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Donald Trump is set to return to the White House after triumphing in the November 5 election. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Donald Trump has been elected 47th president of the US after the 5 November election having won more than the 270-seat threshold needed. Despite his victory, what a second Trump presidency will mean for the healthcare industry remains unclear.

During his campaign, the Republican spoke little about healthcare policy but did make some declarations, including that he would let Robert F Kennedy Jr “go wild” on healthcare and that RFK Jr would be able to “do what he wants” with women’s healthcare.

Despite Trump’s reluctance to declare an official cabinet role for his one-time third-party rival, RFK Jr said that Trump had “promised” him control over public health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

GE Healthcare has unveiled a new generative AI (genAI) platform, CareIntellect for Oncology, which will be available for commercial use in the US next year for prostate and breast cancer use.

The platform can organise structured and unstructured data such as medical images, records, and notes, as well as summarise medical histories. GE notes that the system can also support treatment response assessments, help assess clinical trial eligibility, and track adherence to treatment protocols in an easy-to-navigate view.

While the system will initially focus on prostate and breast cancer indications, the company intends to expand to other oncological indications. GE also plans to market the platform in Canada, UK, and Ireland. The platform is being evaluated in two US sites, Tampa General Hospital and UT Southwestern Medical Center. 

Google Health has licenced its diabetic retinopathy artificial intelligence (AI) model to three partners to support six million AI-assisted screenings in underserved communities across India and Thailand.

The new partnerships involve Forus Health, AuroLab and Perceptra, who will work on securing local regulatory approvals to integrate the AI model into clinical care systems in these regions. The screenings will be provided at no cost to patients.

Additionally, Google has linked up with the Thai Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Medical Services (DMS), for research on the implementation and cost-effectiveness of implementing its system. This initiative will incorporate Google’s AI model into Thailand’s National Innovation programme, facilitating a collaboration between Perceptra and DMS to deploy the technology in public sector hospitals. 

Boston Scientific has launched its Farawave NAV ablation catheter and Faraview software after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the two devices.

The technologies are used in conjunction with the company’s Farapulse pulsed field ablation (PFA) system to provide visualisation for cardiac ablation procedures, a treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib). The Farapulse PFA system received FDA approval in January 2024.

Boston Scientific noted that “these technologies are compatible exclusively with the company’s existing cardiac mapping technology including the Opal HDx Mapping System”. Additionally, the Farawave NAV ablation catheter improves on the current Farawave catheter by adding magnetic navigation capabilities, which allows physicians to see where pulsed fields have been applied and visualise cumulative therapy delivery to guide the ablation strategy. 

Amazon has filed a patent for what it describes as an automated sleep assistant in the form of a smart pillow aimed at treating obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

According to the tech giant, existing solutions to address OSA such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and implantable devices used as therapeutic interventions, are overly expensive, inconvenient, and unsuitable for all users.

Amazon’s patent filing says its non-invasive system may comprise an audio input device for capturing sounds and utterances made by users while sleeping to analyse sleep patterns indicative of OSA, one or more sensors to detect movement, and inflatable air bladders to provide haptic feedback and adjust the pillow’s position.

Electronics in the system’s base unit may include memory-storing executable instructions and a machine learning model to analyse data from the device’s sensors to provide appropriate haptic feedback.