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Digital Therapeutics

Wandercraft receive FDA clearance for self-balancing exoskeleton for wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries

Wandercraft's Eve, a self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries, received FDA clearance and is set to launch commercially in the U.S. in September 2026, with Medicare reimbursement expected within 60–90 days. The clearance was backed by a three-site clinical trial showing participants and trained companions could safely use the device for daily activities, with reported benefits including improved endurance, sitting balance, and psychological well-being.

Onos Health raises $17 Million Series A to accelerate adoption of its Behavioral Health AI Platform

Onos Health, an AI-driven behavioral health clinical intelligence platform for payers, raised a $17 million Series A led by Costanoa, with participation from Flare Capital Partners and CVS Health Ventures. The platform uses AI to analyze structured and unstructured clinical data to give payers visibility into behavioral health care quality and costs, reporting improvements in clinical standard adherence, review efficiency, and reduction in program costs within 12 months among users. The company says its approach addresses a gap in behavioral health management, an area representing more than $140 billion in annual U.S. medical spending with limited data infrastructure for quality oversight.

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Healthcare / IT Solutions

R1 to acquire Humata Health to expand AI-powered prior authorization  

R1 announced an agreement to acquire Humata Health, an AI platform that automates prior authorization by identifying payer requirements, assembling supporting clinical documentation, submitting requests, and managing them through approval. R1 plans to integrate Humata into Phare OS, its revenue-cycle automation platform spanning authorization, utilization review, documentation, and coding. Following the transaction’s expected close by the end of Q3 2026, Humata’s team will also join R1’s R37 agentic AI innovation lab. The acquisition expands R1 further upstream in the revenue cycle, with the goal of preventing denials before claims are submitted and moving payer-provider workflows closer to real-time authorization.

Epic launches real-time prior-authorization checks with providers and payers

Epic launched real-time prior-authorization requirement checks at Ochsner Health, Froedtert ThedaCare Health, Denver Health, and Summit Health, working with UnitedHealthcare, Network Health, Aetna, and other insurers. Through Epic’s Coverage Requirements Discovery API, clinicians can determine within the EHR whether authorization is required when ordering a service or scheduling an appointment, replacing manual phone, fax, and payer-portal checks. Sixteen additional payers are testing the technology. The launch does not yet automate the complete approval decision, but it represents a meaningful step toward electronic prior authorization and went live more than five months before a January 2027 federal interoperability deadline.

Atlantic Health and K Health launch PatientGPT within MyChart

Atlantic Health and K Health launched Atlantic Health PatientGPT, a patient-facing clinical AI tool integrated with the health system’s electronic health record and MyChart portal. The platform allows patients to ask health questions in everyday language and receive guidance informed by their medical records, determine the appropriate level of care, and connect directly with Atlantic Health clinicians through its new Virtual Primary Care service. Context from the AI interaction carries into the clinical encounter, reducing the need for patients to repeat their information. Initially launching in beta across New Jersey, the platform positions AI as an integrated digital front door connecting personalized information, navigation, and care delivery rather than as a stand-alone chatbot.

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Women’s Health / Femtech

Midi Health Expands Beyond Menopause Care With New Brand Identity

Company Expansion / Fundraising: Midi Health expanded beyond its original focus on menopause to position its telehealth platform as a longitudinal women’s healthcare provider. The platform now offers additional pathways such as metabolic and PMOS care, alongside clinical labs, hormone therapy, and supplements. AI-powered tools support clinicians in personalizing care, integrating specialty and primary care across life stages.

Oura Seeks Patent To Detect Pregnancy Complications

Product Launch / IP: Oura filed a patent for a system that would use continuous pulse wave velocity monitoring to identify changes associated with pregnancy complications, including hypertension, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes. The proposed capability would extend Oura’s women’s health offering beyond cycle and fertility tracking toward earlier identification of clinically significant risks.

WHOOP Partners With Natural Cycles for Hormone-Free Birth Control

Partnership / Product Launch: WHOOP integrated its wearables with Natural Cycles, allowing overnight skin temperature data to sync automatically with the FDA-cleared birth control app. The integration removes the need for manual temperature tracking and provides personalized information on fertility status, pregnancy, postpartum health, and menopause.

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Longevity / Healthy Aging

XPrize Healthspan Competition Announces Top 10 Finalists for Longevity Innovation

XPrize Healthspan, a $101 million, seven-year competition backed by philanthropic and corporate sponsors for innovations to extend healthy lifespan, named its top 10 finalist teams. Selected ideas span a wide range of approaches, including plant- and stem-cell-derived exosomes, combined exercise and anti-aging compounds, repurposed drugs, and supplements. Teams will receive $1 million each to test their approach in a larger human trial over the next year, with projects evaluated against standard measures of muscle, brain, and immune function. The competition aims to bring more order and legitimacy to the process of developing and testing ideas for longevity, especially amongst the growth of unsupported or misleading claims in the industry.

USC establishes NIH-Funded Center for Research on Sex Differences in Aging with $7.5M Grant

USC’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology received a $7.5 million, five-year NIH grant to establish GeroSCORE, the university’s first NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence and a new national hub for aging research. The center will investigate why women live longer than men worldwide, yet face higher rates of dementia, bringing together experts across aging biology, neuroscience, and epidemiology to study this gap. As part of the research, the center aims to develop new tools, analytical methods, and scientific resources to disseminate broadly. Initial projects will focus on how menopause influences brain aging, how biological and neuroendocrine aging contribute to Alzheimer’s disease risk, and how genetic, environmental, and social exposures interact to shape health and aging across the course of one’s life.