Becker's Hospital Review

64 INNOVATION MIT says AI can detect Parkinson's from a person's breathing By Giles Bruce R esearchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a tool that combines artificial intelligence and a contactless sensor can detect Parkinson's disease by the way a person breathes. e results of the study were published Aug. 22 in Nature Medicine. e noninvasive tool developed by the researchers uses an AI- powered device resembling a Wi-Fi router that emits radio signals to analyze breathing patterns as patients sleep. "In terms of drug development, the results can enable clinical trials with a significantly shorter duration and fewer participants, ultimately accelerating the development of new therapies," Dina Katabi, PhD, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science and principal investigator at the MIT Jameel Clinic in Cambridge, Mass., stated in an Aug. 22 university news release. "In terms of clinical care, the approach can help in the assessment of Parkinson's patients in traditionally underserved communities, including those who live in rural areas and those with difficulty leaving home due to limited mobility or cognitive impairment." Ray Dorsey, MD, a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and co-author of the study, compared the current Parkinson's assessments to a "street lamp at night, and what we see from the street lamp is a very small segment." "[Dr. Katabi's] entirely contactless sensor helps us illuminate the darkness," he said. is research was also performed in collaboration with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and is funded by the National Institutes of Health with partial sponsorship by the National Science Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. n Alphabet-backed GV's big ventures into healthcare By Giles Bruce G V, the venture capital arm of Google parent company Alphabet, has made a bold move into healthcare, investing in dozens of startups — from those specializing in diagnostics to medical devices to health tech — since 2009. "As a group, we want to change how healthcare is delivered, make more impactful drugs, and improve all aspects of people's access to care," writes GV's life sciences team, which is made up of people who've worked as physicians, scientists and healthcare operators. GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, is mirroring the big healthcare plays of other venture capital firms like General Catalyst, which has been poaching former hospital executives and funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to funds dedicated to health startups. GV was the most active digital health investor in 2021, completing 22 deals, according to CB Insights. The firm has been busy this year as well, investing in precision medicine startup Vicinitas Therapeutics, clinician management startup Medallion, direct-pay medical marketplace Sesame, pharmacy supply chain company Waltz Health, and pediatric mental health platform Brightline. GV venture partner Ben Robbins, MD, told the American Journal of Managed Care in an interview published July 11 that the company focuses more on hospital infrastructure projects and pharma collaborations than direct patient care. "The issue is just that, when there's technology solutions, it's often just really hard to get providers to understand the technology, to use the technology," Dr. Robbins said. "They're often really busy, they have sort of bad experiences with legacy software. So we spend most of our time looking at the intersection of technology and services." GV's other notable portfolio companies include 23andMe, Aledade, Aspire Health, Clover Health, Doctor on Demand, Flatiron Health, One Medical, Viz.ai and Zephyr Health. n Healthcare ransomware attacks up 328% By Noah Schwartz H ealthcare ransomware attacks jumped 328 percent in the second quarter of this year, despite a drop in the attacks globally, according to the 2022 midyear update of the "SonicWall Cyber Threat Report." The second quarter saw a 23 percent drop in ransomware cyber attacks, attributed to geopolitical factors and volatile cryptocurrency prices, the California-based network security company SonicWall said in the July 26 report. n

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