Ontario to require AEDs on construction sites
In a push to save lives in the event of heart attacks on the job, Labour Minister David Piccini is proposing legislation to require automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) at Ontario construction sites with more than 20 workers.
Piccini will announce Friday in Whitby that construction firms can apply for reimbursement for the $2,300 machines.
'Every second counts in a cardiac emergency,' Piccini said in a statement obtained by the Star. AEDs are already in a number of locations across the province.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says putting them on construction sites is a 'step forward' given that 60,000 cardiac arrests take place outside hospitals in Canada every year.
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Time Magazine
3 hours ago
- Time Magazine
Doctors Report the First Pregnancy Using a New AI Procedure
Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center have reported what they are calling the first pregnancy using a new AI system, in a couple that had been trying to start a family for nearly two decades. The pregnancy was possible due to an advance developed by the Columbia team, led by Dr. Zev Williams, director of the center, to address azoospermia, or a lack of detectable sperm in the ejaculate. Male factors account for about 40% of infertility in the U.S., and azoospermia is responsible for about 10% of those cases. Until recently, there was little doctors could do to address the lack of sperm needed to fertilize an egg, other than using donor sperm. While to the naked eye, a sperm sample from a man with azoospermia might look normal, the microscope tells a different story, Williams says. Highly trained technicians rarely find any sperm in these samples, which are often filled with other debris. Add to that the fact that sperm are the smallest cell in the body, and it's not surprising that even the best fertility technicians rarely find sperm in azoospermia samples. That's where AI comes in. Williams and his team spent five years developing a system that combined an AI algorithm for detecting sperm with a fluidic chip that passed the semen sample through a tiny tubule on a plastic chip. If the AI picked up sperm, that tiny portion of semen would be directed to a separate tubule and collected. The few sperm isolated in this way could then be stored, frozen, or used to fertilize an egg. Called STAR, for Sperm Track and Recovery, the system was inspired by similar approaches that astrophysicists use to enlist AI to detect new stars and planets. 'If you can look into a sky that's filled with billions of stars and try to find a new one, or the birth of a new star, then maybe we can use that same approach to look through billions of cells and try to find that one specific one we are looking for,' says Williams. In this case, STAR is trained to pick up 'really, really, really rare sperm,' he says. 'I liken it to finding a needle hidden within a thousand haystacks. But it can do that in a couple of hours—and so gently that the sperm that we recover can be used to fertilize an egg.' STAR is distinct from AI systems that have been developed to scan and detect specific features, Williams says, because it combines that analysis with the ability to also actively isolate the target in question—in this case, any sperm found in a semen sample. The system can scan eight million images in about an hour, and Williams remembers the moment when he was convinced that STAR could become a powerful tool for treating certain forms of infertility. 'To test the system, before we discarded samples where embryologists could not find any sperm, we decided to run those samples through the system. The embryologists really worked hard to find sperm, since they didn't want to be outshone by a machine. In one of the samples they analyzed for two days and found no sperm, STAR found 44 in an hour.' Rosie and her husband became the first couple to get pregnant using STAR in March 2025. The couple spent nearly 19 years trying to get pregnant, and Rosie—who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her privacy—says their Orthodox Jewish faith kept them hopeful during 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles. Prior to the pregnancy, they had explored multiple options to address her husband's azoospermia, including surgery and enlisting an expert from overseas to manually analyze and isolate sperm from his samples. They also researched efforts to extract sperm that were more controversial because they involved using chemicals that could potentially be detrimental to the quality of sperm. 'There really was nothing else out there,' says Rosie, 38, of their options before learning about STAR. 'Especially because I am running quite a few years ahead of where we should be [for fertility]. I'm not that old, but in fertility years—egg-wise—I was reaching my end.' They were introduced to Williams and his fertility program through a community group and learned everything they could about the system. 'We knew exactly what it was, and knew what they were trying to do,' says Rosie. 'If they could get sperm in a more natural way without chemicals and hopefully chose the good ones—if the program was able to do that, we knew we had a better chance.' For the couple, using STAR did not require any additional testing or procedures; their successful cycle in March proceeded no differently than any of the other IVF cycles they had experienced. 'We were keeping our hopes to a minimum after so many disappointments,' says Rosie. 'We came in, did what we had to do for the cycle, knowing there was probably a very small chance of anything happening. Why should this be any different from every other time?' Usually in an IVF cycle, there are far more sperm than eggs, says Williams, but in cases of azoospermia, the opposite is true. So to ensure that a couple has the best chance of a pregnancy, Williams and his team collect several batches of sperm using STAR and freeze them. Then they coordinate the mother-to-be's ovulation cycle on IVF, and on the day they retrieve her eggs, they collect a fresh semen sample, run it through STAR, and use any sperm collected to fertilize any available eggs. The frozen sperm serve as backup in case no fresh sperm can be found. Within two hours after collecting her husband's sperm that March, they learned that Rosie's eggs had been successfully fertilized and were ready to be transferred to her uterus. 'After the transfer, it took me two days to believe I was actually pregnant,' says Rosie. Now four months along, Rosie is receiving standard obstetric care, and all indications are that her pregnancy is proceeding well. 'I still wake up in the morning and can't believe if this is true or not,' she says. 'And I still don't believe [I'm pregnant] until I see the scans.' Williams says azoospermia is only one of many infertility issues that AI could address. 'There are things going on that we are blind to right now. But with the introduction of AI, we are being shown what those things are. The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
ClavystBio and A*STAR Partner to Grow MedTech Ventures in Singapore
SINGAPORE, June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ClavystBio, a life sciences investor and venture builder established by Temasek, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's lead public sector R&D agency, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create and grow MedTech ventures in Singapore. This partnership will support venture creation, product development, and commercialisation by bringing together ClavystBio and two national initiatives hosted by A*STAR — MedTech Catapult and the Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub) — along with A*STAR's broader MedTech and venture creation capabilities. The partnership comes amid growing momentum in Singapore's biomedical landscape, with MedTech output reaching S$20 billion in 2023.[1] As Asia's MedTech market is projected to grow to US$225 billion (S$304 billion) by 2030,[2] these efforts aim to better position Singapore-based innovations to scale and enter new markets. Over this two-year partnership, the parties will work towards the co-creation of new MedTech ventures, investments into A*STAR affiliated companies, and fostering collaborations between A*STAR and ClavystBio's portfolio companies. By combining complementary strengths — from research and engineering to venture building and funding — the partnership aims to identify promising technologies, shape MedTech projects for market readiness, and support new venture formation to strengthen Singapore's innovation-driven MedTech ecosystem. The partnership will focus on several key areas: Fostering new ventures from research: A*STAR and ClavystBio will jointly identify promising research and technologies to venture build new MedTech companies. A*STAR will contribute deep scientific expertise and structured venture creation support, while ClavystBio will provide access to venture and growth capital, expert guidance, and its extensive network to launch and scale these early-stage companies. Advancing MedTech product development: MedTech Catapult will support the development of medical devices through engineering design, prototyping, and manufacturing translation, while ClavystBio will draw on its investment and industry relationships to explore potential commercial pathways for promising innovations. Accelerating commercial readiness in diagnostics and digital health: DxD Hub and ClavystBio will shape ventures in this space with strong commercial potential. DxD Hub will bring technical and productisation expertise — including in AI-powered software, multi-omics, and point-of-care diagnostics — to refine innovations for commercial viability. ClavystBio will contribute its venture investing and venture building expertise to drive commercialisation. Strengthening Singapore's MedTech ecosystem: To support long-term sector growth, the partners will assess Singapore's MedTech manufacturing, design, and regulatory support landscape. MedTech Catapult will lead efforts to map ecosystem capabilities and identify gaps, while ClavystBio will explore investment opportunities in companies with specialised technologies that can strengthen Singapore's MedTech value chain. "This partnership highlights ClavystBio's commitment to nurturing globally successful medical devices, digital health, and diagnostics companies from Singapore," said Mr Anselm Tan, Digital Health & MedTech Lead at ClavystBio. "By combining ClavystBio's investment and venture-building expertise with A*STAR's deep scientific capabilities and productisation platforms, we are cultivating an ecosystem primed for innovation and commercial success. "A*STAR is committed to nurturing a dynamic MedTech ecosystem that bridges innovation with deep tech companies," said Ms Irene Cheong, Assistant Chief Executive (Innovation & Enterprise) at A*STAR. "This MoU builds on an existing collaboration with ClavystBio and marks a significant step forward in our joint efforts to co-create and grow globally investible MedTech ventures. Through national productisation platforms like MedTech Catapult and DxD Hub, combined with A*STAR's venture creation capabilities, we aim to commercialise more innovations from lab to market and grow a vibrant MedTech ecosystem in Singapore." [1] Speech by SMS Low Yen Ling at the MedTech Forum[2] Singapore's MedTech sector and locally made medical devices punching above their weight | Singapore EDB About ClavystBio ClavystBio is a life sciences investor and venture builder set up by Temasek to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough ideas into health impact. We invest and partner with founders and entrepreneurs to launch and grow global companies from Singapore. Our focus spans therapeutics, digital health and medtech, with an emphasis on first-in-class science and technology. Our collaborative space, Node 1, provides plug-and-play spaces for ventures that have graduated from incubators to progress to their next milestones. By bringing start-ups together, we foster a vibrant and supportive community. About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector R&D agency. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit the economy and society. As a Science and Technology Organisation, A*STAR bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our research creates economic growth and jobs for Singapore, and enhances lives by improving societal outcomes in healthcare, urban living, and sustainability. A*STAR plays a key role in nurturing scientific talent and leaders for the wider research community and industry. A*STAR's R&D activities span biomedical sciences to physical sciences and engineering, with research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis. For ongoing news, visit About Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub) The Diagnostics Development Hub is a national platform hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). DxD Hub aims to accelerate the transformation of innovations into clinically validated diagnostic devices that are ready for market adoption. Through impactful products, empowering local enterprises and anchoring global companies in Singapore, DxD Hub contributes to the development of an effective diagnostic devices' ecosystem in Singapore. For ongoing news, visit About MedTech Catapult MedTech Catapult (MC) is a national initiative designed to accelerate the product development and commercialisation of high-value life science instruments and regulated medical devices. MC partners with product owners, local contract manufacturers (CMs), and leverages external design houses, and other key stakeholders to guide innovations from concept to market. Their goal is to strengthen Singapore's medtech ecosystem by providing dedicated engineering, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, clinical affairs, project management and commercialisation support to derisk and support products towards commercialisation and market adoption whilst supporting pull-through to local manufacturing. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ClavystBio Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
17 hours ago
- Axios
What's next for the police response alternative STAR as it turns 5
Five years after launching, the Support Team Assisted Response Program — otherwise known as the STAR program — sits at a crossroads. The big picture: The program dispatches a paramedic with a behavioral health clinician to low-risk calls, most often for people dealing with mental health distress or substance use issues. Program manager and supervisor Marion Rorke tells us the program serves as an alternative to sending Denver police, who now sometimes call STAR themselves when they realize it's better equipped to handle certain calls. State of play: STAR has turned into a national mode l, but in order to one day become a 24/7 service, it needs more funding — which seems unlikely given Denver's current budget woes. What they're saying: "Every single call that the STAR van responds to — in lieu of law enforcement — could potentially be a life saved," local police reform activist Alex Landau told Denver City Council last week as it recognized the program's fifth anniversary. By the numbers: The program responded to 25,144 incidents between June 1, 2020, and June 3, 2025, per data provided by the city's department of public health, which runs STAR. When it launched, STAR had a single van with two people staffing it per shift. It now boasts eight vehicles, plus a rotating staff of 16 Denver Health paramedics and 16 clinicians from WellPower, a mental health care provider, who still work in teams of two. How it works: STAR runs from 6am-10pm daily, with Denver 911 responsible for dispatching its team instead of police or ambulances. STAR can connect people with additional services, even transporting them to places like behavioral health centers or referring them to other local health care services. Nearly 60,000 calls were STAR-eligible over the past five years. The intrigue: Rorke tells us she's working to codify a community advisory committee that provides direct feedback and recommendations to STAR's operation, something local advocates say is crucial to its success. That could mean making this community board a charter requirement, giving the panel more authority. Between the lines: STAR's current budget is $7.2 million, including $5.3 million directly from the city, and the rest coming from Caring for Denver grant money.
