Lifeboat Foundation

Over the years, much has been said about artificial intelligence (AI) and the healthcare industry. Much of it has been focused on two extremes. On one hand, there’s the fairly mature use of neural networks for radiological analysis. On the other, there’s the focus on fraud management. Those have become “must have’s” in my perspective. It’s filling the middle ground that interests me. Medical insurance is, as patients, providers, and payors all can agree, is often convoluted and complex. There’s a business problem in making processes more efficient, and the foolishly named robotic process automation (RPA) is only a step in the right direction. More robust AI can help all three stakeholder groups address their needs in managing medical insurance. The general medical insurance industry does deal with radiology and images. However, that’s typically in specialties. In the dental industry, radiology is a regular tool, using x-rays to understand tooth and gum conditions and then to document work that has been done. The basics of AI and radiology have been covered, in this column and many other places, so this article isn’t going to cover the concepts, it’s important to realize how important that analysis is in dental care.

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In this case, it’s increasing the accuracy and speed of dental insurance processing, resulting in better medical control, improved financial outcomes for providers and payors, and improved care and customer service for the patient.

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Quantum computing is still rare enough that merely installing a system in a country is a breakthrough, and IBM is taking advantage of that novelty. The company has forged a partnership with the Canadian province of Quebec to install what it says is Canada’s first universal quantum computer. The five-year deal will see IBM install a Quantum System One as part of a Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator project tackling scientific and commercial challenges.

The team-up will see IBM and the Quebec government foster microelectronics work, including progress in chip packaging thanks to an existing IBM facility in the province. The two also plan to show how quantum and classical computers can work together to address scientific challenges, and expect quantum-powered AI to help discover new medicines and materials.

IBM didn’t say exactly when it would install the quantum computer. However, it will be just the fifth Quantum One installation planned by 2023 following similar partnerships in Germany, Japan, South Korea and the US. Canada is joining a relatively exclusive club, then.

Antiretroviral therapy, the standard treatment for HIV, can remove any trace of the virus from the blood, but a hidden reservoir of HIV persists in patients who are in treatment. That means patients are never truly cured and need to be on HIV drugs for the rest of their lives.

Researchers have yet to discover a way to eliminate the virus in its latent stage, but new, early-stage research suggests a landmark cancer drug — pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda — may be able to help. In a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, researchers looked at 32 patients that had both cancer and HIV and found that pembrolizumab, which revives the immune system and encourages it to attack tumors, also has the ability to flush HIV out of its hiding spot in immune cells.

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Summary: A breakdown in regulatory mechanisms causes iron to build up in the brain during aging, increasing oxidative stress and increasing the risk of age-related cognitive decline, a new study reports.

Source: Northwestern University.

Breakdowns in regulatory mechanisms cause iron to build up in the brain as organisms grow older, increasing oxidative stress and causing cellular damage, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal eLife.

Long-lasting leukemia remission prompts doctors to call CAR-T cell therapy a ‘cure’ for some.

At least 48 people in Canada have come down with symptoms indicative of a brain disease, describing debilitating symptoms.

Though it almost certainly won’t work, it is a telling sign of where the field is heading.

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• Tate Ryan-Mosleyarchive page

Phase I trial aims to build on response seen in proof-of-concept trial.

NEW YORK AND CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — JANUARY 27, 2022 — IAVI and biotechnology company Moderna announced today that first doses have been administered in a clinical trial of experimental HIV vaccine antigens at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. The Phase I trial, IAVI G002, is designed to test the hypothesis that sequential administration of priming and boosting HIV immunogens delivered by messenger RNA (mRNA) can induce specific classes of B-cell responses and guide their early maturation toward broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) development. The induction of bnAbs is widely considered to be a goal of HIV vaccination, and this is the first step in that process. The immunogens being tested in IAVI G002 were developed by scientific teams at IAVI and Scripps Research and will be delivered via Moderna’s mRNA technology.

IAVI and Moderna and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government.

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