Direct-to-consumer, direct-to-phone. New York City-based home testing startup LetsGetChecked has launched its first mobile app for iOS. Through it, consumers will be able to order more testing kits from the company, integrate with services from wearables partners like Fitbit and Apple, and address the results of their tests one-on-one with a LetsGetChecked professional.
"We want healthcare to be...
This week in M&A. Imprivata, a tech company providing identity and authentication tools designed specifically for healthcare, has acquired GroundControl Solutions, inc., which is known for its automated enterprise mobile device management software. Imprivata anticipates that the purchase of this new tech will augment its platform with new capabilities for large and small healthcare...
On Apple and patents. A New York University School of Medicine cardiologist is unhappy with Apple Watch’s heart rate irregularity detection feature, which he claims in a new lawsuit infringes his own patent for atrial fibrillation detection technology. Filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on December 27, 2019, the suit describes Dr. Joseph Wiesel’s invention and his...
ECG algorithm picks up Breakthrough Device status. Eko, the maker of tools for monitoring heart function, announced yesterday that a novel ECG-based algorithm for detecting lowered left ventricular ejection fraction has received Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA. By analyzing a 15-second clip of ECG data collected via the company’s other products, the algorithm aims to assist with...
Not so fast? Google’s plans to purchase Fitbit will soon be under the US Department of Justice’s lens. According to a New York Post report, the merger raised antitrust flags at both the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission, with the former federal agency ultimately winning out.
The Post’s sources said that both of these agencies are hesitant to allow Google an even greater view into individuals’...
#Pelotonad. Peloton has found itself in the middle of controversy as a recent television ad released by the company was panned by many as sexist. The roughly 30-second video, in which a husband purchases the connected exercise bike for his wife as a Christmas gift, has generated a backlash consisting of Twitter hashtags, viral parodies and a roughly 10% drop in Peloton’s stock price; however, the...
Apple's high on health. Apple CEO Tim Cook was pleased as punch with his company’s latest quarterly and yearly report, which he said on an investor’s call yesterday was Apple’s “highest revenue in a September quarter ever” at $64 billion. Thirty-three million dollars of this was in iPhone revenue — a 9% decline over last year that he felt was a significant step up from the 15% decline seen...
Alphabet serious about health wearables? Alphabet has reportedly put in an unspecified offer to buy out Fitbit, according to anonymous sources talking to Reuters. The news comes roughly a month after another report from the outlet suggesting that the wearables maker had brought on investment firm Qatalyst Partners to explore a potential sale, in which Alphabet was name dropped as a potential...
Medicare Advantage plan reimbursing for Apple Watches. Startup Medicare payer Devoted Health will be offering Apple Watches to its members as a fitness benefit, according to a report from CNBC that MobiHealthNews confirmed with the company. Devoted Health wrote in its marketing materials that it will be covering $150 of the cost of “wearable devices like an Apple Watch” per year alongside other...
Sixth time's the charm? Roche’s Accu-Chek Connect Diabetes Management App has notched its sixth device recall from the FDA, this time due to meter-to-app data transfer issues for users with Android OS 8.0 and above. According to the agency’s posting, Roche notified partners, users and call centers of the issue and released and update addressing the problem before the end of that month.
Prior to...
