DexCom, a global leader in real-time continuous glucose monitoring for people with diabetes, has received US FDA clearance of the Dexcom Partner Web APIs, enabling invited third-party developers to integrate real-time CGM data into their digital health apps and devices.

“The new APIs will help seamlessly integrate the power of real-time Dexcom CGM data into some of the leading diabetes and digital health solutions,” explained Jake Leach, chief technology officer at Dexcom

“FDA clearance of our real-time APIs further solidifies Dexcom as the leader in interoperable CGM, giving Dexcom users even more choice in how they view and interact with their glucose data,” said Leach.

People with diabetes and their healthcare providers will benefit from the integration of real-time Dexcom CGM data into third-party apps and devices in a multitude of ways. For example, it will:

• Allow users to quickly see all their therapy data in one place
• Empower users to utilize the apps they find most beneficial for a more tailored Dexcom experience
• Enable in-the-moment diabetes management coaching and feedback

Garmin, Teladoc Health

Several prominent diabetes and digital health companies have been invited to access the real-time APIs and are already in the testing and development phase, including Garmin and Teladoc Health’s Livongo for Diabetes.

Joe Schrick, vice president of fitness at Garmin, said: “Garmin welcomes the opportunity to bring Dexcom CGM data to runners, cyclists and everyday users who rely on the technology 24/7 to proactively manage their diabetes. We are proud to be part of this integration that will allow users a secondary way to quickly and discreetly view estimated glucose levels and trends right from their smartwatch at any time.”

• For more information, visit: Dexcom.com/WebAPI.

In a 670-patient study funded by the International Society of Nephrology, the South Africa Medical Research Council, and the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, the Nova POC StatSensor Creatinine/ eGFR meter was more accurate than the central laboratory IDMS-traceable Jaffe methodology in estimating GFR when both methods were compared to measured GFR (mGFR).

Greiner Bio-One’s has recently released MiniCollect® PIXIE – a safety lancet for the heel which is ideal for premature and newborn babies. With a shallow penetration depth, PIXIE nevertheless gently ensures maximum blood flow.

Siemens Healthineers has received CE Mark for the AcuNav Volume ICE (Intracardiac Echocardiography) catheter, which is a therapyenabling imaging guide that provides realtime, wide-angle visualization of heart anatomy during Structural Heart and Electrophysiology procedures. AcuNav Volume ICE is the market’s first Volume ICE catheter.

Objective testing demonstrated that SNC processing enables a 2X to 4X noise reduction in flat areas, preserves high frequency sharpness, and improves contrast detail.

Carestream Health has released Smart Noise Cancellation (SNC), a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology that significantly improves image quality – producing images that are clearer than with standard processing. SNC has received FDA 510(k) Clearance and is available as an optional feature with Carestream’s ImageView Software powered by Eclipse – the intelligent image-processing engine behind the company’s innovative imaging software – on DRX-Evolution and DRX-Evolution Plus systems.

“Carestream is a leader in using AI for noise cancellation with X-ray images. Our team of imaging scientists has been able to separate image noise from sharpness and contrast using AI-based algorithms that result in remarkable image quality,” said Jill Hamman, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Global X-ray Solutions at Carestream. “This technology provides improved anatomical clarity, preservation of fine detail and better contrast-to-noise ratio for images acquired at a broad range of exposures, which can help improve diagnostic confidence and alleviate physician fatigue. It also enables radiology professionals to better optimize radiation dose.” Optimizing radiation dose is especially important with neonatal and paediatric diagnostic imaging, where imaging at the lowest possible dose is crucial for young patients.

Challenge of separating noise from image

Separating noise from an image has been a challenge for medical imaging scientists. Traditional noise reduction introduces blurring, which degrades image sharpness and might remove important anatomical information. Conversely, the more an image is sharpened, the more noise may be enhanced. Noise is often an undesirable by-product of image capture and can obscure critical anatomical data. Carestream’s SNC is able to isolate noise to produce images that are significantly clearer than with standard processing.

As the preferred level of noise on X-ray images is subjective – for example, some radiologists expect to see a certain degree of noise in images, which assures them that the patient was not overexposed – Carestream  enables imaging professionals to adjust the amount of noise cancellation and exposure to meet their desired image quality.

In a blinded Clinical Reader study, 89.5% of all study ratings showed a slight to strong preference for SNC processed images.

Objective testing demonstrated that SNC processing enables a 2x–4x noise reduction in flat image areas, preserves high frequency sharpness and improves contrast detail. Additionally, a blind Clinical Reader Study using board-certified radiologists found that 89.5% of all study ratings showed a slight to strong preference for SNC-processed images. Sixty-four percent of the diagnostic quality ratings improved – based on the RadLex rating scale – and 56% of these ratings improved from “limited” or “diagnostic” to “exemplary”.

When combined with SmartGrid software, Smart Noise Cancellation software promises benefits in gridless imaging where the removal of scatter typically leads to an increase in noise appearance.