Elon Musk demos Neuralink implant in pigs, Ellipsis Health’s vocal biomarker application start and additional digital health news briefs

Hogwash, or a mind action breakthrough? Friday evening arrived with a long-awaited appear at the perform of Neuralink, Elon Musk’s bold brain-computer interface implant startup. In the streamed progress update, Musk ran down a PowerPoint overview of the technology’s capabilities, which he likened to “a Fitbit in your skull.” The coin-shaped implant will read and wirelessly transmit brain alerts to a close by intelligent device, be somewhat imperceptible when implanted flush with the skull, be equipped to be introduced and taken out devoid of causing problems to the user’s brain, and have a comprehensive working day of battery existence he said.

The centerpiece of the demo have been pigs that Musk explained had both been implanted with the unit, or recently had the system eradicated. A visual and audio exhibit of a single pig’s brain exercise was offered to the audience, which Musk explained was a serious-time demonstration of the pig’s mind stimuli as it sniffed all-around its pen.

According to the presentation, Neuralink received Food and drug administration Breakthrough System designation in July, and is preparing approvals and protection screening for a to start with-ever human implantation that Musk claimed would be occurring “before long.” Fast use instances supplied by Musk provided limb placement prediction for prosthetics, but the tech founder did not shy away from additional bold targets this sort of as depression, PTSD or even connecting to a Tesla car or truck more down the line.


An ear for behavioral health. Voice-dependent important indications corporation Ellipsis Health declared nowadays the broad release of its Rising Increased application, a clinical choice support resource that can help suppliers and payers evaluate nervousness and despair signs and symptoms.

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The firm’s cloud-based algorithms listens to a patient’s speech to make its behavioral health predictions, and is supposed for use both as a health screen or a distant monitoring device. It is accessible on the Application Keep and Google Play retail store, and may well be built-in with other cellular and web apps or APIs.

“Given that our present-day process has a major reliance on self-reporting or recognition by non-behavioral health providers, way too lots of people obtain treatment far too late,” Dr. Michael Aratow, cofounder and chief medical officer of Ellipsis, reported in a statement. “Even for individuals that are identified, clinicians have small insight into a patient’s everyday living outdoors of a medical come upon with number of early warning symptoms of deterioration or relapse. Ellipsis Health’s speech-primarily based vital signals help vendors to discover folks that want aid much sooner and get visibility into their mental states above time in a steady and scalable way.”


Abbott quickly ships out its new COVID exams. Scorching on the heels of its Unexpected emergency Use Authorization, Abbott struck a $750 million offer with the Trump administration to provide 150 million rapid, app-paired COVID-19 exams, Politico reports. Sources stated that the checks would be dispersed to nursing residences, universities and other substantial-risk populations.

According to Abbott, the assessments will be manufactured at a price of 1 million for every day, and for a expense of $5 can generate a exam result in as minimal as 15 minutes.


Holding observe of complicated treatment. A new platform has released that focuses on supporting chronic condition patients getting complicated care from numerous providers.

Backed by a Y Combinator grant and the XX Accelerator, the Wingspan cellular software assists organize and manage various individual portals, diagnoses, indications, appointments and suggestions on a cellular platform.