Monumental medical technology: from at-home testing kits to AI software finding patients for clinical trials

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In the 1600s, it was almost a miracle to celebrate a 30th birthday. Now, our average lifespan is around 71 years. In fact, in 2014, there were 72,197 Americans over the age of 100. This isn’t an accident; we’re living longer, healthier lives because of medical improvements, enhanced by evolving technology. Medicine and technology go hand in hand.

Technology and People

In the 21st century, technology is growing rapidly, and it makes sense that it’s used to help people. Augmented reality is being used help people with retinal degeneration and robot assistants are being implemented in hospitals.

Here’s some more companies whose remarkable tech is improving the medical industry:

Everlywell

Getting blood, urine and saliva tests at a GP can be inconvenient, timely and awkward. Everlywell’s modern-day solution is ingenious: the Austin-based company offers at-home lab testing kits and provides quick, digital results.

Patients can order more than 30 different tests, including food sensitivity, vitamins, STDs and thyroid. The testing kits come with instructions, sterile collection tools and pre-paid shipping. The company uses dried blood spot (DBS) testing so vials of blood are not needed, just a drop. CLIA-certified labs (used by hospitals and physicians across the U.S.) then review the samples, and patients receive secure, accurate results with actionable data and insights.

UnaliWear

UnaliWear creates wearable technology, in the form of watches, that have fall detection, medication reminders, and wandering notifications. The ‘Kanega’ watches are waterproof, voice activated and self-contained, meaning there’s no need to connect to a smartphone or other device. They do, however, have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect to other medical devices, like hearing aids. Their artificial intelligence (AI) technology learns the wearer’s lifestyle to provide predictive, pre-emptive support. The company’s goal is to help aging people keep their independence with dignity, and keep their family feeling assured.

Analyzing Medical Data

As well as living longer, there are also more people in the world – roughly 7.7 billion. That means there’s an enormous amount of diverse, confusing, health-related data in the world, which ranges from cell-level to population studies. To make use of this data, it needs to be collated and connected in a dynamic, intuitive way, which is where technology comes in again. We’re already seeing machine learning software being used to find patterns, predict at-risk patients and help find solutions.

Here’s some more companies with impressive data analytics technology:

Galen Data

This Houston company offers a secure, Cloud-based platform that connects to medical devices, including pacemakers and sleep apnea machines. The system can provide diagnostics, and keep clinicians, patients and families informed. This data is then collated and visualized for review. As well as meeting FDA and HIPAA compliance standards, the platform is mobile friendly, allowing for alerts and notifications. It’s also scalable and customizable, so starting small or with unique equipment is no issue.

By collating and analyzing the data, companies can also automatically update patient data and see common problems. The company’s goal is to simplify medical device connectivity easy, so clinicians, patients and their families have one less thing to worry about.

Deep6.ai

Deep6.ai’s software analyzes thousands of medical data points to find patients for clinical trials. The first step is extracting data such as symptoms, diagnoses, test results and socio-economic factors. It then analyzes this data – making connections, finding patterns and building clinical profiles. Researchers, analysts and doctors can use and compare these profiles to see who will benefit most from certain treatments.

By doing this, the best patients are selected for clinical trials. Hospitals and pharmaceutical companies can reduce their risks and gain quicker evidence of treatment-effectiveness. Completing these trials faster means more time for new research and innovation.

NarrativeDX

There’s no doubt that hospitals do fantastic work, but there’s always room for improvement, and negative patient experiences can be costly. Narrative DX makes this a simpler process by collating patient and employee feedback data to provide insights and suggestions. The company goes beyond a survey score, and instead collates survey comments, online reviews, social media posts and comments, and asks why. AI technology then analyses the results and identifies key issues. From this, hospitals can create focused, specific improvements. Because NarrativeDX analyses both patient and staff feedback, results mean happier patients and more engaged, driven employees.

Are you working with innovative medical technology? Did you know your efforts could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Machine learning robots might be the answer to recycling

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Here’s something controversial: recycling is exhausting. Yes, it’s infinitely better for the environment than throwing all of our waste into landfill. But, we have to remember to take caps off bottles, or put ‘soft plastics’ in different bins, and it’s tiring.

Up until recently, China made a business out of recycling. In 2016 alone, the U.S. sent 7.3 million metric tons of waste to China, to be sorted and turned into recycled plastic. However, the waste it was receiving was unhygienic and polluting the country. And so, in an effort to clean up its environmental act, the country banned imports on a large number of recyclables. In 2017 and 2018, China stopped accepting 56 types of waste.

So where does America’s waste go now? Sadly, the answer is landfills. In some places, like San Juan Island, Washington, only certain recyclables are collected. Residents can recycle clean and separated cardboard, metal, aluminum cans, and clean wood; everything else is going straight into the garbage. Long term, limiting recycling could be a good thing; it could help us discover how to use less and re-use more. But it’s a slow and grueling process.

AMP Robotics has a solution. The tech startup developed AMPCortex: a high-speed robot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) software to identify, sort and process recyclables. While waste is moved forward on a conveyer belt, the robot effectively has a brain, eyes and hands. It uses machine learning technology with a pattern recognition vision system, which turns millions of images into data. This data then tells the machine’s three arms where to move and grab. The result is high-speed waste separation.

Because of the AI software, the machine learns, improves accuracy, and can adapt. This means it can sort waste from multiple industries: brands and materials of municipal waste, batteries and wires from electronic waste, and various metals, wood and concrete in construction waste. It also links to an online visualization tool, which can keep records of sorted waste and inform users of equipment issues or hazards.

AMP Robotics says its goal is to make recycling more sustainable and affordable. It recently raised $16 million in Series A funding, which it plans to use to scale up operations, and increase its efficiency. The company already has its robot in facilities across the U.S., including California, New York, and Texas, with more planned.

Are you developing robotics technology or an innovative way to clean up garbage? Did you know your efforts could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation to audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

A California startup has just made major leaps towards solving climate change, and it’s not slowing down

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Environmental tech startup Heliogen has achieved a scientific breakthrough, reaching over 1000°C with concentrated solar energy. At this temperature, it can replace fossil fuels in producing cement, steel and petrochemicals. But, the company says it’s not stopping there. Its next goal is 1500°C; then it can split water and carbondioxide, to create gas used to power factories and fuel cars.

Heliogen’s mission is to reduce greenhouse gases as quickly as possible, in an effort to reverse the effects of climate change. In the last 270 years, more than 392 billion metric tons of carbon have been release into the atmostphere due to fossil fuels. Half of that’s happened in the last 35 years, since the mid 1980s. Industrial processes, like making concrete, are responsible for more than a fifth of all emissions. Using solar energy is a step in the right direction.

How do they do it?

Commercial concentrating solar thermal systems have previously been able to generate power, reaching up to 565°C. But industrial processes are burning through fossil fuels at accelerated rates and the climate crisis calls for bigger action. Heliogen reached the breakthrough temperatures because of its tech. It uses advanced computer software to align a large number of mirrors to reflect sunlight towards a specific target. The mirrors act as one, thanks to a closed-loop control system. The light is targeted towards a tower with a receiver, which converts the sunlight into ultra-high temperature heat.

What if we got rid of fossil fuels today?

Sadly, the world isn’t ready to stop using fossil fuels just yet. But, just for a moment forget the administrative headache of switching to entirely renewable energy sources, and take an optimistic view. Pollution would almost entirely end – both because mining would end, and because there would be no way to make non-biodegradable products without petroleum. Public health would improve because of the drop in pollution, meaning Americans would save US$74.6 billion every year that’s currently spent on coal-related health issues. Most importantly, the halt in carbon emissions would put a halt to climate change.

Are you developing a way to alleviate climate change? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

‘Data science’ is not a scary phrase, it’s imperitive for businesses to stay competitive

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“Those who own data own the future, but only if you know what data you’ve got,” said Steve Holyer said during his presentation at Big Data LDN. And he’s right. In 2019, data is being created, stored and shared at an alarming rate, but data is useless unless you can collate it, analyze it and learn from it, which is where data science comes in.

What is data science?

If you see dark clouds, you can probably predict a storm. This is because your brain sees and feels this information, and from your past experience you know it means a storm. You probably move inside, because your prediction led you to a logical solution. Scale the clouds up to include data from almost everything – smart phone locations, CCTV footage, grocery store purchases and online searches. Brains get overwhelmed with this much data, but technology doesn’t.

Data science is a combination of tools, algorithms and machine learning that finds patterns from data. It will use known information and historical evidence combined with machine learning algorithms to make future predictions. Data analytics and data science give context and help form patterns – in the information age, this is cruical.

Why is it important?

Firstly, like getting out of the rain, data science can make predictions, which can be adressed and resolved with logical conclusions. Secondly, when data is being collected and collated, anything that stands out is noticed. This means that posibilities of risk and fraud are seen in minutes, not days or months. Thirdly, organizations can see, at a glance, who’s buying what, where and when. By understanding the target audience, any company can improve its customers’ experiences.

Introducing it into business

In the information age, data scientists play important roles in businesses, but not every company has the capacity for them. This is why companies like data.world were created. This Texas software startup creates a searchable, cloud-based catalog of a business’ data. It then uses specific graphing technology to help visually explain and map that data. Think of Facebook’s newsfeed and profiles mixed with Google’s searchability and library of information. data.world’s catalog is an inventory of metadata. The company uses it to classify and filter data, which is then better rediscovered, shared, understood and used.

Are you developing a new data science tool? Did you know your work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. Click here to learn more about our technical expertise.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.