Nov. 23 Media Roundup

There were several big headlines that caught our eye last week. On the tech side, there was more promising news in the home-based healthcare front, new devices released in the “brain training” industry and plenty of funding raised by startups. 

Catch up on all of last week’s news highlights below, and follow along with us everyday on Twitter and LinkedIn.

mHealth and Tech

• The $1.3 billion “brain training” industry is expected to be worth $6 billion by 2020.
• A new wearable device boasts it can lower stress levels. Made by Caeden, the bracelet-like device measures response to stress and anxiety by interpreting heart rate variability.
• PharmaVOICE discusses how mHealth devices will improve healthcare and outcomes.
• An artificial intelligence program in Japan did well enough on the college-entrance exam to be admitted into Japanese universities. (To be fair though, the software program had been cramming for the exam since 2011…)
• Digital health startup Wellframe is using digital health tools to help schizophrenia patients manage chronic conditions.
• What is disruptive innovation? Harvard Business Review takes a look at how the phrase can be used inaccurately to describe businesses and why it matters.
• Lumos, a maker of devices and activity monitors in clothing, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Coming soon: more fitness and apparel from the company that will work with its devices.
• Denmark-based Cortrium raised $1.6 million for a home-based and in-patient health tracking device. Its C3 device monitors a variety of health metrics with a new version promising to include an oxygen saturation and blood pressure feature.
• New York Magazine gives a shout out to mid-century Silicon Alley and some of its quirky inventions. A few of the gems highlighted include picture phones, the world’s first video game and an enormous, special-purpose calculator.
• Anxious for your kids to have their very own activity trackers? One company has created a fitness tracker and an app made just for kids.
• Forget the days of your smartphone being seen as a detriment to your health. An article in The New York Times highlights the five ways your smartphone can help your health.

Data

• One company is showing that healthcare can learn from Moneyball-type statistics and is using the data to improve outcomes.
• Curious how IT and big data are driving personalized medicine? Here are six ways it's taking place.

Pharma and Life Sciences

• Biologists are increasingly becoming the next rockstar designers in the life sciences.
• Big news in the pharma world last week. Sanofi and AstraZeneca agreed to swap 420,000 compounds to boost each other’s R&D efforts.
• Read up on how patient centricity has positive benefits in the pharma and clinical trial communities.
• Nanobots may join the fight against cancer. One researcher wants to inject patients with trillions of nanobots designed to target and fight cancerous cells.
• How does a cancer treatment for children differ from one in adults? The New York Times explores this and other issues in their Patient Voices video about childhood cancer.
• Wondering what will happen if the 21st Century Cares Act is passed? PharmaVOICE explains how the Act holds promise for both patients and the pharma industry.
• A former FDA compliance officer talks about some changes and trends in risk based monitoring. One his takeaways? RBM allows ”a true quality management system.”
• A new medical port implant is helping cancer patients access chemotherapy via improved drug flow. The device sits directly under the skin near the collarbone.
• Amazed by your pet’s seemingly internal GPS? Check out the theories behind how animals navigate long distances relying on their senses.
• Google’s $50 million bet that it can cure heart disease made headlines last week. The company is working with the American Heart Association on the five-year research effort.