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California Extends HIPAA Telehealth Waiver to End of Public Health Emergency

February 08, 2022 California Governor Gavin Newsom has extended an Executive Order (EO) enabling physicians to conduct routine and non-emergency telehealth services without risk of being penalized for the inadvertent release of patient data.  Executive Order N-16-21 continues an order put in place in April of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, which gave … Read more

University of South Florida (USF) students develop new lifesaving ventilator

February 03, 2022 Three (3) Biomedical Engineering Graduates from the University of South Florida (USF) in the United States have developed a lifesaving medical ventilator to support the Covid-19 crisis.  Carolyna Yamamoto Alves Pinto, Abby Blocker and Jacob Yarinsky have developed the patent-pending prototype device, Eucovent, that allows two patients to be ventilated by a … Read more

Breast cancer: Artificial intelligence boosts accuracy of tumor diagnoses

February 01, 2022 Each year around two million women around the world are diagnosed with breast cancer.  Typically, tissue samples of the tumor are taken and analyzed and then the cancer is placed into one (1) of three (3) categories – low risk, or grade 1; medium risk, or grade 2; and high risk, or … Read more

Scientists develop 3D printed microneedle vaccine patch that outperforms jabs

January 28, 2022 Applied directly to the skin, the microneedle patch reportedly delivered an immune response ten (10) times greater than a vaccine delivered into an arm muscle via a needle jab.  The microneedle patch also has other advantages, including easy and painless delivery, and the potential to be self-administered.  “In developing this technology, we … Read more

FDA extends temporary halt in inspections driven by the Omicron COVID-19 variant

January 25, 2022 FDA previously announced it would halt certain inspectional activities out of concern for its employees and those of the companies it regulates amid the wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron COVID-19 variant.  At the time, the Agency said it would continue to conduct “mission-critical” work through 19 January 2022.  In … Read more

Pioneering Alzheimer’s test could increase early diagnosis

January 20, 2022 A pioneering EEG test could dramatically increase early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, researchers have announced.  Scientists have developed a two-minute passive-test called Fastball EEG that measures people’s brain waves in response to a series of images, potentially helping diagnose dementia earlier.  Participants look at a series of flashing images on a computer screen … Read more

New machine learning approach can identify your circadian rhythm from a blood sample

January 18, 2022 Many of the body’s physiological activities, including hunger, wakefulness, and metabolism, run on 24 hour cycles called circadian rhythms.  These cycles are primarily controlled by the release of chemical messengers into the bloodstream from the brain and have been linked to cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and weight-gain. Measuring circadian rhythms could significantly … Read more

FDA temporarily halts inspections due to Omicron COVID variant

January 11, 2022 Just before the New Year, on 29 December 2021, FDA “implemented temporary changes to its inspectional activities to ensure the safety of its employees and those of the firms it regulates as the agency further adapts to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of the omicron variant.”  FDA announced the changes … Read more