New healthcare technology innovations developed outside the box offer clinicians more tools, including cloud-based telehealth, remote lab testing for infections and enhanced imaging for surgical precision. 

Google Cloud adds Pager's virtual care platform

Pager announced Monday that its 23 million-member-strong virtual care navigation and collaboration platform is available on Google Cloud Marketplace, which means its customers can now access cloud-based tools like artificial intelligence and analytics capabilities.

Pager offers AI automation and integrated concierge services, including triage, telemedicine, e-prescriptions, appointment scheduling, after-care follow-up, care advocacy and customer service. 

The company says that it aggregates a care team of nurses, doctors, pharmacists, coordinators and others and partners with payers, providers and employers. Payer and healthcare systems that are Google Cloud Partners can now purchase and deploy Pager's connected care system.

Preventx launches first STI Lab

Preventx announced Monday at the STI and HIV 2023 World Congress in Chicago that it is opening a specialized lab in Cincinnati to assist U.S. public health departments with implementing sexual health testing to reduce the incidence of rising sexually transmitted infections in their communities.

"We have a serious problem in the U.S. with the recent increase in STI cases pushing us towards a public health emergency and we have a professional responsibility to do everything we can to stop the spread," said Barbara Van Der Pol, laboratory director for Preventx, in a statement. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions in STI-related prevention and care activities and brought the realities of our strained public health infrastructure to light."

The digital STI platform can aid public health officials to reach hard-to-reach groups, such as those uncomfortable or unable to visit a clinic, Preventx said.

"Public health budgets are being cut while pressures on Disease Intervention Specialists and other public health staff increase, so remote testing can give some relief to U.S. public health officials," added Nick Malhomme, the company's international development director.

The company noted it has tested more than half the population of England and is the largest provider of remote sexual health testing across Europe. It claims more than 15 million tests performed and an 80% average rate of sample returns for the 5.5 million remote STI testing kits it has dispatched.

FDA clears MediView's AR system combining CT imaging with live ultrasound

The augmented reality device projects 3D virtual models of the patient's own anatomy based on their CT imaging and live ultrasound to assist in performing minimally invasive procedures, such as biopsies and tumor ablations, according to MediView's announcement last week.

It's to be used in addition to standard-of-care imaging, the company says. With it, clinicians can visualize a patient's ultrasound through Microsoft's HoloLens 2 AR headset and review displays of other procedural information during pre-operative planning.

The XR90 platform's visual references could also enhance ergonomics – clinicians could review, in a heads-up fashion, the intra-operative display of medical images during ultrasound-guided needle procedures.

"This is not only the first 510(k) clearance for MediView, but it is the first 510(k) clearance for an augmented reality device utilizing live imaging combined with 3D XR visualization for pre- and intra-operative indications for use, which sets the stage for further advancements in augmented reality in the healthcare space," said Adam Cargill, director of quality, regulatory and clinical affairs at MediView, in the statement.

Late last year the Cleveland-based company made agreements with Mayo Clinic to explore advances in procedural AR and GE Healthcare to codevelop a system that combines GE's imaging technologies with MediView's AR.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.