#206 - I spy with my little eye...👁️
#206 - I spy with my little eye...👁️
The one-minute healthtech roundup brought to you by SomX.
Hi friends,
This week: Could AR become a surgeon’s new BFF? Are VCs *finally* beginning to see the power of femtech? And when was the last time you heard of a series E raise?
Love healthtech, hate reading? 👀
Listen to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast ➡️ James and Jessica from SomX breakdown the best stories from this week’s newsletter (with some help from Flo Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Anna Klepchukova.). Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
News Bites 🥪
👂🏼 Sonova launches first real-time AI hearing aid – Pigeon always loves a “first-of-its-kind” story! It keeps the excitement alive and Pigeon feeling young. This week’s sip from the fountain of youth comes courtesy of Sonova, a company that has unveiled the Sphere Infinio—the first real-time AI-powered hearing aid designed to enhance speech volume in noisy environments.
👾 The transformative power of augmented reality in healthcare – We all know that AR is making serious waves in healthcare, giving surgeons a real-time, interactive view of patient anatomy that enhances precision and safety in the operating room. But did you know this technology is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 36%? Impressive, right? Healthcare is clearly stepping into a whole new reality... Get it? No? Tough crowd...
🤦🏾♀️ AI for mental health screening may carry biases based on gender, race – AI needs to be trained on more diverse data sets, people! How. Many. Times. Do. We. Need. To. Squark. It?! Researchers have found that AI tools are biased and struggle to recognise mental health issues due to variations in how people of different genders and races communicate. As a result, these tools might overlook key signs of conditions like depression and anxiety, potentially leading to underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis.
🍄 New method could unlock benefits of psychedelic treatments –While Pigeon would love to dive into stories about unnamed substances, we'll focus on something more appropriate for such a prestigious and upstanding platform*: a new tool called CaST. CaST tracks how psychedelic drugs activate neurons and molecules in the brain, revealing their potential for treating brain disorders. By observing how psychedelics promote neuron growth and strengthen connections, CaST could lead to improved treatments with fewer side effects.
🚺 New Research And Tech Transform Hernia Treatment For Women – Many women feel their pain is dismissed or misdiagnosed by doctors, with one in five reporting that their hernia symptoms were brushed off. But things are looking up! Pioneering research on sex-based differences in hernia diagnosis aims to correct these biases, ensuring women receive the care they need by improving diagnostic and treatment approaches.
💰 Mental health benefits company Spring Health hits $3.3B valuation, boosted by $100M series E round – When Pigeon says “Ker,” you say “Ching!” Spring Health, a digital mental health company, has raised $100 million in a Series E funding round, boosting its valuation to $3.3 billion—a whopping 32% increase from just 15 months ago. The company plans to use the new funds to enhance its technology, expand into speciality areas like pediatric mental health and treatment-resistant depression, and continue its mission to eliminate barriers to mental health care.
👀 AI assistant eases NHS pressure in cataract care – Move over, Miss Explorer—there's a new Dora in town! An AI-powered voice system named Dora is easing the pressure on NHS staff by providing efficient and cost-effective follow-up care for cataract patients. Developed in Oxford and currently used by nine hospital trusts in southern England, Dora autonomously calls patients post-surgery, asks follow-up questions, and identifies those needing further medical attention, significantly reducing the resource burden on staff.
🚀 Femtech startups appear on track for record VC funding – Femtech startups are cruising toward a record year in 2024, with $1.2 billion already locked in and predictions that surpass the 2021 high. From Flo Health’s $200 million Series C funding to BillionToOne’s impressive $130 million Series D, these startups are proving that women’s health is (maybe) beginning to catch the eye of (some) venture capitalists. With growing attention on women’s health, it looks like femtech is on the up and up and Pigeon couldn’t be more pleased. More of this please!
What to listen to 🔊
Events 📅
Intelligent Health: Basel
🕣 Sept 11-12
📍 Basel, Switzerland
Healthtech Innovation Day
🕣 Sept 17-18
📍 Paris, France
Hardian Health Tech Summit -(tickets available to newsletter subscribers only)
🕣 Sept 19
📍 London
Health on Stage
🕣 Sept 19
📍Brussels, Belgium
Mental Health Innovation Network
🕣 Sept 20
📍London
Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomX’s events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
📊 Chief Data Officer, Stealth Mode AI Company — Attention AI, data science, and structural bioinformatics experts! There’s a company who aren’t quite ready to live life in public, but are on the hunt for a data whizz who can can develop a comprehensive data and AI strategy aligned with their company goals and overseeing data collection and analysis.
🌎 Global Head of Regulatory and Safety Operations, Google Health — This role is for someones who is a stickler for the rules. If you have experience working through the unique regulatory and quality challenges faced in the industry and a deep understanding of global health regulations, Pigeon’s got just the opportunity for you.
👩💻 Senior Software Developer, Dr Julian Medical Group — Are you a programming expert? Do you have excellent problem-solving skills? Are you looking for your next big opportunity? Well, you may want to drop the team and Dr Julian Medical Group a line…
👨🏾⚕️ Clinical Assessor, Scarlet — Scarlet are on a mission to speed up the world’s transition to accessible healthcare and they need an expect Clinical Assessor on theor team to do just that! If you have a background in clinical medicine and experience analysing and critically appraising clinical research how could you possibly say no to supporting Scarlet achieve their mission!?
*Drop Pigeon a DM, and we can spill some tea.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
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SomX is a communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.