Tag Archives: HEA

PR Newswire

New app from Health in Transportation & NuraLogix allows drivers to perform CDL health checks that target hypertension and type-2 diabetes.

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DETROIT, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Professional drivers, working both in mass transit and in trucking, are now able to access a 30-second CDL health check that focuses on the dangers of hypertension and type-2 diabetes by utilizing a new smartphone app from Health in Transportation and NuraLogix.

New app from Health in Transportation & NuraLogix allows drivers to perform CDL health checks that target hypertension and type-2 diabetes.
New app from Health in Transportation & NuraLogix allows drivers to perform CDL health checks that target hypertension and type-2 diabetes.

This app, called the CDL Health Scanner, allows drivers to quickly scan key vitals using either an iPhone or Android device. It is a unique, driver-centric system that relies on the revolutionary Anura technology to measure Blood Pressure (BP) using transdermal optical imaging delivered via a smartphone camera. When combined with the user’s Body Mass Index (BMI) data, the risk-factors for hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and even obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the bane of over-the-road truckers, come into clear focus.

The Background

In a situation in which the industry is experiencing a shortage of close to 100,000 drivers – and when putting a new driver behind the wheel involves five-figure expense for the carrier – reducing the number of medical disqualifications that result from a Department of Transportation physical is the top priority. Close to 80% of those disqualifications are caused by high BP, dangerous blood-sugar levels and OSA, and this app not only warns drivers that they are in dangerous territory, it also links them to specialty health coaches who can guide lifestyle changes that will transform their health situation.

The principals of Health in Transportation have a proven track record, over several decades, of finding realistic ways for drivers to improve their health, despite the massive difficulties that life on the road creates. The CDL Health Scanner is the culmination of that work and their greatest achievement. It promises to protect the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of professional drivers whose life-expectancies are years less than their contemporaries. Fleets benefit too by reducing driver-replacement costs, while providing savings in their self-financed health insurance programs.

The Partnership

It would be impossible for Health in Transportation to offer this valuable tool to the transportation sector without the incredible breakthrough that the Anura technology represents. Just as important, by opting to partner with Health in Transportation, NuraLogix has ensured that this product can be supplied to drivers for only a few cents a day. The mark of true innovation is its ability to impact the lives of millions and this app is the first step towards doing just that.

Of course, the CDL Health Scanner app utilizes only a portion of the monitoring capability that NuraLogix is equipped to provide. However, getting Anura into the hands of hundreds of thousands of professional drivers will generate a wealth of data that can only enhance the Anura platform when, as will inevitably be the case, this type of non-intrusive health monitoring becomes the norm for in-car information systems. Truck drivers, many of whom drive vehicles that include interior cameras that monitor their situational awareness and other performance metrics, are the perfect population to help propel this concept into the mainstream.

About Health in Transportation

This truly unique app – patent pending – was first envisioned by Bob Perry, President of Health in Transportation, a company that provides innovative and practical Health & Wellness solutions for professional drivers in trucking and mass transit. For forty years, their programs have helped thousands of drivers avoid medical disqualification with unique coaching mechanisms that drivers utilize on the road to upgrade their health status. Consequently, health insurance carriers such as Cigna have often availed themselves of the company’s services in their ongoing efforts to boost preventative care.

Known as ‘The Trucker Trainer’ by professional drivers nationwide, Bob Perry brings a very distinctive perspective to the transportation industry and its over-the-road drivers. Bob comes from a family of professional drivers and has played a critical role in the paradigm shift of regulatory agencies – both private and public sector entities – and consumers towards understanding the driver-health challenge.

Health in Transportation has experienced successful working relationships in the past with industry giants such as Covenant Transport, Greyhound, Sherwin Williams, and R+L Carriers, as well as with top OEM Daimler.

About AutoTech Detroit

The CDL Health Scanner app was launched today at AutoTech Detroit, which brings together the full automotive tech industry to immerse attendees in the future of automotive, by showcasing the newest tech and the latest vehicles.

About NuraLogix

The Anura technology powering the application comes from NuraLogix, the Toronto-based pioneers of the world’s first contactless blood pressure and vital sign measurement platform. The NuraLogix technology uses their patented Transdermal Optical Imaging (TOI™) in which a conventional video camera is used to extract facial blood flow information from the face. NuraLogix’s Anura technology is based on extensive peer-reviewed research and clinical studies, differentiating them from their competitors. NuraLogix has conducted multiple clinical studies and published research in many notable publications such as Frontiers in Psychology, Scientific Reports, and the Journal of Natural Sciences (JNS). NuraLogix currently holds 11 patents, with more pending. Their impressive client roster includes Japanese systems integration leader NTT Data; Sanitas, the second largest medical insurance company in Spain; and Lafiya Telehealth, a Nigerian-based health telehealth platform which provides 24/7 virtual healthcare services to residents in remote and rural areas.

To Learn More:

Visit our website:
Health in Transportation-  https://healthintransportation.com/
NuraLogix –https://www.nuralogix.ai/ 

Disclaimers:

Note: In the United States, this product is for Investigational Use only. The performance characteristics of this product have not been established.

For more Information: Chris Lin, Chief Marketing Officer, ChrisLin@nuralogix.ai, Tel: 437-928-2666; Bob Perry, President of Health in Transportation, bob@healthintransportation.com, Tel: 602-692-2734

PR Newswire

First AI to Refine Medical Coding by Exploring Therapeutic Data

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SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Medical AI start-up Aesop Technology announced a new partnership that made their new product, DxPrime, available in the Olive Library. DxPrime provides physicians and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) teams with information about missing and wrongly coded diagnoses and procedures to correct the patient’s chart in just a few clicks. It makes completing discharge summaries, prioritizing work for CDI teams, and medical coding much easier, faster, and less error-prone.

If the patient record is incorrect, you cannot code correctly.

Completeness, precision, and validity of medical documentation are critical for all healthcare stakeholders. Without correct patient records, patients could receive improper discharge instructions and a sub-optimal continuum of care. Providers also can struggle to estimate the length of stay and code insurance claims correctly, resulting in denials and loss of revenue.

Approximately 10% of inpatient claims are denied, of which more than 85% (or about $35 billion) result in unnecessary losses. Many of these denials occur because of errors in the patient record that occur upstream from the claims process. Diagnosis input errors are difficult for physicians to avoid because the knowledge of coding systems is different from what they need to learn to provide great patient care. Modern medicine’s complexity has caused 14,400 diseases to be included in ICD-10, further classified into 68,000 ICD-10-CM and 87,000 ICD-10-PCS codes.

“Physicians, CDI team, and coders have to spend a lot of time poring through medical records to find the key clinical diagnoses among the vast amount of information available,” said Jim Long, CEO of AESOP. “After that, they have to follow a series of inefficient steps on the computer to complete the input process, and search functionality for ICD codes often is not helpful. The whole process is complex, time-consuming, and error-prone.

When the physicians input the improper diagnosis, it also has downstream implications. When using DxPrime, we have helped physicians often notice they did not correctly code complications such as urinary tract infections and respiratory failure. By assisting them in inputting the proper diagnoses, our partners have seen an increase in revenue of 5-10% per inpatient.”

State-of-the-art machine learning assisted physician data entry.

DxPrime provides high-quality suggestions to support physician data entry based on a machine learning model (published in the Healthcare journal) that has been run on top of data from 3.2 Billion patient visits, including vast amounts of structured information. It allows DxPrime to use items from the patient record like lab test results and medications ordered when predicting a diagnosis.

This comprehensive model utilizes artificial intelligence to efficiently compensate for traditional CDSS and NLP weaknesses to find correct or missed diagnoses.

About Aesop Technology

Aesop Technology develops AI-powered technology to enhance patient safety and medical coding quality.

Contact
Jeremiah Scholl, CPO & Co-founder
hi@aesoptek.com
T: +1 415-818-0633
www.aesoptek.com

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PR Newswire

Panoramic Atlases of Life Published in Cell Mark Establishment of SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium

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STOC launches with more than 80 scientists joining globally, focused on obtaining the greatest scientific benefits from spatially resolved transcriptomics technology; first studies use BGI-Research’s Stereo-seq to produce spatiotemporal cellular maps of mice, Drosophila, zebrafish, and Arabidopsis

SHENZHEN, China, May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Scientists from 16 countries today announced the establishment of the SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium (STOC), an open scientific community focused on using spatially resolved cellular resolution omics technology to map and understand life. Their first studies resulted in state-of-the-art panoramic spatial atlases of life, published in Cell and Developmental Cell on May 4.

Over 80 scientists from Harvard University, Oxford University, MIT, University of Cambridge, the Karolinska Institutet, the University of Western Australia, the Genome Institute of Singapore, BGI-Research, among others, are collaborating as part of STOC. Members of the research group who produced the panoramic atlases used a new enabling technology Stereo-seq, developed by BGI-Research, to produce the most insightful spatiotemporal cellular maps to date of mice, small fruit flies (Drosophila), zebrafish, and the Arabidopsis plant, making a breakthrough in resolution and panoramic field of view and enabling analysis of the distribution and placement of molecules and cells in situ, and over time.

Identifying the characteristics of specific cells within a tissue has significant applications for understanding physiology, how organisms develop, and which cells are causes or indicators of disease, potentially leading to future gains in human disease research. These lay an important foundation for STOC’s research initiatives, which aim to create diverse sets of spatiotemporal atlases to broaden our knowledge of disease treatment, organ structures, development and aging, and to improve our understanding of biological evolution.

“In the last few years, there has been a lot of progress of mapping the genome and transcriptome in single cells. But this has been without the context of the spatial aspect of neighbourhoods of cells, ecosystem of cells, and therefore there is a whole layer of information that has been missing, which I think will now become accessible. That will have a major impact on both basic and translational research,” says Berthold Göttgens, Director of the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, and a Member of STOC.

The transformational aspects of spatiotemporal omics for scientific research are captured in the goals of the STOC, as Weibin Liu, STOC Organizing Committee Member, explains.

“The panoramic atlases published late yesterday are the first steps toward the Consortium’s vision of revolutionizing humanity’s understanding of mind and body, youth and old age, health and illness, the origin and future of the human race, and the rest of the living world, for that matter,” says Liu. “They lay the groundwork for multiple atlases the Consortium could complete together, and they validate approaches for creating other spatiotemporal atlases.”

“Because of the magnitude of such endeavors, they require nothing short of a concerted global effort, across multiple disciplines from science to engineering to mathematics, and across diverse stakeholders from medicine to industry to funders. Together with our 80+ members so far, we will work to chart the way forward, to build new tools and competencies, to share resources and results, to map and solve the unknown,” he adds

The SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium (STOC) is an open, collaborative research initiative established to unite, organize, advance and share global scientific efforts in spatiotemporal omics to solve the mysteries of life. More information about STOC can be found at www.sto-consortium.org .

PR Newswire

Dada’s JDDJ in action to guarantee medical supply and online health consultation with pharmaceutical partners

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SHANGHAI, April 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — As a number of cities in China are ramping up anti-epidemic measures, more consumers rely on online-to-offline services to purchase much-needed medications. JDDJ, one of China’s largest local on-demand retail platforms operated by Dada Group (Nasdaq: DADA), is proactively stepping up efforts to guarantee citizens’ medication needs in collaboration with its pharmaceutical partners.

Pharmacy-to-home service on JDDJ.
Pharmacy-to-home service on JDDJ.

In Shanghai where Dada is headquartered, a surge in number of orders for drugs becomes evident – to address citizens’ needs, JDDJ’s on-demand retail and delivery services have become essential. According to operating data from JDDJ on April 1, in March, the number of orders for epidemic prevention related medical supplies, the number of orders for chronic disease medicines, and that of orders for common household medicines in Shanghai have increased by 380%, 160% and 130%, respectively, on a month-over-month basis.

In addition, to better help those in need, JDDJ is now connected to JD Health, the healthcare subsidiary of JD.com, to provide 24-hour free online health consultation services as an effort to enable platform customers to obtain professional advice and guidance from doctors in a timely manner without leaving home. Data from JDDJ shows a strong demand in online medical consultation in March across the country, recording a month-over-month growth of 30% in number of consultations compared to February.

About Dada Group

Dada Group is a leading platform of local on-demand retail and delivery in China. It operates JDDJ, one of China’s largest local on-demand retail platforms for retailers and brand owners, and Dada Now, a leading local on-demand delivery platform open to merchants and individual senders across various industries and product categories. The Company’s two platforms are inter-connected and mutually beneficial. The Dada Now platform enables improved delivery experience for participants on the JDDJ platform through its readily accessible fulfillment solutions and strong on-demand delivery infrastructure. Meanwhile, the vast volume of on-demand delivery orders from the JDDJ platform increases order volume and density for the Dada Now platform. In June 2020, Dada Group began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market, under the ticker symbol “DADA.”

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PR Newswire

Breakthrough Study Validates Artificial Intelligence as a Novel Biomarker in Predicting Immunotherapy Response – Published in Journal of Clinical Oncology

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  • Lunit’s latest study provides evidence for Lunit SCOPE IO’s ability to predict immunotherapy response
  • This is the first study that adopted AI technology to define the tumor immune phenotype and to demonstrate its ability in predicting treatment outcomes of anti-PD-L1 therapy

SEOUL, South Korea, March 16, 2022 — Lunit, a leading startup in AI-based cancer solutions, announced today the publication of its study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). Findings from the study validate the effectiveness of Lunit’s AI biomarker, Lunit SCOPE IO, in predicting clinical outcomes of immunotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The JCO is an international, peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), with an impact factor (IF) of 44.54. This is the first time that research on AI biomarkers has been published in an international SCI-grade journal of JCO’s prestige.

"Immune phenotyping of tumor microenvironment is a logical biomarker for immunotherapy, but objective measurement of such would be extremely challenging," said Professor Tony Mok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-senior author of the journal. "This is the first study that adopted AI technology to define the tumor immune phenotype, and to demonstrate its ability in predicting treatment outcomes of anti-PD-L1 therapy in two large cohorts of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer."

Lunit's AI biomarker platform, Lunit SCOPE IO
Lunit’s AI biomarker platform, Lunit SCOPE IO

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a standard therapy method for advanced NSCLC with programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression. However, outcomes vary depending on the patient’s tumor microenvironment.

Assessing the PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) can bring predictive benefit for patients with high expression (over 50%), who show superior response to ICI therapy over standard chemotherapy. However, ICIs lose their potency in patients with PD-L1 TPS between 1% and 49%, showing outcomes similar to chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of an accuracy-enhanced biomarker to predict ICI response in NSCLC patients with low PD-L1 expression is highly warranted.

While tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are promising biomarkers for predicting ICI treatment outcomes apart from PD-L1, clinical application remains challenging as TIL quantification involves a manual evaluation process bound to practical limitations of interobserver bias and intensive labor. Employing AI’s superhuman computational capabilities should open new possibilities for the objective quantification of TIL.

To validate immune phenotyping as a complementary biomarker in NSCLC, researchers divided 518 NSCLC patients into three groups based on their tumor microenvironment: inflamed, immune-excluded, and immune-desert. As a result, clinical characteristics based on each immune phenotype group showed statistically significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Furthermore, analysis of NSCLC patients with PD-L1 TPS between 1% and 49% based on their immune phenotype found that the inflamed group showed significantly higher results in objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS), compared to the non-inflamed groups. This shows Lunit SCOPE IO’s ability to supplement PD-L1 TPS as a biomarker by accurately predicting immunotherapy response for patients with low PD-L1 TPS.

"Lunit has demonstrated through several abstracts the credibility of Lunit SCOPE IO as a companion diagnostic tool to predict immunotherapy treatment outcomes," said Chan-Young Ock, Chief Medical Officer at Lunit. "This study is a proof-of-concept that compiles all of our past research that elucidates Lunit AI’s ability to optimize cancer treatment selection."

Last year, Lunit announced a strategic investment of USD 26 million from Guardant Health, Inc., a leading precision oncology company. Following this major collaboration intended to reshape and innovate the precision oncology landscape, Lunit continues to refine its global position by validating the effectiveness of its AI technology through various studies.

PR Newswire

Happiness Development to Acquire Hekangyuan, One of the Largest Healthcare Product Distributors in Fuzhou Area in China

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NANPING, China, March 7, 2022 — Happiness Development Group Limited ("HAPP" or the "Company"), (NASDAQ: HAPP) an emerging and diversified company engaging in the business of production of nutraceutical and dietary supplements, providing e-commerce sales and e-commerce marketing solutions, and the sales of automobile today announced that it has signed an equity transfer agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire 100% of the equity interest in Fuzhou Hekangyuan Trading Co., Ltd. ("Hekangyuan") to further strengthen the distribution network of the Company.

Hekangyuan believes that it is one of largest healthcare product distributors in Fuzhou, China. Hekangyuan generated revenue of $17.6 million and $13.5 million, with net income of approximately $790,000 and $$579,000 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the parties agreed that the valuation of Hekangyuan is $12 million and the Company will issue 10 million class A ordinary shares to the shareholders of Hekangyuan in addition to a cash payment of $8 million, in exchange for the 100% equity of Hekangyuan. The Company will have the right to require the Hekangyuan shareholders to purchase back the ordinary shares at a consideration of $12 million in cash if Hekangyuan is unable to reach certain performance target including a net income of $4.5 million during the next three fiscal years of 2022, 2023 and 2024.

"Hekangyuan has been known for its healthcare product distribution network in Fuzhou area and we have been in talk with them about the acquisition in the last several months. We believe after the acquisition of Hekangyuan, we will further strengthen our leading position in the field of healthcare products in Northern Fujian. At the same time, with the successful expansion of our online sales, we will also help Hekangyuan to fully utilize its advantages of supply chain management and distribution abilities," said Mr. Xuezhu Wang, CEO of the Company.

About Happiness Development Group Limited

Headquartered in Nanping, China, Happiness Development Group Limited currently has three business lines: nutraceutical and dietary supplements, e-commerce and automobile sales. The nutrition and dietary supplements business is focusing on the research, development, manufacture and marketing of various products made from Chinese herbal extracts and other ingredients. Over the past 17 years, we have established a product portfolio consisting of 23 PRC National Medical Products Administration registered "Blue-Cap" SKUs of nutraceutical and dietary supplements products. Our e-commerce business focuses on offering e-commerce solutions, including advertising and information technology services to small and medium-sized enterprises in China. We also run our online stores which carries our products of dietary supplements and other selected products sourced from the small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Our mission for the e-commerce business is to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to fully leverage the power of e-commerce to grow rapidly. Our automobile sales adopts the B2B business model and is committed to optimizing the auto supply chain by connecting car dealers on our online automobile sales platform and offering the overall services for purchasing automobiles. For more information, please visit: www.happ.org.cn

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the terms of the Agreement not hereafter being memorialized in a definitive agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been, or will be, instituted against the Company or other parties to the Agreement following announcement of the Agreement and transactions contemplated therein; the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the Agreement due to unsatisfied closing conditions; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement of the Agreement and consummation of the transaction described therein; costs related to the proposed transactions contemplated by the Agreement; changes in applicable laws or regulations; and other risks and uncertainties described herein, as well as those risks and uncertainties contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

PR Newswire

China.org.cn: Hong Kong’s fight against COVID-19: a test for “one country, two systems”

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BEIJING, March 4, 2022 — A news report from China.org.cn on Hong Kong’s COVID-19 pandemic situation:

 

Hong Kong has been taken aback by the 5th onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s spreading fast. Hong Kong is a metropolis that runs under the "one country, two systems" principle, serving as a bridge that connects China with other parts of the world. Hong Kong is special in its own culture and its choice of pandemic prevention protocols, which set complex roadblocks to achieving a "dynamic zero-COVID" outcome. Meanwhile, as proved repeatedly in the Chinese Mainland, eliminating new COVID-19 cases dynamically has been an effective scheme, and a scientific and systematic method for guaranteeing life and health to the greatest extent.

The spread of and response to the outbreak in Hong Kong demonstrate objective differences from that in the Chinese mainland. First, Hong Kong is a densely populated city with relatively small dwelling space. The city thrives on mobility, especially people-to-people exchanges with other parts of the world, making it prone to imported cases and difficult to prevent transmissions. Secondly, debates over Hong Kong’s decision between "dynamic zero-COVID" and "co-existence with the virus" have caused a sway in the city’s response measures. All these factors led to loopholes and risks in Hong Kong’s overall pandemic prevention and control system. These factors, both internal and external, have compromised Hong Kong’s ability to implement comprehensive and effective measures.

Hong Kong’s fight against the pandemic is special indeed, given the "two systems" context. But the pandemic is threatening the lives and health of every Hong Kong resident, and the Chinese government will not let that continue. In the previous four waves, the Chinese government has answered to Hong Kong’s needs and aided it in proper ways. This time, however, the outbreak has been so fierce that Hong Kong has fallen short in medical capacity. People in Hong Kong are faced with severe threats, leading to decisive responses from the Chinese government: experts, medical teams and equipment have been dispatched to support Hong Kong; with resources mobilized from the Chinese mainland, several Fangcang hospitals are also being built. Hong Kong has also cooperated: Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong Administrative Region (HKSAR), the upcoming election for Hong Kong’s chief executive was postponed, staff from the Chinese mainland are exempted from licensing requirements, and collaborative mechanisms for joint responses have also been instituted among the HKSAR government, the Chinese central government and other relevant local governments. Such mutual trust, unwavering assistance and concerted efforts under the "one country, two systems" principle represent a swift combat against the new surge.

Whenever Hong Kong is in need, its motherland is there to respond. This is the essence of the "one country, two systems" principle, which has been repeatedly proven since Hong Kong’s return to China. Seeing into the past, when the 1997 Asian Financial crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2019 riots hit, the Chinese government took positive actions in back Hong Kong based on the Constitution and the Basic Law of HKSAR. Such efforts were made out of obligation, good faith and bonds among compatriots, which stand for the very rationale behind the insistence on the "one country, two systems" principle and ensuring Hong Kong’s prosperity. Lives matter above all else, and that makes standing up to the pandemic all the more paramount. Hong Kong’s battle against COVID-19 will once more become a test for the "one country, two systems" principle, and critical juncture for "patriots governing Hong Kong".

China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Hong Kong’s fight against COVID-19: a test for "one country, two systems"

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2022-03/03/content_78084164.htm

PR Newswire

Vocera, now part of Stryker, introduces latest evolution in hands-free communication to help protect and connect healthcare workers

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New Minibadge expands intuitive mobile solutions for care team collaboration and safety

KALAMAZOO, Michigan, USA, March 1, 2022 — Vocera, now part of Stryker, a global leading medical technology company, introduced the new Minibadge, a wearable, voice-driven device that enables mobile workers to communicate completely hands-free. The launch of this small, lightweight device, which can integrate with multiple clinical and operational systems, expands communication and collaboration solutions for frontline workers in healthcare and other mission-critical environments. Providing users with additional flexibility, the Minibadge works in conjunction with Vocera smartphone apps, making it fast and easy for users to alternate between mobile devices to fit their communication needs in the moment.

"The Minibadge is a great option for healthcare workers who need to be completely hands-free while communicating and collaborating with colleagues," said David Augsburger, MSN, MBA, RN, CCRN, Director of Clinically Integrated Technology and Systems at Major Health Partners (MHP), where hospital leaders and frontline workers collaborate to find innovative ways to improve the safety and well-being of their patients, families, staff and community.

During human-centered design sessions and beta testing for the Minibadge, MHP team members expressed their delight with the device, emphasizing its ease of use, the long life of the battery, and its small, sleek form factor. MHP team members also praised the intuitive voice recognition of the Minibadge and its dedicated panic button. This discreet button is also a feature of the Smartbadge, which combines smartphone usability with hands-free communication and is deployed enterprise-wide at the hospital.

"The dedicated panic button on both the Minibadge and Smartbadge gives team members a sense of security and peace of mind," Augsburger said. "Plus, the slight vibration of the Minibadge after the discreet one-way distress call is made, lets staff know they are being heard by security and help is on the way." 

Hands-free communication has helped protect and connect hospital workers around the world. It enables those in isolated environments to stay connected, ask for help, request supplies, and access information without having to leave the bedside or remove personal protective equipment (PPE).

"For more than 21 years, Vocera has led the way in hands-free communication, innovating on voice-driven solutions that simplify workflows and improve the safety and well-being of our customers and the people they serve," said Dave Lively, Senior Vice President of Product Management, Vocera. "The Minibadge is a perfect example of that evolution. Its seamless compatibility with smartphones provides a valuable ‘and’ rather than ‘or’ option for organizations—empowering a broader spectrum of team members who need the flexibility to choose the best device for their assignment or task."

Like with the predecessor Smartbadge, care team members can wear the Minibadge under PPE and initiate communication by saying "OK Vocera," followed by simple voice commands, such as "call room 102 nurse," "broadcast code blue," or "schedule a reminder to turn Mr. Jones." The Minibadge also enables team members to make and receive calls, quickly collaborate with colleagues, listen to messages and respond to alarm notifications completely hands-free. Depending on which device works best for their roles and workflows, the Vocera portfolio provides additional choices when it comes to mobility and interoperability.

"The Minibadge aligns to the technologies and solutions we provide as we strive to provide safer care and better outcomes," said Jessica Mathieson, VP/GM of Acute Care, Stryker. "We’re excited to have the Vocera team join us at Stryker."

Healthcare leaders can get a closer look at the Minibadge, Smartbadge, and other voice-driven solutions at the HIMSS Global Conference, March 14-18, 2022, in booth #2347. Attendees also can learn how intelligent, integrated voice capabilities enhance care team experience.  

About Stryker
Stryker is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in Medical and Surgical, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. More information is available at www.stryker.com.

On Feb. 23, 2022, Stryker completed the acquisition of Vocera Communications, a leader in digital care coordination and communication.

Media contact
Meghan Menz
Sr. Director, Communications
meghan.menz@stryker.com

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PR Newswire

Fiducia’s Inaugural Fund Launched With Initial Size of 3.3 Billion Yen; Fundraising to Continue

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TOKYO, Feb. 21, 2022 — Fiducia Inc. announced that it has executed the first closing of its inaugural fund (Fiducia Growth Tech Limited Liability Investment Limited Partnership), with an initial size of 3.26 billion yen. The fund, which has started investments, will continue its fund-raising activity to grow in scale over the period of about one year.

The participating institutional investors of the fund include AI Capital Co., Ltd., Tokyo University of Science Investment Management Co., Ltd., Nanto Bank Co., Ltd., and Pavilion Capital. The investors range from a renowned gatekeeper and a venture capitalist to a large regional bank and a reputable Singapore-based private equity fund.

The Latin word "Fiducia" was chosen as the corporate name with the intent of executing fiduciary duties and social responsibilities. Fiducia intends to cultivate and invest in innovative companies in real technology (Real/Deep Tech) and health care innovations. Fiducia will invest in these companies and help them with expertise in finance and investments. Fiducia will help them build better business networks and, most importantly, help them to grow. 

The management and employees of Fiducia will aspire to contribute to the globalization of the companies in its investment portfolio.

The integration of the virtual and the real worlds is rapidly progressing, which presents great business opportunities for Real/Deep Tech companies, including ones from Japan. Healthcare innovation from Japan’s academia is advancing, but it is yet to be discovered by international investors. Fiducia focuses on investments in these two promising areas, and helps them grow to maximize investor returns.

The growth capital business bridging the gap between startups and public equity markets is now an important arena for private investments worldwide. However, this segment is underdeveloped in Japan. Fiducia aspires to help develop growth capital investments on Japanese soil to invest in and to help develop Real/Deep Tech and Health care Innovation companies.

Many large companies in Japan are rebalancing their business portfolios by spinning off non-core technologies. While some of these technologies will become more attractive if they were managed independently, they still struggle to attract financing from local venture capitalists because these companies are busy focusing on developing local IT platforms and subscription businesses. This is a perfect opportunity for Fiducia. The asset management company intends to act proactively and also work together with other counterparties to fulfill its goals.

Fiducia aims to build a balanced portfolio – not with a scattered shotgun approach but with an intentional bias toward concentration, allowing us to focus on growth investments in the Real/Deep Tech and Healthcare Innovations. This approach allows Fiducia to spend more time with the companies in which it invests, to give their management business and financial advice and to help them build business networks locally and globally. 

Domestic Real/Deep Tech companies and Healthcare innovators are not limited to the Tokyo metropolitan region; they also exist in the rural regions. Fiducia hopes that its investment activities could contribute to the transformation of the industrial structure and the revitalization of rural areas.

Comments from Founders:

Takumi Shibata, Fiducia’s Co-Founder, said: "Re-energizing Japanese businesses and revitalizing regional communities will call for urgent solutions. Our focused investments in Real/Deep Tech area and in Healthcare innovations will help to solve these issues, with attractive returns to investors.  Fiducia will be excited if its focused profit-seeking investment approach and returns can contribute to solving these national challenges on any scale possible."

Tokihiko Shimizu, Fiducia’s Co-Founder, said: "Fiducia is convinced that focused investments in Real/Deep Tech and in Healthcare Innovations offer promising investment opportunities that deliver attractive returns.  Growth stage investors like us are operating in a less crowded space in Japan and enjoy blue ocean-type access to investment opportunities.  This is one more reason why Japan needs this growth-stage investment segment to grow. I will endeavor to contribute to building a strong, disciplined and focused investment business in order to cater to our investors’ need for returns, based on my past business experience in national pension management, private equity and venture capital investments."

 

PR Newswire

The Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Global Tobacco Control updates its free online course on the dangers of tobacco use and COVID-19

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BALTIMORE, Feb. 18, 2022 — With the COVID-19 pandemic still a concern as 2022 begins, arm yourself with knowledge about the connection between tobacco use and COVID-19 with a free online course from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Arm yourself with knowledge about the connection between tobacco use and COVID-19 with a free online course from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Arm yourself with knowledge about the connection between tobacco use and COVID-19 with a free online course from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Updated with new information in late 2021, COVID-19 and Tobacco Use covers topics such as the impact of smoking on COVID-19, the effects of nicotine at a molecular level, and the behavior of the tobacco industry during the pandemic.

Current evidence shows the negative impacts of smoking on COVID-19 outcomes, providing one more compelling reason and an added sense of urgency for people to quit using tobacco products. As infections continue to disrupt daily living, any step taken to curb the negative outcomes of COVID-19 should be explored and implemented. This course can help amplify that effort.

The COVID-19 and Tobacco Use course joins a distinguished suite of existing free online courses, which have been completed by more than 6,700 participants from more than 100 countries around the world.

Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Experts is a comprehensive primer on the tobacco epidemic featuring 27 subject matter experts from 14 countries. Participants in the course will get a unique global perspective on the burden of tobacco on death and disease and evidence-based solutions to reduce it.

Learning from the Experts: A Course for Healthcare Providers is an online course developed with input from globally acclaimed tobacco control advocates in healthcare careers. Designed for busy healthcare providers, this course provides up-to-date information about the role healthcare professionals can play in tobacco control, and how to help their patients quit tobacco. Recent updates to the course include how cessation medication works; how to help a patient quit smokeless tobacco and other non-cigarette tobacco products; and addressing practical issues clinicians face when helping their patients quit tobacco.

All three courses are free to any user around the world and feature a responsive design that allows users to take the course at their own pace on any device. Users who complete a course receive a certificate of completion from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control.