| | | |  | Happy new year! Brittany Trang here — I’m a science reporting fellow at STAT. You’ll see me and others in your inbox while Mario's out. Now, on to the day's news. | | | Akili gives an early look at data, closes adult study Akili Interactive, the maker of the first FDA-authorized prescription video game, announced topline results this morning from a study of its EndeavorRx game in kids ages 13 to 17 with ADHD. The company says the study met its primary efficacy endpoint, which was a statistically significant improvement in attentional functioning after a month playing the game. Akili — which went public last year — said it plans to present the full study data at a future medical meeting and file for a label expansion this year. The game is currently authorized for use in kids ages 8 to 12.
The company also announced it's stopping enrollment in an ongoing trial of EndeavorRx in adults that has been slow to hit its goal of 325 participants. The company said it will analyze the data on the 224 enrolled adults, and added that the decision was based on the "strong clinical data in adolescents and the desire to maximize capital efficiency." | | | A machine learning model for gestational age Accurate estimates of fetal age are an important part of pregnancy care — including cutoffs for abortions — but the math is surprisingly fickle. A new study in JAMA Network Open, conducted in both the U.S. and Zambia with a test cohort of 404 patients, details new machine-learning models for predicting it based on images and videos taken during routine exams.
While existing methods depend on a formula that includes factors like head circumference and crown-to-rump distance, the new neural network models were developed independently of a formula, which the authors say could make them more accurate for babies that are small or large for their age. But they still need to conduct a prospective study to evaluate clinical impact and test the model on on a more diverse and wide-ranging group of pregnancies, including fetuses with growth restrictions or abnormal anatomies. | You’re invited to STAT’s JPM Recap On Jan. 13, get a full rundown of the deals, data, and scuttlebutt from the STAT reporters who attended the conference, and come away with insights you won’t get anywhere else. Sign up here. | Amazon inches toward closing on One Medical Amazon’s proposed $3.9 billion deal to buy membership-based primary care company One Medical is still under review by the FTC, but the company has cleared one hurdle to closing the deal. The Oregon Health Authority, which was reviewing the deal given that One Medical operates several clinics in the state, recently gave it a green light. The OHA didn’t find any cause for concern about health care prices or access, but said it wanted to monitor quality of care and also raised the question of whether One Medical might draw commercially insured patients away from clinics that serve more Medicaid and Medicare patients.
On a related note: Layoffs are looming at Amazon — and they'll be bigger than previously expected. The tech giant will lay off more than 18,000 employees, many in the company's corporate ranks, the Wall Street Journal reports. | nference strikes a partnership with Duke Health Duke Health and federated data-sharing company nference announced a new partnership that will give nference exclusive commercial rights of data from Duke University’s health system. The company will use that data to build an analytics platform for Duke Health using its existing AI-powered nSights platform. Duke is the second academic medical center to partner with nference, which for the past decade has worked with Mayo Clinic to digitize tissue slides, structure physician notes, and de-identify and collate other health records to accelerate research. | Remote urine analysis as easy as 1, 2, pee Did you know you have a urine stream signature? Neither did I. But consumer electronics company Withings says it has developed a new home urine analysis pod, the U-Scan, which can apparently distinguish toilet users using radar that detects the “movement and distance” of their urine streams. The new device, rolled out Tuesday at CES, is designed to live in your toilet (it’s rechargeable!) and currently has two cartridges. One can beam info about your carb balance and pH levels to your phone along with recommended workouts and recipes, and another is designed to track ovulation and menstrual cycle hormones.
The company says the U-Scan will be available in Europe during Q2 2023, while U.S. users will have to wait for future FDA marketing clearance. | What to read around the web today - Telehealth brings expert sexual assault exams to rural patients, Kaiser Health News
- ‘Why am I having to explain this?’: Seven stories of barriers to reproductive care for those with disabilities, STAT
- Biotech investor Brad Loncar shares 10 predictions for 2023, including a hot new cancer target, Nobel Prize winners, and a biotech founder running for president, Insider
- California’s dark history of forced sterilizations comes into focus as it seeks victims to pay reparations, Associated Press
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