Digital Technologies

Pending legislation in the US House of Representatives would allow Medicare patients to benefit from some of the latest and most innovative technologies. The bipartisan bill would establish a clear pathway for reimbursement for algorithm-based healthcare services approved by the FDA.

Paradromics won FDA clearance to test its Connexus BCI in two people with severe speech impairment. The 2026 trial will assess whether the device can decode speech in real time.

With the roll out of agentic AI, the US FDA continues to expand AI capabilities across the agency. The latest AI deployment follows the agency’s May launch of Elsa, its generative AI tool, which marked ‘the dawn of the AI era’ at the FDA.

US healthcare innovation agency ARPA-H has announced a $100m initiative focused on building up the evidence base for fast-acting mental health treatments such as neuromodulation and digital therapeutics. The project is the first major initiative to be led by new ARPA-H director Alicia Jackson.

In September, the US FDA asked the public to weigh in on how AI-enabled medical devices perform in real-world settings. With the comment period now closed, the agency has heard back from dozens of stakeholders on how the agency can use clinical outcomes to better understand these devices.

Medical device companies are increasingly using AI to improve regulatory affairs strategies but face barriers such as risk aversion, regulatory clarity and data governance issues. Experts suggest a design control approach and human oversight to ensure successful AI integration.

Abbott has initiated a medical device correction for about 3 million FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors in the US after internal testing detected a risk the device may produce inaccurate glucose readings.

Medtech funding in 2025 sees a trend of fewer, yet larger deals with total funding of $3.6bn in Q1, $2.6bn in Q2 and $2.9bn in Q3, said LSI’s Nick Talamantes. In 2026, he expects a continued investor focus on more mature firms in areas of oncology, cardiology and neurology.

A subfield of AI aims to explain why complex models make predictions, which will increase their interpretability and auditing ability, AI researcher Su-In Lee said during a National Academies of Sciences workshop.

Hallucinations are a common problem in AI and pose significant challenges to medical devices powered by the technology. A paper authored by several FDA staffers argues that focusing on how hallucinations impact patients is the best approach.

A California jury found in favor of device firm Masimo in a long-running legal battle against the tech giant. Apple has already announced plans to appeal.

Brain-computer interfaces advance toward trials and commercialization, Oura pushes for FDA-cleared blood pressure monitoring, and regulators weigh AI’s expanding role in mental health and diagnostics amid rising safety concerns.

Neurotech start-up Subsense started proof-of-concept studies in mice hoping to show by late 2026 that its nonsurgical, nanoparticle-driven brain-computer interface can read and stimulate neural activity and treat conditions such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy.

Tandem Diabetes Care is positioning for growth in 2026 with the launch of its Mobi Tubeless pump following FDA clearance of its Android-compatible Mobi app while navigating multiple recalls during what CEO John Sheridan called a transformative year.

FDA advisers gave a cautious nod to the idea of using generative AI in mental healthcare during a Nov. 6 panel meeting, saying evidence-backed tools could help expand access – but warning that safety, oversight, and the irreplaceable human connection remain major unanswered questions.

INBRAIN teamed up with Microsoft to apply agentic AI to analyze real-time brain data and eventually recommend programming like a “mini-neurologist,” said CEO Carolina Aguilar. It also seeks to enable scalable deployment of INBRAIN’s graphene-based technology and potential joined research.

Synchron raised $200m in series D funding to support pivotal trials in 2026 as well as commercialization of its Stentrode BCI. It also announced plans for a next-gen high-channel whole-brain interface and a new engineering hub in San Diego.

Nearly one year into leading their agencies, US FDA Commission Marty Makary and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz took to the stage together at the Milken Institute’s Future of Health Summit 2025 to highlight what they see as progress and lay out plans for the road ahead.

Delfi Diagnostics is preparing for pivotal trial results that could support FDA approval and reimbursement for its fragmentomics-based lung cancer screening test. Early data suggest strong potential to improve screening uptake and expand access to early detection.

Inspired by his son’s battle with cancer, Neal Piper founded Luminoah to modernize enteral feeding. Its smart, pocket-sized pump tracks nutrition in real time to prevent malnutrition and improve quality of life for patients and caregivers.