This opioid withdrawal treatment is making sparks fly (Spark Biomedical’s version).

Spark Biomedical, a small medical device company, is distributing a drug-free, wearable tool that can treat opioid withdrawal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and anxiety.

The Sparrow Ascent is an earpiece that delivers mild electric pulses to the vagus nerve, which sends signals between the brain, heart, digestive system, and trigeminal nerve—which signals pain, touch, and temperature in the face—and in turn releases endorphins.

The opioid epidemic is a major health issue in the US; more than 81,000 people died from opioid-related drug overdoses in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And recovery from opioid dependency can be challenging, making relapses common and setting back the recovery process.

Due to pain, patients are left in a “super high state of fight or flight,” Daniel Powell, president and CEO of Spark Biomedical, told Healthcare Brew.

“What we’re able to do is bring [patients] out of that fight or flight with this neuro stimulation and cause the brain to release natural endorphins—and those endorphins end up relieving the pain and the aches associated with withdrawal,” he said.

Keep reading here.—CM

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Amazon and General Electric’s (GE) healthcare spinoff are teaming up to create artificial intelligence (AI) models they hope could make healthcare into a system that’s predictive and preventive instead of reactive.

The healthcare industry generates a massive amount of data from things like doctor’s notes, x-rays, and diagnostic tests. But a vast majority (97%) of that data isn’t accessible for clinicians because it’s unstructured and siloed, according to a press release from Amazon and GE HealthCare. The two companies plan to develop AI models that make it possible for clinicians to consolidate, access, and sort through that trove of patient data.

GE HealthCare plans to use Amazon Bedrock, the company’s service for building generative AI applications, to “tap the world’s leading foundation models and train new models to develop AI-powered application[s] to help hospitals and clinics access and gain insights for improving patient care based on a comprehensive view of their data, rather than just pieces of it,” according to a press release.

Keep reading here.—MA

Aetna, CVS’s health insurance arm and the third largest payer in the US, is struggling amid higher medical costs and lower Medicare Advantage star ratings.

After CVS reported a nearly 40% YoY drop in operating income in its Q2 2024 earnings released on August 7, President and CEO Karen Lynch announced the company will replace Aetna’s president, Brian Kane, and initiate a $2 billion cost-savings plan.

“We are disappointed by the current performance and outlook for the healthcare benefits segment, and I have decided to make leadership changes,” Lynch said on the earnings call. “We are committed to returning healthcare benefits to its rightful place and will drive execution and address the challenges facing this business.”

By the numbers. CVS’s adjusted operating income fell to $3.7 billion in Q2 compared to $4.5 billion a year ago (a 16% decline), due in part to Aetna’s income drop. The insurer reported just $938 million in operating income in Q2 2024 compared to $1.5 billion a year ago.

Keep reading here.—MA

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