes raw PPG and ACC data available for further analysis by third-party medical algorithm developers.

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THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS, October 20, 2022 -- Today, Corsano Health, a leading MedTech company developing, producing, and marketing medical grade continuous health monitoring announced the launch of its CardioWatch 287 at MEDICA 2022, Booth 12D33.

MEDICA is the world‘s largest medical marketplace annually organized in Düsseldorf, taking place this year from 14 – 17 November.

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Corsano’s CardioWatch 287 accuracy of a state-of-the-art bracelet has been validated in eight third-party clinical investigations. “The independent validations of Corsano Health’s CardioWatch 287 is important evidence to prove accurate measurement of five vital parameters. Moreover, Corsano offers access to raw PPG and ACC data for further analysis to academic researchers and contract research organizations. Corsano’s non-invasive ergonomic wearables deliver medically validate data with superior patient compliance.” said Drs. Peter Stas, CEO of Corsano Health. "Additionally, patient satisfaction surveys conducted at the closure of the studies cite convenience and ease to use of the CardioWatch 287 devices.”

Due to their non-intrusive and convenient nature, wearable devices like Corsano’s CardioWatch 287 have great potential for high volume accessible long-term monitoring of at-risk patients.

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About Corsano Health

Corsano Health, based in The Netherlands with offices in Switzerland, is a leading wearable MedTech company developing, producing and marketing medical smart monitoring devices designed to measure vital parameters 24/7 using wireless, non-invasive, and medical-grade technology. The Corsano brand name is derived from in corpore sano (in a healthy body). Corsano’s CardioWatch 287 is a cardiac arrhythmia screening system that provides a simple and effective method for continuous monitoring of vital parameter measurements (i.e., Heart Rate, RR Intervals, Respiration Rate, SpO2, Sleep, Activity, ECG, BIOZ, Core Body Temperature, Cuffless Blood Pressure). More information at http://www.corsano.com

Pretaa, a US-based behavioral analytics company, that seeks to improve outcomes for the millions of Americans and their families affected by substance abuse, announced a Strategic Partnership with Fitbit Health Solutions, to incorporate Fitbit’s devices and services into their substance abuse recovery offering.

Pretaa analyzes information from wearable devices worn by those recovering from substance abuse disorder and notifies their care providers, friends, and family members when they might need additional support. Fitbit Health Solutions helps partners use Fitbit’s advanced health and wellness platform to drive behavior change and improve outcomes within their populations. The two organizations recognized that together they could use more effectively the technology to help support people recovering from addiction and substance abuse. Pretaa will incorporate Fitbit data into their analytics platform to help providers have a more holistic view of their patients, and members will have access to Fitbit Premium, which provides more personalized and actionable health guidance, according to a press release.

“With this partnership, we’re extending our mission to empower people to live healthier lives,” said Karen Romans, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Strategic Partner Clinical Lead for Fitbit Health Solutions. “Working with Pretaa, we aim to help providers and caregivers in substance abuse treatment facilities deliver better, more personalized care, armed with actionable information about the health and well-being of their patients.”

“Pretaa’s analytics platform pairs actionable guidance with positive reinforcement to improve treatment outcomes, build resiliency, and reconnect friends and family with their loved ones in recovery,” Michael Madon, the CEO of Pretaa said. “And we are excited to have Fitbit Health Solutions as a technology partner because of their focus on driving behavior change to improve lives, and their ability to deliver a differentiated, personalized, experience focused on health and wellness.”

Read more: Google Seeks FDA Nod For Fitbit’s Passive Heart Rate Monitoring Tech

“Fitbit’s platform, developer support, and sensor suite will allow Pretaa to leverage traditional biometric data (heart rate, SPO2, body temperature) in tandem with robust activity and wellness data (steps and sleep) to provide unique insights derived from our multivariate analyses,” said Dr. John Duselis, Pretaa’s CTO. “This directly supports Pretaa’s hybrid approach, which combines medical domain knowledge and machine learning techniques offering tailored solutions to inform interventions."

About Pretaa

Pretaa is a behavioral analytics company that seeks to improve outcomes for millions of Americans and their families affected by substance abuse. Pretaa does this by analyzing data from wearable devices worn by those recovering from substance abuse disorder and notifying their care providers, friends, and family members when something may have gone wrong so they can get help. And by pairing actionable data and check-ins with positive reinforcement, the platform also fosters trust, communication, and continuity of care with people invested in helping their loved ones and patients throughout the recovery process.

About FHS

Fitbit Health Solutions, now part of Google, works with payers, partners, and employers to empower people to live healthier lives. Fitbit’s personalized health and well-being experience easily integrates into a wide variety of health interventions and well-being programs - including embedded health plan benefits, condition management point solutions, research studies, and corporate wellness programs - and helps to extend and enhance their impact by driving higher participation levels, increasing physical activity, and helping to improve weight loss and diabetes outcomes.

Acurable, an award-winning wearable medical devices company, announced an €11m investment due to its Series A funding round. These funds will be used to accelerate the international expansion of its first product AcuPebble SA100 and drive the company towards its ambition to become the preferred solution for home sleep testing worldwide. The investment was led by Kibo Ventures, along with Mundi Ventures, Kindred Capital, and Comprador Holdings among others.

Acurable's first product AcuPebble SA100 simplifies obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) detection and monitoring by enabling fully automated testing of patients at home for the first time. After successfully launching AcuPebble SA100 in the UK and Spain in 2021, Acurable is now looking to scale up in these two countries and expand into further European markets and North America.

AcuPebble SA100 is the first wearable medical device to obtain a CE mark in Europe for the automated diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea at home and has received FDA 510(k) clearance in the US. It is also the first device in the world that achieves the accuracy in likelihood ratios required by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to consider a diagnostic method equivalent to the gold standard, according to a press release.

This funding follows the recent announcement of a strategic distribution agreement with Nyxoah to provide the AcuPebble SA100 home sleep test to the German market. Acurable's international expansion brings it one step closer to solving the current unmet needs in the diagnosis and monitoring of OSA - a significant issue affecting approximately one billion people globally.

Professor Esther Rodriguez-Villegas, inventor of the AcuPebble technology, co-CEO and founder of Acurable, is a world-renowned scientist and has been awarded some of the highest recognitions in her field. She commented: “The response to AcuPebble SA100 since its launch has been incredible, and we are thrilled to see the product being used to help patients and clinicians in the real world. This funding will help us reach our initial goal of diagnosing one million patients and gives us the opportunity to continue working on new products that will fundamentally improve the lives of millions of people living with severe chronic conditions.”

Read more: BUZUD Launches Smartwatch With Sleep Apnea Detection

Based on contact acoustic sensing, AcuPebble technology is able to automatically extract a wide range of cardio-respiratory disease-related physiological markers. It does this non-invasively and continuously with accuracy comparable to current complex gold-standard methods, which rely heavily on clinical human resources. The technology is ideally positioned to significantly improve the diagnosis and management of some of the most significant chronic respiratory and cardiovascular conditions today. These affect hundreds of millions of people, have significant unmet needs in terms of patient monitoring, and are among the most common causes of death globally. Series A funding will allow Acurable to continue investing in new products for these conditions.

Sonia Fernández, Partner at Kibo Ventures, said: “We are delighted to be joining Acurable’s exciting journey. AcuPebble has the potential to transform the way sleep apnea and other chronic conditions are diagnosed and monitored. It’s much more accurate and easier to use than other devices, and we believe it’s a huge step forward for global healthcare. This is still just the beginning for Acurable and I cannot wait for what comes next.”

About AcuPebble

AcuPebble systems operate on the principle of acoustic sensing, whereby the sounds generated by the body’s physiological functions are sensed with a proprietary non-invasive wearable device. The signals are then transferred wirelessly to a mobile device and to the cloud where algorithms (also proprietary) automatically extract the physiological parameters and indexes used by doctors to diagnose and manage important cardio-respiratory conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

About Acurable

Acurable is a fast-growing medical devices company with offices in London and Seville. Its award-winning, patented AcuPebble technology enables the automated diagnosis and management of respiratory conditions at home. It builds on the foundation of more than 10 years of research at the Wearable Technologies Lab in the Imperial College London, by Acurable’s founder, Professor Esther Rodriguez-Villegas.

Falls are one of the most significant health and economic issues in Australia and worldwide. In Australia, the treatment of injuries from falls in older people cost the economy $2.3 billion in 2020.

Now, a new algorithm written by researchers from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Sydney could help promote health in older people and at-risk population reports UNSW. The Watch Walk algorithm measures walking steadiness and speed. By pairing it with a wearable tech device such as a smartwatch, the algorithm can provide real-time feedback on how to improve individual walking stability to reduce falls.

Digital gait biomarkers are quantitative measures of aspects of an individual’s gait, such as posture, cadence, walking speed, and length of stride, that offer insights into the overall health and functional decline and can often predict their likelihood to fall.

Read more: Australian Government Allots US$7 Million to Enhance Healthcare Using Wearables

UNSW Medicine & Health and NeuRA research and co-lead author of the study, Lloyd Chan said it was the first time an algorithm for measuring gait had been widely tested in real-world environments. “We know that the way people walk is a predictor of their health. For example, people who walk more slowly, infrequently, in smaller steps, or for shorter distances are typically more likely to suffer a fall."

“Our goal was to capture this data through looking at how individuals naturally walk in their daily lives and then test this broadly on over 70,000 individuals.”

The new algorithm was created using movement data generated from wrist sensors worn by 101 study participants aged between 19 and 81. The algorithm's validity was later tested in another study involving around 79,000 participants from the UK Biobank database. Participants aged 46 to 77 were instructed to wear wrist devices for a week to record their movements, which were classified into walking, running, stationary, or unspecified arm activity. This study then found the Watch Walk algorithm to precisely measure those movements.

According to the researchers, their two-stage study was the first to widely test an algorithm for measuring gait in real-world environments.