‘Black Box’ For Recording Every Action In An OR Is Tested In Massachusetts
The Boston Globe reports on an operating room-watching, AI-powered system that is meant to gain insights that can boost quality of procedures and performance, though it remains controversial. The Apple Watch ban, experimental Alzheimer's treatments, and more are also in the news.
The Boston Globe:
Mass General Brigham Is Testing An AI 'Black Box' For Surgeries
The operating room has long functioned in secrecy, a sanctum where a team works in quiet synchrony to cut open and, hopefully, repair an unconscious patient’s body. ... But now an AI-powered technology may put an end to the mystery, by recording what goes on in the OR in the finest detail — every move each person makes, every word uttered, every instrument used, every shift in the patient’s vital signs, more than a half-million data points from each OR over the course of each day. (Freyer, 1/13)
In other pharma and biotech news —
Reuters:
Redesigned Apple Watches Not Subject To Import Ban, US Customs Says
A U.S. law enforcement agency has determined that Apple can use a redesign to bypass an import ban on newer Apple Watch models stemming from its patent infringement dispute with Masimo, the medical-monitoring technology company said in a court filing on Monday. The import ban, issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), applies to Apple's current Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches and initially went into effect on Dec. 26. Apple convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the ban the next day, and has since resumed selling the watches as it contests the import ruling. (Brittain, 1/16)
The Boston Globe:
New Biomedical Institute Launching In Cambridge
A team of high-powered scientists and billionaire investors said Friday that they’re launching a biomedical institute in Cambridge’s Kendall Square with $500 million in private funding with the aim of shortening the path from research breakthroughs to life-saving medicines. The institute, called Arena BioWorks, will put drug discovery and company creation under one roof, upending the traditional model where academic research and venture-backed drug development are separate. (Weisman and Saltzman, 1/12)
CBS News:
Experimental Alzheimer's, Drug Addiction Ultrasound Trials Helping Patients
A man with Alzheimer's, knowing there's no cure for the disease, donned a million-dollar helmet for a cutting-edge treatment directing nearly a thousand beams of ultrasound energy at a target in his brain the size of a pencil point. Dan Miller, 61, said he didn't have anything to lose when he signed up for the experimental procedure, pioneered by Dr. Ali Rezai, a neurosurgeon. Doctors have used ultrasound for 70 years to get better views of organ and fetal development. Rezai is testing it now as a treatment tool for people with Alzheimer's and those battling drug addiction. (Alfonsi, Chasan, Campanile, and Hatcher, 1/14)
The Washington Post:
The Boom In Imitation Ozempic Went Bust For One Pharmacy And Its Clients
The orders for custom weight-loss drugs flooded into ACA Pharmacy in Nashville, where white bins holding prescriptions were stacked as tall as the staffers filling them. Over several months in 2023, ACA produced tens of thousands of its own variety of prescription weight-loss medications. A FedEx truck arrived regularly to ship the chilled boxes across the nation. Wall-mounted TV monitors inside the specialized pharmacy displayed its rising monthly revenue. Then, in late July, it all came crashing down. (Gilbert, 1/15)
