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AGs urge action from FDA on biased pulse oximeter technology
Attorneys-General representing half of the US and Washington are calling on the FDA to step up its ongoing efforts to eliminate racial biases from...
AI tool could predict heart attack 10 years ahead: Oxford study
Artificial intelligence could help predict if a person is likely to have a heart attack up to 10 years before it happens, suggest British...
New Discovery Health apps frustrating, say users
Several innovative new services were recently launched by Discovery app, enabling 24/7 virtual consultations with doctors, and medication delivery, as well as immediate help...
FDA still not satisfied with Philips recall
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still not satisfied with how technology company Philips has handled a major product recall and instructed the...
Growing role for AI in everyday medical interactions
As technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in the medical industry, with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) having...
AI helps drugmakers slash clinical trial costs and time
Leading pharmaceutical companies are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to find patients for clinical trials quickly, or to reduce the number of people needed to...
ChatGPT diagnoses child’s illness after 17 doctors fail
A mother at the end of her tether after 17 medical experts were unable to diagnose her little boy’s debilitating pain – for three...
Euthanasia ‘pod’ ready for use, says inventor
The controversial inventor dubbed ‘Dr Death’ says his 3D-printed coffin-like “suicide capsules” will be used for the first time in Switzerland this year, giving...
Will AI make radiologists redundant?
The diagnostic power of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly rising and changing healthcare along the way, with experts cautioning that if medical professionals try...
Hope for paralysed, as device translates brain signals to words
Scientists have developed a device that translates paralysed people’s brain signals
into words at faster speeds than before, with plans to improve this even further,...
Swift detection of cancer in mammograms by AI – Swedish study
A preliminary study by Swedish scientists, involving 80 000 women, suggests artificial intelligence (AI) tools can “safely” read breast cancer screening images and detect cancer...
Rapid Covid detection with 3D-created breath test – US study
A device created by researchers can detect SARS-CoV-2 in just one or two breaths and provide results in less than one minute, and would...
US team designs wearable tumour-detecting device to fit in bra
A wearable mini ultrasound device that will detect tumours when they are still in early stages – and which fits into a bra –...
Quick blood test might ID osteoporosis risk – Spanish study
Researchers have developed a biosensor – using less than a drop of blood – that could some day help identify people most at risk...
SA medical students use technology to boost organ donation
A group of Stellenbosch University medical students is using technology to raise awareness of organ donation, aiming to reach more than 1m South Africans...
AI can’t replicate this crucial aspect of practising medicine
As people become increasingly familiar with artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT, it’s only a matter of time before patients turn to these tools seeking...
Smartwatches may predict early Parkinson’s – UK study
Artificial intelligence, used to analyse data from 103 712 smartwatch wearers, was able to suggest which wearers were likely to develop Parkinson’s disease –...
Global fund aims to reduce tech harm to mental health
Screen overuse in the early stages of human development can trigger concentration and behavioural disorders, including depression, say 27 global investors who are managing...
Cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology for SA
A facility in South Africa is building capacity to enable next generation sequencing (NGS) – touted by the WHO as being critical to the...
Dermatologists embrace the 'dermoverse'
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a significant ally in dermatology and will become an indispensable component of consultations within four or five years, believe practitioners, who...
ChatGPT adept at answering common public health questions – US study
A team of scientists recently evaluated how well ChatGPT handles general health inquiries from the lay public, and concluded – from the responses –...
Tinnitus relief on horizon with innovative device
A double-blind randomised clinical trial of a device aimed at silencing the phantom sounds of tinnitus has yielded promising results for a condition that...
‘Pop-up’ inflatable theatre to revolutionise emergency surgery
An American start-up has developed a portable sterile surgery system – which can be fitted in a backpack and set up in minutes – that allows...
New 3D mobile mammograms for Gauteng
A state-of-the-art R3.8m 3D mammogram machine, housed in a distinctive, bright pink truck, in Gauteng, will make it easier to spot minor abnormalities that...
How software bias leads to under-diagnosis in black men’s lung problems
Software bias in a common medical test for lung function is leading to fewer black patients getting care for breathing problems, according to research...
Paralysed man walks again with brain-spine digital bridge
A man who broke his neck and was paralysed in a cycling accident in 2011 has been able to stand and walk with an...
Electronic skin gives amputees sense of touch – US study
A team of American scientists has invented a type of electronic skin that can “talk directly to the brain”, and would allow amputees to feel a...
ChatGPT tops doctors when it comes to bedside manner – US study
ChatGPT appears to have a better “bedside manner” than some doctors – at least when their written advice is rated for quality and empathy,...
New AI tool IDs cancer, speeds up diagnosis
An artificial intelligence model designed and built by doctors, scientists and researchers is able to accurately identify cancer in a development they say could...
Pacemakers too big for children, wireless devices better but risky
Pacemakers, used by many patients with irregular heart rhythms, are not built for children, and do not mesh well with growing bodies, say scientists,...
New mobile kits spot cancer within hours
Spanish researchers have made a breakthrough that could enable cancer to be detected within hours, using cheap and easy mobile testing kits, and opening...
Hospital group pioneers e-scripting
In a nod to the digital era, electronic prescriptions (e-scripting) at Netcare hospitals is making traditional handwritten prescriptions obsolete, and reducing the risks of...
Race versus skin tone debate in resolving pulse oximeters' false readings
Physicians and government regulators are increasingly aware that pulse oximeters measure oxygen levels less accurately in patients with darker skin. But the issue with...
Smart watches could interfere with heart devices – US study
Some of the newer smart watches, smart rings and other “smart” products can interfere with implanted electronic medical devices that control heart rhythms, such...
World's first ‘vagina chip’ designed to better understand women's health
Women’s health advocates have long argued that far more research is needed on women's bodies and health – and the first-ever “vagina on a...
The risks of ChatGPT in healthcare
The sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is the cornerstone of the healthcare profession – a protected space steeped in tradition, the Hippocratic oath, medical...
Custom 3D-printed hearts could improve valve replacement procedures
Scientists are making custom 3D-printed replicas of human hearts in an effort to improve replacement valve procedures, according to a study, which could optimise...
First UK patient gets early heart failure alert implant
A cutting-edge procedure to implant an early warning device into a heart failure patient has been carried out for the first time in the...
US team designs novel mapping of colorectal cancer
From around the age of 45, regular colonoscopies are recommended. However, despite the availability of this highly visual screening process, treatment decisions for individual patients...
AI detects pneumonia through hearing a cough – Korean findings
New artificial intelligence-based technology can diagnose pneumonia by listening to someone cough, and scientists say if rolled out, people could diagnose themselves without going...