Global Fund taps VinBrain for Vietnam’s National TB Screening

Bill Gates’ The Global Fund has chosen health tech company VinBrain to support the National Tuberculosis Prevention Campaign in Vietnam by supplying its AI technology.

Under a commercial agreement, VinBrain will transfer 32 AI-related licenses of its technology to the government-initiated programme, assisting in the screening of about a million suspected TB cases starting in April and ultimately contributing to the elimination of TB in the country by 2035.

Based on a press release, VinBrain’s DrAid for TB Screening can help cut diagnosis time, potentially bringing down the screening costs from $50-$60 to just $1.

The same TB screening module will soon be integrated into Ghana’s national TB program as part of VinBrain’s recently signed memorandum of understanding with an African organisation. Another MOU was signed with two major hospitals in Guam that will be adopting VinBrain’s AI as part of their smart hospital transformation. 

Vuno signs with X-ray supplier Sedecal 

South Korean medical AI company Vuno has signed a deal with global X-ray supplier Sedecal to carry its chest X-ray reading solution. 

The Spain-headquartered company supplies X-ray systems to medical device companies around the world, including GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips and Agfa. 

Sedecal is incorporating Vuno’s AI-based solution into X-ray systems sold globally. It already completed product integration in January. 

Both companies intend to focus their sale of AI-powered X-ray systems in major European countries while eyeing expansion to Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa soon. They also intend to enter the United States market once Vuno secures regulatory approval over the coming years. 

Wellysis launching heart monitoring service with Artella in the US

Samsung spin-off Wellysis has entered into a collaboration with American company Artella Solutions to introduce a remote heart monitoring service in the United States.

Starting in Texas, the upcoming service features Wellysis’s US Food and Drug Administration-approved ECG-based solution S-Patch, along with the S-Patch ExL device, which allows for an extended testing period of up to 14 days on a single coin battery. 

Meanwhile, Wellysis is working to obtain another FDA clearance for its AI algorithms, which are also planned to be integrated into its new health service with Artella.

Korean CGM device gets CE mark

South Korean company i-SENS has obtained a CE mark under the European Union Medical Device Regulation for its CGM device, allowing its expansion into European markets. 

CareSens Air CGM, which is the first government-approved CGM device in South Korea, can continuously monitor blood sugar for up to 15 days and transmit data to a connected smartphone app every five minutes without the use of a separate receiver. 

The CE certification is I-SENS’s second regulatory approval since receiving the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s clearance in June last year.