Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Google Health, Mayo Clinic Target Radiation Therapy In First Joint Project
Modern Healthcare: Mayo, Google Want To Speed Radiation Therapy Planning With AI
Mayo Clinic and Google Health on Wednesday launched a joint research project to study whether artificial intelligence can automate aspects of radiation therapy planning. Radiation therapy is common cancer treatment that involves using X-ray, proton or other energy beams to kill cancer cells. A critical part of planning for the therapy is contouring, or segmenting healthy tissue and organs from nearby tumors. Mayo and Google Health officials think contouring could be helped with AI. (Cohen, 10/28)
Stat: Google And Mayo Clinic To Use AI To Better Target Radiation Therapy
In the first project of their sweeping data partnership, Google and the Mayo Clinic will build an artificial intelligence tool to guide the targeting of radiation therapy in cancer patients, the organizations said Wednesday. The tool will draw contours around tumors in the head and neck, dividing them from healthy tissue, and help to determine radiation dosage and develop treatment plans for patients. (Ross, 10/28)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —
Stat: A MacArthur 'Genius' Will Likely Use His Grant To Support His Wife’s Work
There’s a rare and touching symbiosis in Damien Fair’s marriage. The prominent University of Minnesota neuroscientist was honored earlier this month with a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, but he likely will spend his earnings — a cool, no-strings-attached $625,000 — to support his wife’s life’s work. (Keshavan, 10/29)
Stat: Startup Spotlight: Encoded Eyes A Gene Therapy For Dravet Syndrome
Kartik Ramamoorthi started the gene therapy company Encoded in an unusual way: by pitching it during a job interview. In 2014, Ramamoorthi found himself interviewing for a position at the Gates Foundation’s venture investments group. He already had a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and some post-graduate experience as a founding member of Voyager Therapeutics, a Third Rock Ventures-backed neurodegeneration startup. (Sheridan, 10/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Tiny Brain Implants Hold Big Promise For Immobilized Patients
When Phil O’Keefe wants to open a document or click a link on his computer screen, he can think about tapping his left ankle. That brain activity is collected by sensors implanted in a blood vessel in Mr. O’Keefe’s brain and relayed to a computer through devices in his chest. The signals are converted to a mouse click or zoom-in on his screen with the help of machine-learning software. (Hernandez and Cherney, 10/28)
