Mind to Machines

Hey Healthcare Innovators! 👋

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for being a valued subscriber of Pulse Disruption. Our mission has always been to bring you the finest insights and updates in the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen incident, we had to take a brief pause.

But here we are, reinvigorated and back with Issue #006, bringing you the latest and greatest in healthcare tech news. We're more committed than ever to delivering quality content that meets your expectations. My sincere apologies for the temporary interruption, and I appreciate your patience.

In the coming weeks, we'll be unveiling several exciting features that will enhance your experience. In the meantime, I invite you to take a moment to fill out our survey. Your input will play a pivotal role in tailoring our content to your needs and preferences.

Best regards, Daniel

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🌐 Healthcare x Tech

Google's AI Revolutionizes Healthcare

Google Research is using AI to redefine healthcare. Collaborating with the medical community, they're making a significant difference. Explore how AI is changing the game, aiding radiologists, and setting new standards in medical question answering with models like Med-PaLM.

But it doesn't stop there. Google is all about real-world impact. They're validating their research in clinical settings through partnerships, from Kenya to Osaka. By sharing their insights and open-sourcing technologies, they're empowering the healthcare community to create a more accessible, precise, and equitable future.

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A Step Closer to Connecting the Mind to Machines

Elon Musk's pioneering venture, Neuralink, is embarking on its first human clinical trial, marking a significant milestone in the field of brain-computer interfaces. The "PRIME Study" will focus on implanting chips in the brains of patients with paralysis, aiming to allow them to control computers through their thoughts. While this endeavor has been years in the making, it signifies a promising leap forward in the world of neural technology.

Patients suffering from quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injuries or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may qualify for this six-year study. A surgically implanted chip, controlled by a robot, will record and transmit brain signals to an app. Elon Musk's vision of connecting the human brain to a computer is becoming a reality, with human trials commencing after initial animal testing. As science fiction meets reality, Neuralink takes a substantial step toward the future.

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Supercomputers and AI to Transform Cancer Pathology with Unprecedented Scale

Microsoft has teamed up with Paige, a leading pathology software provider, to create enormous AI models for cancer diagnosis. Leveraging Paige's FDA-cleared AI pathology product with over a billion image types, Microsoft's supercomputing and cloud infrastructure will drive the development of groundbreaking AI models for cancer pathology, promising revolutionary insights into patient care. Paige, originating at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, initially launched Paige Prostate Detect and has since expanded to over 500,000 pathology slides. The next phase aims to include up to four million digitized microscopy slides, allowing global deployment of this AI capability via Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. This partnership is set to elevate the accuracy and capabilities of cancer diagnostics, offering valuable support to pathologists and significantly advancing patient care.

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💰  Healthcare x Startups

• Vera scores $90M to grow its AI-powered clinical data labeling platform.

• Oncology startup Monte Rosa raises $96M to advance its protein degradation drugs.

• Neuro tech startup Rune Labs gets $22.8M to expand its platform mapping brain health.

• Mental health startup Real lands $10M to scale its therapy matching platform.

• Concerto HealthAI snags $150M to build out its healthcare AI ecosystem.

• Diagnostics startup MeMed gets $20M to launch its immune-based infection test.

• Mindset Medical bags $15M to advance its VR platform for chronic pain.

• Data analytics startup Arcadia acquires clinical data firm Blue Health for $1B.

• Smartphone ultrasound startup Caption Health gains $135M to expand its AI capabilities.

• Wearable ECG maker AliveCor nets $45M to accelerate its atrial fibrillation detection.

Costco Joins Forces with Sesame for Affordable Healthcare

Costco is partnering with Sesame, a New York-based medical marketplace startup, to transform healthcare for its members. Sesame offers direct access to primary care and mental health clinicians for online and in-person appointments without the need for insurance. Costco members can now enjoy primary care visits and discounts starting at just $29 through this collaboration. With more than 3,500 clinicians onboard, Sesame is making quality healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone. Costco's initiative comes at a pivotal moment as the company seeks to enhance the member experience and boost sales post-pandemic. This move aligns with a trend of retailers entering the healthcare space, marking a new era of healthcare at Costco.

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🕰️ Blasts from the Past: This Week in Medical History

1. November 7, 1867: "The World's First Successful Appendectomy" - Dr. Isaac McArthur performed the world's first successful appendectomy in Dundee, Scotland. This landmark surgery marked the beginning of safe and effective removal of the appendix, a procedure that has since saved countless lives.

2. November 1, 1895: "X-ray Discovery Illuminates Medicine" - Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays, revolutionizing medical diagnostics. This groundbreaking technology allowed doctors to see inside the human body without invasive procedures.

3. November 2, 1938: "The Discovery of Vitamin C" - Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of vitamin C, an essential nutrient that has since played a crucial role in human health.

4. November 7, 1967: "First Successful Heart Transplant" - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first successful heart transplant in South Africa. The surgery marked a giant leap in organ transplantation and saved the life of Louis Washkansky.

🤖 Healthtech x Robots

CMR Surgical Raises $165M for Global Robot Expansion

CMR Surgical, a challenger to the robotic surgery giant Intuitive Surgical, secures $165 million in funding to expand the reach of its Versius soft tissue system. This funding will support the global commercialization of the system and drive product innovation, propelling CMR Surgical into more geographies. With over 15,000 successful procedures across seven surgical specialties, CMR Surgical's robot offers a smaller, more cost-effective alternative to Intuitive's da Vinci system.

Robotic soft tissue procedures represent one of medtech's fastest-growing and under-penetrated markets, opening up significant opportunities for CMR Surgical. The company is determined to carve its place in the market and is actively engaged with the FDA for a potential U.S. launch. CMR's latest funding round follows a remarkable $600 million investment in 2021, and its Versius systems are already making a difference in hospitals across the globe.

Intriguingly, CMR's journey to reshape robotic surgery was bolstered by major investors, and with this newfound capital, it is all set to revolutionize the field further.

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🧠 Healthcare x AI

DeepMind's AI Revolutionizes Genetic Disease Prediction

About a decade ago, Žiga Avsec, a former physics student turned genomics enthusiast, faced the daunting task of identifying the genetic mutations responsible for rare diseases. This "needle in a haystack" problem involved sifting through millions of potential culprits hidden in the human genome. Of particular interest were missense variants, tiny genetic changes with potentially significant health impacts.

With over 71 million possible missense variants in our DNA and only a small fraction categorized through laborious research, identifying harmful mutations was a formidable challenge. That is until Google DeepMind unveiled AlphaMissense. This revolutionary machine learning model can predict with 90% accuracy which missense variants are likely to cause diseases, surpassing existing tools.

Built on AlphaFold's foundation, AlphaMissense doesn't predict protein structures; it deciphers the language of biology. By spotting abnormal amino acid sequences in proteins, it assigns a "pathogenicity score" to each variant. This means researchers can now prioritize their investigations and accelerate genetic disease research. AlphaMissense is poised to transform genomics, speed up diagnosis, and unveil the secrets hidden within our genetic code. It's a game-changer that promises to make understanding our DNA even more attainable.

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🌎  Healthcare x LATAM x Bolivia

Battling Chagas in Bolivia: Empowering Communities in the Fight Against a 'Silent' Killer

Chagas, a "silent" killer in Latin America, is finally meeting its match as doctors and communities in Bolivia join forces. In a groundbreaking effort, a coalition of global healthcare experts and the Bolivian Ministry of Health is taking on Chagas, a parasitic disease transmitted by kissing bugs. The disease's high prevalence in regions like Gran Chaco, with a 20% infection rate, makes this area the frontline of the battle against Chagas.

Chagas, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, claims thousands of lives every year, making it the deadliest parasite in Latin America. However, it's also one of the most neglected diseases, affecting mostly impoverished, rural communities. The battle involves multiple fronts, including using new technology to detect infections early, particularly among pregnant women, and educating the community about the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. By empowering local communities and leveraging innovative methods, the fight against Chagas is gaining ground, offering hope in a region where the disease has silently thrived for too long.

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That’s all for this week.
The Pulse Disruption Team