AI is Catching Pregnancy Diabetes Before Doctors Do

FEATURED RESEARCH

AI is Catching Pregnancy Diabetes Before Doctors Do

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication affecting about 20% of pregnant women globally. It can lead to health issues for both mom and baby, like preterm labor and a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

But here’s the thing—GDM can also cause stress and mental health problems during pregnancy, making early detection even more critical.

The study: Researchers from Eskisehir City Hospital in Turkey explored whether machine learning (ML) could predict the risk of GDM using simple information collected early in pregnancy, like a mother’s age, body mass index (BMI), and family history of diabetes.

They tested seven different ML algorithms and found that the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) model performed best, with a 72.7% accuracy.

Why does it matter? Early prediction of GDM allows doctors to intervene sooner, improving outcomes for both mother and child.

The ML model used in this study could be especially useful in low-income areas where access to testing is limited. It offers a simple approach to identifying women with potential risk of GDM without needing costly procedures.

When tech helps prevent GDM complications, it’s a small victory for moms and babies everywhere.

For more details: Full Article

Brain Booster

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Funds Raised

CANCER TREATMENT

ArsenalBio Raises $325M to Push Cell Therapy to the Next Level

Arsenal Biosciences, a company developing cutting-edge CAR T-cell therapies for solid tumors, just closed a $325 million Series C financing round.

This funding was oversubscribed, meaning investor interest was huge. The round attracted big names like ARCH Venture Partners, NVIDIA’s NVentures, Regeneron Ventures, and more.

What’s next? The company plans to use the funds to advance their lead therapy programs, which focus on solid tumors like ovarian, kidney, and prostate cancers.

ArsenalBio will also use the money to expand their T-cell engineering pipeline and refine their technology, which includes innovative tools like logic gating—basically a smart system to make cancer treatments more effective.

Why it matters: ArsenalBio’s tech is a breakthrough for cancer treatment. Their early clinical trials are promising, and this massive financial backing will accelerate the development of therapies that could address huge gaps in cancer care.

Plus, with their computational approach and cutting-edge CRISPR tech, they’re aiming to make cancer treatment not just more effective, but also safer and cheaper.

Seeing ArsenalBio’s advancements makes me believe we’re one step closer to beating cancer.

For more details: Full Press Release

💰 6 Other funded companies

1. Doccla raised over $38 million in a Series B funding round led by Lakestar to expand its virtual ward and remote patient monitoring services across Europe, particularly in France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. [Link]

2. Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Voxel Healthcare received a $2.1 million grant to enhance AI-driven precision in pediatric brain cancer radiation therapy, minimizing damage to healthy tissue. [Link]

3. Venova Medical raised $30M in Series B funding to advance clinical studies of its percutaneous arteriovenous fistula system for hemodialysis access. [Link]

4. Vesta Healthcare raised $65M in Series C funding, led by RA Capital Management, to expand its virtual care services for high-risk patients and enhance chronic condition management. [Link]

5. PatientPartner raised $7M in seed funding, led by LionBird and FCA Venture Partners, to expand its patient mentorship platform that enhances engagement and adherence. [Link]

6. Hepta Medical raised €5.7M in Series A funding to support regulatory approval and trials of its AI-powered microwave ablation platform for lung cancer treatment. [Link]

New Partnerships

CANCER RESEARCH

Tempus and BioNTech Join Forces to Advance Cancer Research with AI

Tempus AI has announced a multi-year collaboration with BioNTech, a biotech leader in immunotherapies for cancer.

The partnership will harness Tempus’ extensive real-world multimodal datasets, alongside BioNTech’s AI and oncology expertise, to accelerate the development of new cancer treatments.

What’s next? Tempus will provide its advanced computational biology support to aid BioNTech’s efforts in drug discovery and development.

By integrating Tempus’ real-world data, BioNTech aims to deepen its understanding of cancer biology, which could lead to more effective and personalized therapies.

The collaboration will span multiple cancer types and leverage BioNTech’s ongoing oncology research, making a meaningful impact on future clinical programs.

Why it matters: With access to Tempus’ robust datasets, BioNTech can enhance its ability to create targeted cancer therapies, especially in areas of unmet medical need.

By combining real-world data with advanced AI capabilities, this partnership could improve the precision of treatment development, speeding up the path to new, more effective cancer therapies that can be tailored to individual patients’ needs.

Watching these two companies join forces shows just how powerful data and AI can be in improving patient care.

For more details: Full Press Release

🤝 3 Other collaborations shaping the future

1. Vivid Health is partnering with WorldView to integrate its AI-enabled care management platform, enhancing provider efficiency and patient engagement in home health and hospice care by automating documentation and care plans. [Link]

2. RapidAI and the Alaska Stroke Coalition have partnered to implement AI-powered stroke imaging and workflow tools in six additional Alaskan hospitals, aiming to improve stroke care in rural areas and enhance health equity across the state. [Link]

3. Mainz Biomed expanded its collaboration with Liquid Biosciences to use AI technology for optimizing biomarker selection in its PancAlert pancreatic cancer screening test, aiming to enhance early disease detection. [Link]

Milestone Moments

⚡4 Product launches, 1 acquisition

1. Harrison.ai has launched Harrison.rad.1, a radiology-specific AI model that outperforms competitors, enhancing diagnostic speed and accuracy, and is now open to industry partners and regulators. [Link]

2. Recursion’s phase 2 trial for AI-developed REC-994 in brain disease met safety goals but showed limited efficacy, causing a 10% drop in its share price. [Link]

3. Enlitic has agreed to acquire Laitek for $5M, integrating its PACS data migration services to enhance its AI-powered medical imaging platform, pending a successful capital raise. [Link]

4. Ibex Medical Analytics launched an upgraded AI platform with enhanced cancer diagnostics, focusing on breast cancer and improved interoperability for more accurate and efficient pathology. [Link]

5. Ainnocence has launched CellulaAI™, an AI engine designed to revolutionize CAR-T therapy by optimizing antigen targeting, ScFv design, and safety screening, aiming to improve the effectiveness and personalization of cancer treatments. [Link]

Opinion and Perspectives

PERSPECTIVES

Why This Surgeon is Fighting to Make AI Fair for All?

Dr. Vaikunthan Rajaratnam, an orthopedic consultant in Singapore, has seen how large language models (LLMs) often overlook cultural nuances.

For instance, Singapore classifies a BMI of 24 as overweight, while global standards don't—an oversight that can lead to health risks in Asian populations.

To Dr. Rajaratnam, correcting these biases is a moral obligation.

Where bias shows up: LLMs are mostly trained on English data, leading to poor performance in other languages.

Gender bias is also a problem, with AI reinforcing stereotypes by linking certain jobs to specific genders.

Dr. Rajaratnam's approach: He views AI output as a starting point, not the final word. While working on diabetic neuropathy prevention, he sought input from Malay, Chinese, and Indian colleagues to ensure the AI’s advice was culturally relevant.

As expected, the AI failed to account for important cultural differences.

Why it matters For Dr. Rajaratnam, AI reflects societal biases. Addressing these blind spots is essential to creating fair, inclusive AI tools.

Though challenging, he believes it's necessary for AI to serve all communities equitably.

For more details: Full Article

We Value Your Thoughts!

Trivia Answer: B) 5-10%

Around 5-10% of people in the U.S. deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) each year. As the days get shorter in the fall and winter—starting as early as September in northern areas—some folks start feeling more tired, moody, and sluggish, all common signs of SAD.

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