Memic Innovative Surgery Ltd. (the “Company” or “Memic”), a medical device company dedicated to transforming surgery with its proprietary surgical robotic technology, and MedTech Acquisition Corporation (“MedTech”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) focused on medical technology, including surgical robotics, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate under the Memic name and Maurice R. Ferré, MD, an independent director of MedTech and current Chairman of the board of Memic, will become Executive Chairman of the combined company. Memic will apply to have its ordinary shares listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”). The business combination is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“We are pleased to reach a merger agreement with MedTech, which represents a significant opportunity to advance the robot-assisted surgery market in ways that, until now, have been unattainable,” said Dvir Cohen, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Memic. “We believe the Hominis platform has the potential to transform the way surgeons perform robot-assisted procedures, beginning with our currently FDA-authorized indications that include transvaginal benign hysterectomy. Our partnership with the MedTech team, which provides decades of collective experience in surgical robotics, is an important step in bringing our advanced technology to medical facilities and patients across the United States and the world. We look forward to entering the public markets and working together with MedTech in the next phase of our company’s journey.” 

“This agreement with Memic reflects the continued commitment of our management team and board of directors to deliver value to our stockholders,” said Chris Dewey, Chief Executive Officer of MedTech. “Following a comprehensive review of investment opportunities, we were impressed with the highly accomplished management team at Memic and its disruptive, minimally invasive, cost-effective Hominis system, which positions the Company well for substantial growth and profitability. We believe that Memic’s innovative technology, coupled with our team’s expertise in successfully commercializing medical device companies, has the potential to create significant value for stockholders in the years ahead.”

“We believe that the Hominis platform represents the most significant advancement in soft-tissue surgical robotics in recent decades and this agreement further validates how our technology is positioned to transform the surgical robotics sector,” said Maurice R. Ferré, MD, Co-founder of MAKO Surgical, Inc. “Hominis is able to perform robotic transvaginal techniques that were previously unfeasible, fulfilling a significant unmet need in women’s health, and we believe it has the potential to be applied to a broad range of indications in the future including general surgery.”

Company Overview

Hominis received de novo marketing authorization from the FDA in February 2021 for use in single site, natural orifice laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal benign surgical procedures, including benign hysterectomy. It is the first and only FDA-authorized surgical robotic platform that features miniature humanoid-shaped robotic arms that provide human level dexterity, multi-planar flexibility and 360 degrees of articulation, allowing it to reach the entire surgical site. The Company’s initial target addressable market is over 1 million women’s health procedures in the United States and over 4 million globally. The Company plans to expand within women’s health, as well as into additional applications including general, colorectal, thoracic, transoral and transrectal surgeries.

The biomimetic instruments are designed to replicate the motions and capabilities of a surgeon’s arms, with shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. Multiple instruments can be introduced into the body through a single portal and the 360-degree articulation offers the ability to bend and work around anatomic barriers, as well as optimal access and working angles. The system’s proprietary instruments and human-like features enable surgeons to perform indicated gynecologic procedures using the transvaginal approach, which research shows results in better clinical outcomes for patients, including reduced pain, recovery time and rates of infection and no visible scarring. 

The small, compact and mobile design of Hominis also offers a minimal footprint, with simple docking and a short setup time for surgeons, without requiring a dedicated operating room. Hominis can be purchased at a significant cost advantage compared to other available robotic technology.

Memic has applied for a CE Mark for the Hominis system in additional countries outside the United States with decisions and expanded commercialization pending.

Transaction Overview

Upon closing of the business combination, the combined company will have an estimated pro-forma equity value of more than $1 billion, assuming no redemptions by MedTech’s public stockholders. The combined company’s estimated cash balance will consist of MedTech’s $250 million cash held in trust, assuming no redemptions by public stockholders, $76 million from the private placement of ordinary shares with investors (PIPE), and $63 million from the current balance sheet of Memic, less estimated transaction expenses and operational expenses through closing. The combined company is expected to hold approximately $360 million in cash, less transaction and operational expenses until closing, to fund the business through its investment phase and to positive cash flow, assuming no redemptions by MedTech’s public stockholders. The PIPE is led by various investors, including Bridger Healthcare, Ltd., The Kraft Group, Monashee Investment Management LLC, Pura Vida Investments, Wellington Management, Ken Langone, Peregrine Ventures, HighSage Ventures, and management and board members of MedTech. Memic’s existing stockholders will be rolling 100% of their equity into the combined company.

Following completion of the transaction and the PIPE and assuming no redemptions by MedTech’s public stockholders, the security holders of Memic are expected to own approximately 61.6%, MedTech stockholders 24.7%, PIPE investors 7.5%, and MedTech’s sponsor 6.2% of the combined company. The proposed transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of Memic and MedTech and is subject to the approval of the stockholders of Memic and stockholders of MedTech and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary conditions. 

Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the business combination agreement and an investor presentation, will be filed by MedTech in a Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Advisors

BofA Securities is serving as sole financial advisor to Memic. Greenberg Traurig, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Memic. 

BofA Securities and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are serving as lead joint placement agents on the private offering (PIPE). Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to the placement agents.

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. is serving as sole financial advisor to MedTech and acted as sole book-running manager for the MedTech’s IPO in December 2020. Foley & Lardner, LLP is serving as legal counsel to MedTech.

Do you love fitness? Do you want to make it your career? If so, becoming a personal trainer is the perfect option for you! Personal trainers are in high demand and will always have work. There are many benefits of being a personal trainer that go beyond just making money.

This article will go over what it takes to become a personal trainer, how much income you can expect as well as some other important information about this line of work. This is perfect for those seeking to become a PT and struggling with the decision.

How To Become A Personal Trainer

Are you the type of person that can’t go a day without working out? Do you feel like it’s your duty to be healthy for yourself and for those around you? If so, you’re on the right career path.

Becoming a personal trainer may sound like an impossible dream, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years as a fitness professional, it’s that anything is possible with dedication and hard work. Here are six things to consider that can help make your dream come true!

1. What Is A Personal Trainer And What Do They Do?

A personal trainer is someone who gets a client motivated about fitness on an individual level. They create customized workout programs for clients to follow, teach them tips and techniques that they can do at home, monitor their progress throughout the process of training sessions, and help educate people about healthy eating habits.

Personal trainers have many benefits in this line of work. They are given the opportunity to motivate people, educate them on fitness and health topics as well as make a good living for themselves.

2. How Much Money Can You Make?

It’s a common misconception that personal trainers make millions of dollars. The truth is, most PTs only make around $30-60 per hour, while how much personal trainers earn varies depending on experience and qualifications.

However, if you do your research to find clients who are willing to pay more for specialty training sessions (such as those that work with you on a one-on-one basis), then your income will be higher.

3. The Benefits Of Becoming A Personal Trainer

There are many benefits to becoming a personal trainer, such as the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life, be your own boss and set your hours.

It’s also great for those who love fitness because you get paid to do what you’re passionate about! Yet another benefit is that there will always be jobs available in this field.

4. Personal Trainers’ Responsibilities

A personal trainer’s responsibility is to create exercise programs for clients, educate them about fitness and health topics as well as motivate people who are looking to get in shape.

They also monitor their client’s progress throughout the process of training sessions and help guide them through a lifestyle transformation towards an active one.

Personal trainers must have knowledge of anatomy/physiology, biomechanics, and nutrition.

5. How To Become A Qualified Personal Trainer

Becoming a qualified personal trainer takes dedication, education, and experience.

There are two ways to become qualified: through the National Strength Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) certification or by being certified by another organization, such as ACE or NASM. The question then becomes, what kind of training do you want to do?

NSCA offers two different certifications: one for strength and conditioning coaches (SCC) or one for personal trainers. The SCC certification is more general than the PT certification, yet it’s still a great way to get your foot in the door of this industry.

6. How To Succeed In This Career

To succeed in this career, you need to be dedicated and organized. You have to set a schedule for yourself so that your workouts are on track as well as how often you’ll train clients. It’s also important that you’re passionate about fitness because, if not, it will show through the work that you do.

All in all, becoming a personal trainer is a rewarding and fulfilling career choice.

If you are passionate about fitness and health and have the discipline, dedication, and work ethic to help people achieve their goals in a fun way through exercise or lifestyle changes, then this is the career for you. You’ve gone over what it takes to become qualified as well as some of the benefits that come with being successful in this profession. Whether you want further education on anatomy/physiology or biomechanics before making your decision or just need more information on how much money can potentially be made from these types of jobs, make sure to do your research and have fun along the way.

Whether you’ve lost a tooth or two, it can affect your self-confidence and the ability to smile freely, especially if they’re your front teeth. In addition, you’re faced with the difficult decision of finding a suitable tooth replacement option and worry about how your new smile will look and feel. But most of all, you also wonder how tooth replacement will affect your general oral health. There are several tooth replacement options to explore, one of them being dental implants.

Dental implants are excellent tooth replacements as they improve your oral health in several ways. Here are six of them:

1. They Help Protect Jaw And Bone Health

   When you lose teeth, they leave an empty socket. What most people don’t know is that space can lead to other oral health issues. The jawbone retains its shape by getting stimulated by tooth roots. If you have one or more teeth missing, it affects the jawbone in all the areas with empty teeth sockets. As a result, the jawbone continues to weaken and deteriorate with time.

   This causes the remaining teeth to loosen to the extent of falling out sometimes. This can even cause the shape of your jawbone to change. With a dental implant procedure, all the spaces are sufficiently filled. This way, the strength and shape of your jawbone are preserved.

2. They Enhance The Ability To Chew Normally

   The thing with missing teeth is they don’t only affect the shape of your jaws, which contribute significantly to how you chew food, but they also limit what you can chew. You may encounter problems chewing certain foods with missing teeth, limiting the foods you can eat. Eating soft and processed foods only may have adverse effects on your oral and general health.

   Experts have linked these foods to numerous health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and excessive weight gain due to processed foods. When you get dental implants, your ability to chew all types of food naturally is restored. It improves the overall form and strength of your jaws and keeps your entire body healthy as well.

3. They Reduce The Risk Of Tooth Cavities And Gum Disease

   Tooth cavities and gum disease are among the most common dental health issues people face. They’re caused by bacteria on your teeth and gums. The teeth next to the empty tooth socket are exposed and more susceptible to bacteria. Besides, the space creates an easy entry for bacteria to get into your gums.

   You may end up with gum disease or inflamed gum tissue that can cause you discomfort. When you have dental implants, you block bacteria from reaching and building up in your gums. This gives you a healthier smile.

4. They Give The Natural Teeth Function And Stability

   Dental implants are made to mimic the natural teeth with a deeply fixed titanium implant post. They provide a natural feel, function, and stability, helping your mouth perform as it did with healthy natural teeth. This gives confidence when you’re eating or talking as you don’t have to worry about your teeth not staying in place. You do all the things natural teeth help you do without a second thought.

5. They Help With Teeth Alignment Issues

   When there’s a space next to a tooth, the tooth tends to move toward it, attempting to fill it. This causes your remaining teeth to move out of their normal position, leading to misaligned teeth. Apart from having crooked teeth, misaligned teeth are harder to clean, affecting your jaws. It may put you at a higher risk of other oral health conditions such as cavities, tooth decay, and gum diseases.

   Also, misaligned teeth make you overly conscious anytime you talk, smile, laugh, or eat. Dental implants improve your oral health and restore the beauty of your smile, resulting in more confidence.

6. They Improve Periodontal Health

   When the reason for your loose or missing teeth is periodontal disease, there’s a high likelihood of the problem recurring in the future. Periodontitis is a severe gum infection that can damage the bone supporting your teeth. As said earlier, empty teeth create room for bacteria build-up.

   That bacteria may also lead to gum infection. Once your gums are infected, they can quickly transfer to your jaws, bones, and throughout the body. This is another oral health problem dental implants may help eliminate.

Final Thoughts

Dental implants may be artificial teeth, but they offer immense benefits and improvement to your oral health. They make you forget about teeth issues as they’re made to look and feel natural in your mouth. They keep your jawbone in place and enable you to chew food without worrying about their moving or getting damaged. In addition, they don’t need any special care. You can follow the normal dental routine as with your natural teeth.

Orbita, the leading provider of secure voice and chatbot virtual assistant solutions for healthcare, announced a major upgrade to its award-winning conversational AI platform for healthcare, along with deployments with four innovative healthcare organizations using Orbita to power automated patient engagement and support.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has accelerated consumer demand for digital and virtual healthcare solutions that provide automated, on-demand support at every point in the care journey. At the same time, many healthcare organizations continue to struggle to implement digital solutions that effectively reach and engage patients while meeting the rigorous safety, compliance, and performance requirements of the industry.

Orbita’s new Solution Center is the industry’s first integrated system for quickly deploying secure, scalable omni-channel voice and chatbot virtual assistants for healthcare’s digital front door. Using a modular, plug-and-play architecture, the Orbita Solution Center includes pre-built, interoperable services to streamline deployment of feature-rich healthcare virtual assistants. The result is faster time to value for healthcare organizations seeking to deliver omni-channel voice and chat virtual assistants that improve patient engagement and close gaps in care, while reducing operational costs and staff burden.

The Orbita Solution Center includes out-of-the-box solutions for voice and chatbot applications that can be quickly integrated to support a variety of intelligent patient engagement operations, including:

General and condition-specific healthcare knowledgebases and symptom checkers
Healthcare surveys and assessments
Care navigation and communication
Proactive outreach and communication
Appointment scheduling and management
Population health communication

Built on Orbita’s award winning omnichannel conversational AI platform, the Orbita Solution Center supports web and mobile web chatbots, native mobile applications (iPhone and Android), interactive voice response (IVR), social media (Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, …), SMS, smart speaker platforms (Amazon Alexa and Google Home), and custom devices. Rich development tools, flexible integration options, and enterprise-grade features meet the strict demands of the healthcare industry for extensibility, interoperability, security, and scalability.

ThedaCare is among the innovative healthcare organizations that have adopted Orbita to power automated patient engagement chatbots for their digital front door and patient communications.

Driving patient engagement and satisfaction are critical goals for our digital front door,” said Allie Sonsthagen, Director of Marketing Technology & Analytics at ThedaCare. “We’re excited about how our Orbita can help us to meet these goals while reducing the burden on our call center.”

“We saw a real need in the industry to go beyond the limitations of 1) generic chatbot platforms that lack healthcare capabilities and 2) point solutions that lack scale and flexibility. Orbita’s Solution Center is the culmination of many years of research and development and delivers on the promise of out-of-the-box solutions combined with enterprise-grade flexibility and robustness that the healthcare industry demands,” said Patty Riskind, CEO at Orbita. “We are thrilled to see the impact it is already having with our customers and partners.”

Orbita will be demonstrating the Orbita Solution Center at HIMSS in Las Vegas, August 9-13 th.

About Orbita
Orbita’s award-winning, HIPAA-compliant conversational AI platform powers voice and chatbot solutions for healthcare and life sciences organizations that improve patient engagement, increase clinical efficiency and improve outcomes. Customers include innovative healthcare and life science organizations, including Medstar Health, Novartis, Mass General Brigham, KKI, Mayo Clinic, Amwell, Janssen, Roche, Yale New Haven Hospital, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and others. Find us at orbita.ai or contact us at hello@orbita.ai.

It’s not uncommon to see people burning off some of their stress with a 20-minute game of racquetball or squash. Sports and physical activities can positively impact your health, whether you’re looking for mental benefits or physical ones.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how different sports can improve your health in various ways!

Football

Football is a great team sport that’s not only good for your physical health but can also improve mental health. It provides an outlet to release anger and tension while providing you with the opportunity to work as a unit to achieve victory together. You’ll be able to make friends through football, providing support during difficult times or after retirement.

Players can work out at their own pace, which enables them to do what’s best for themselves and not worry about the needs or wants of others. You’ll be able to learn a lot from football, including how to lead and inspire people in difficult times, as well as learning that you have teammates who will always support you no matter what.

Golf

One of the most popular sports in America, golf is a game that people of all ages and abilities can play. As seen at www.theleftrough.com, golfing has been shown to improve balance and coordination, and heart health due to its low-impact nature. This sport requires precision, focus, concentration, and patience, which translates into better mental acuity for children (and adults!)

Golfing is also a low-impact sport, meaning it’s easier on the joints and muscles. Golfers who have joint pain or muscle soreness will often find that the game relieves their discomfort by allowing them to move in much less strenuous ways than other sports. It can be an excellent way for people with joint problems, like arthritis or osteoarthritis, to be active and stay healthy.

Golf is a sport that people of all ages can play, so it’s never too late to start golfing! And since your age doesn’t matter – you’ll always find someone at the course who will happily teach you how to play and who can share their love of the game.

Basketball

Basketball, like golf, is a low-impact sport that people of all ages can play. Unlike other sports where players are running up and down the court for hours on end with no break in between, basketball periodically gives you time to rest before you have your next ‘ball’ possession. This helps prevent fatigue which may be a factor in obesity, heart disease, and other health issues. On top of that, basketball is an aerobic sport that promotes the secretion of endorphins to help keep you feeling good!

Basketball also helps develop hand-eye coordination, quick decision making, teamwork, and communication – all-important life skills. And it’s one of the most popular sports in the world – so you can meet lots of people with similar interests and find friends to keep you company on your journey.

Basketball helps promote joint mobility, which is great for people with arthritis or other painful conditions that affect their joints. The game also promotes weight loss because it requires a ton of movement when you’re on the court.

Baseball

Baseball is a great sport for people of all times because it’s not too strenuous on your joints and muscles. Like basketball, the game has short bursts of activity followed by periods of rest – so you can enjoy the game without feeling fatigued or out-of-breath afterward.

It also helps develop skills like hand-eye coordination, quick decision-making, teamwork, and communication which can help with school grades.

Baseball is also a great way to spend time outside with friends or family! It’s an all-around fun game that promotes weight loss and health while still being easy on the joints – what’s not to love?

Volleyball

Volleyball is a fun, fast-paced game that gives you plenty of chances to rest before having to run back and forth on the court. This sport works your upper body muscles and helps improve hand-eye coordination skills – which can be helpful for those who are struggling with school grades or other activities.

Volleyball is also a great way to make new friends and spend time outside! It can help promote weight loss, increase your heart rate, strengthen muscles… the list goes on.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a fast-paced sport that requires the player to be in constant motion. This can help burn calories and improve cardiovascular health, as well as build up muscle mass. Lacrosse has been shown to increase strength due to high-intensity running, which also strengthens bones and joints. The lacrosse game involves carrying heavy sticks around the field and moving at a high rate of speed which increases muscle mass.

Lacrosse is a high-intensity game that requires players to be constantly on the move. This activity helps burn calories and improves cardiovascular health while building up muscle mass at the same time.

As you can see, various sports could have positive impacts on your health. The five main categories above include football, golf, basketball, baseball, and volleyball. If any of these sound appealing to you or if you’re looking for something new to try out this year, then make sure to research which ones might be the best fit for your personality and needs before heading down the road with it!

When COVID-19 began sweeping the globe, Australia was quick to lockdown. And Peninsula Health was equally quick to respond. With the help of Citrix 2021 Partner Innovation Award finalist Logicalis, the leading healthcare provider equipped its staff with the tools they needed to work from home and soon after, rolled out Telehealth services to ensure they could continue to serve patients without missing a beat using digital workspace solutions from Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS).

“The two challenges that were presented to us immediately were the need for remote working and delivering telehealth services,” said Warren Kulpa, Director, IT Infrastructure, Peninsula Health.

As a healthcare provider, time was of the essence in addressing them.

“We didn’t have the luxury of sitting down and thinking ‘what should we do?’,” said Sam Psathas, Engagement Manager at Peninsula Health technology partner Logicalis, “We had to move fast.”

And Psathas knew that with Citrix, they could.

Modernizing IT Infrastructure to Support Remote Work

“The hospital itself didn’t have the infrastructure to support that huge uplift in remote working,” he said.

To remedy the problem, Psathas and his team turned to Citrix Cloud™ services.

“It was the perfect solution because we were able to size it to fit the number of users the hospital had on day one and then expand that out fairly rapidly over time,” he said. “We went live with actual users on the system in just three weeks.”

With Citrix Cloud services, IT organizations can rapidly deploy secure digital workspaces while placing their sensitive app, desktop and data resources on any cloud or hybrid cloud. And this is exactly what Peninsula Health did.

“Any application that a staff member or clinician requires to do their role is delivered through the Citrix platform,” Kulpa said.

Fueling New Services to Enhance Patient Care

With its team equipped to work anywhere, anytime from any device, Peninsula Health set to work on the next challenge it faced.

“It became a very immediate question of how we could get technology that would allow us to safely and securely interact with patients,” said Alison Watts, Operations Director, Peninsula Health.

Again, the answer was Citrix. The digital workspace Logicalis helped Peninsula Health build using Citrix as the foundation provides:

Reliable access to the work resources employees require to collaborate and get work done anywhere – in the office, at home, or on the go
Contextual security to ensure corporate and personal information remains safe across any device or location
A shared environment to streamline execution, enhance collaboration, and ensure equitable access and sharing of information for all teammates, regardless of where they are working

And Peninsula Health used it to quickly enable what it sees as the future of healthcare delivery.

“The feedback from our clinical staff has been that telehealth and virtual solutions can deliver as good and, in some cases, even better services for patients than a face-to-face consultation,” Watts said.

With the technology Logicalis put in place, Peninsula Health was up and running virtual consultations within two weeks.

“The solution itself has fundamentally changed people’s thinking about how hospitals can function,” Psathas said. “This is going to have a really significantly impact on the way health services are delivered.”

Peninsula Health joins more than 400,000 organizations around the world who are using Citrix solutions to power a better way to work. Click here to learn more about how the health system is using these solutions and the results they can deliver for your organization.

About Citrix

Citrix builds the secure, unified digital workspace technology that helps organizations unlock human potential and deliver a consistent workspace experience wherever work needs to get done. With Citrix, users get a seamless work experience and IT has a unified platform to secure, manage, and monitor diverse technologies in complex cloud environments.

An acute shortage of radiologists and growing demand for imaging scans has put radiology departments under increased strain – and GE Healthcare has developed a next-generation, cloud-based Picture Archive and Communication System (PACS) designed to overcome those barriers.

Today, GE Healthcare introduces Edison True PACS, a diagnostic imaging and workflow solution designed to help enable radiologists – who are experiencing high rates of staff burnout and retirements – to be more efficient and precise, while keeping capital and IT resources under control. Currently, it is available in the U.S., with rollout expected in some other regions starting in 2022.

“Radiologists are desperate for the latest tools to most effectively do their jobs.  But organizations often lack the financial and IT resources required to access and implement them,” said Girish Muralidharan, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Enterprise Imaging Solutions, GE Healthcare. “With the launch of Edison True PACS, we have taken the first steps to provide cloud-based enterprise imaging solutions that can help transform patient care through accessible, sharable, and secure imaging data while simultaneously improving clinical and operational efficiencies.”

Edison True PACS arrives at a critical time in the industry, as healthcare organizations struggle to keep their enterprise and departmental solutions current as well as secure, while at the same time remotely accessible. Too often, PACS systems require constant monitoring and patching for security vulnerabilities, as well as OS and application updates; these needs also require periodic and capital-draining hardware upgrades. Further, with AI enabling new productivity and accuracy tools, many organizations lack the IT resources to adopt these changes promptly.

Enter Edison True PACS, which provides innovative, AI-enabled decision-making tools that helps enhance reading speed, reduce errors, improve diagnostic precision and enable more confident diagnoses. Plus, as a cloud- hosted or subscription solution, IT budgets and resources aren’t depleted or strained.

These advantages make Edison True PACS especially attractive for small imaging centers and community hospitals, removing barriers radiologists and their organizations face in acquiring cutting-edge diagnostic radiology solutions. By leveraging a market leading database and AI-enabled technologies, the solution gives them a timelier and more affordable way to access AI-enabled decision support applications and intelligent workflow automation.

Through a web-based diagnostic viewer and a zero-footprint clinical viewer, radiologists will benefit from the ability to do remote reading anytime, anywhere, to assist their referring clinicians to ultimately deliver more timely, personalized and precise care.

In addition, GE Healthcare’s new imaging solution is deployed on AWS Cloud, designed to provide users data security and protection. As the leading vendor of AI-based medical imaging applications worldwide, GE Healthcare is in a unique position to assist radiologists be more efficient while helping to improve diagnostic accuracy and keeping pace with the growing workloads and complexity of imaging studies that occur within the hospital or in a teleradiology setting.

Improving Access to AI-Based Clinical Imaging Solutions

Radiology is one of the most promising areas for AI in healthcare and rapid progress is occurring in the field. Clinical adoption of AI by radiologists has gone from essentially zero to 30% from 2015 to 2020, according to a study by the American College of Radiology. However, healthcare providers may be reluctant to purchase AI tools from multiple developers due to integration and implementation challenges. Another barrier to adoption is the need for AI-based image analysis tools to be fully integrated into radiologists’ workflows and tightly integrated.

GE Healthcare has cultivated a rapidly expanding network of 3^rd party developers using Edison ecosystem who have created AI algorithms for multiple diagnostic tasks. Edison True PACS seamlessly integrates these into the workflow without adding any additional clicks helping to ensure radiologists read the right exam at the right time.

These applications help reduce radiologists’ read and reporting time and could help lead to a more precise and confident diagnoses. For example, while using an MRI AI application to evaluate multiple sclerosis cases, radiologists report read times that are up to 60% faster than reports performed without the application,and while using an app to evaluate lung nodules on a CT, radiologists report a 26% reduction in read times and up to a 29% increase in diagnostic confidence.

Edison True PACS brings together diagnostic reading, exam workflow, AI, 3D post processing, enterprise visualization and archiving all in a single platform, to provide advanced functionality at an affordable cost.

Key benefits of the system include:

·       Over 50% increase in radiologist efficiency for certain types of exams through incorporation of Intelligent workflows and AI clinical applications.

·       Potential to provide up to a 90% reduction in typical time required to adopt AI applications due to fully hosted offering and managed services.

·       Estimated 50% reduction in migration/implementation costs for customers enabled by cloud automation, simplified data migration, standard Health Level Seven (HL7) configuration, and default workflow configurations with a reduced total cost of ownership for customers on cloud.

“From our perspective, Edison True PACS will save a tremendous amount of money on our data storage, as not having to host PACS on-site is going to be a significant reduction on that spend,” noted Richard Duemmling, Chief of Business Operations at Neuro Imaging Winter Park. “Not having to store back-ups and duplicates on-site benefits us by taking workload off of our production team.”

Matching Organizations’ Needs and Budget

Edison True PACS is available as software as a service (SaaS) or on premise, and in three subscription models to best match organizations’ objectives and budget:

1.       Edison True Technologist is for organizations that have outsourced their reading and need technologist workflow, image routing, storage, referrer viewing and archiving.

2.       Edison True Essentials provides a low upfront capital requirement, and affordable/predictable cost of ownership. It allows organizations to allocate available funds and resources to support more strategic organizational goals and activities.

3.       Edison True Professional is designed to help reduce the risks in keeping pace with rapid changes in technology. It helps ensure radiologists always have the most up to date features to ensure their highest productivity and accuracy.

About GE Healthcare:

GE Healthcare is the $18 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE). As a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics and digital solutions innovator, GE Healthcare enables clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services, supported by its Edison intelligence platform. With over 100 years of healthcare industry experience and around 47,000 employees globally, the company operates at the center of an ecosystem working toward precision health, digitizing healthcare, helping drive productivity and improve outcomes for patients, providers, health systems and researchers around the world.

3M and Waystar, a leading provider of healthcare payments software, announced they have entered into a strategic partnership to provide revenue capture solutions to clients of 3M Health Information Systems division. In collaboration with 3M, Waystar’s AI-powered technology will allow providers, health systems and hospitals to improve operational efficiency and compliance and collect appropriate, fuller reimbursement.

Revenue integrity remains a top concern for hospital and health system CFOs and revenue executives. Yet, less than half (44 percent) said their organizations have established programs to prevent revenue leakage, revenue degradation and compliance risk. With healthcare organizations facing the combined pressures of rising costs, thinning margins and staffing shortages, it’s critical for healthcare organizations to implement solutions that increase efficiency and protect revenue.

Waystar’s revenue capture solutions leverage data from claims processed on its platform, representing 500,000 providers and 40% of the U.S. population. Waystar’s solutions go beyond a rule-based approach, with predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms that analyze historical data to identify patterns. This new partnership will combine Waystar’s automated, AI-powered Charge Integrity, DRG Anomaly and Transfer DRG technology with 3M’s services team, which can implement the change management needed to keep workflows up to date. Leveraging Waystar’s technology, 3M clients can identify possible missing charges, underpayments and overpayments —automatically identifying potential incorrect and under-coded claims before they are submitted. Together, Waystar and 3M will empower healthcare organizations to move away from manual processes and embrace automated, data-driven workflows.

“The healthcare industry has long been marked by administrative waste and inefficiency,” said Waystar Chief Executive Officer Matt Hawkins. “We are proud to bring artificial intelligence to help 3M clients solve these perennial challenges and take the manual work out of healthcare payments. Through our collaboration, we are now able to combine the best of Waystar’s technology with 3M’s expertise in organizational change. Together, we will empower health systems and hospitals to prevent revenue loss, operate more efficiently and free up resources for patient care.”

3M works with more than 6,000 health systems and hospitals across the U.S. By combining Waystar’s technology expertise and 3M’s ability to usher in organizational change, the partnership will help targeted healthcare organizations put the processes in place to efficiently collect on the missing charges identified.

“At 3M, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that allow health systems and hospitals to solve their administrative challenges and more effectively capture revenue they’re appropriately owed,” said Elizabeth Guyton, vice president, 3M Health Information Systems. “Our collaboration with Waystar brings together a more comprehensive, end-to-end revenue cycle—from capture to coding to appropriate payment—for our clients.”

About 3M
At 3M , we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

About Waystar
Waystar provides next-generation, cloud-based technology that simplifies and unifies healthcare payments. The Waystar platform removes friction in payment processes, streamlines workflows and improves financials for providers in every care setting. Waystar products have won Best in KLAS® or Category Leader every year since 2010 and earned multiple #1 rankings from Black Book™ surveys since 2012. The Waystar platform supports more than 500,000 providers, 1,000 health systems and hospitals, and 5,000 payers and health plans. Waystar is backed by EQT, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Bain Capital.