Latest news with #NorthwellHealth
National Post
6 days ago
- Business
- National Post
AssistIQ Raises $11.5 Million to Fix Supply Blind Spots with AI, Preventing Missed Charges and Avoidable Costs in Surgical and Procedural Care
Article content Article content MONTREAL — AssistIQ, an AI company using computer vision to transform how hospitals manage surgical and procedural supply chains, today announced it has closed an $11.5 million Series A round led by Battery Ventures, with participation from return investor Tamarind Hill. With growing adoption across academic and community hospitals, AssistIQ's platform captures every item used in operating and procedural rooms, helping hospitals recover revenue, streamline clinical operations and boost staff satisfaction. Battery Ventures Principal Brandon Gleklen will join the Board of Directors. Article content Northwell Health, New York State's largest healthcare provider, is rolling out AssistIQ across all operating rooms at North Shore University Hospital and the Dorothy & Alvin Schwartz Ambulatory Surgery Center in Manhasset, N.Y. As a design partner, Northwell has played a key role in shaping the clinical and supply chain integration of AssistIQ's flagship product, AIQ Capture. Northwell teams will continue to inform product development while using the platform to optimize charge capture and improve efficiencies. Article content Earlier this year, Owensboro Health Regional Hospital in Owensboro, Ky., became the first U.S. hospital to integrate AIQ Capture with Epic. This integration reduces manual steps to streamline clinical workflows and enhance usability for frontline teams. It also makes real-time supply and implant capture data accessible within existing hospital systems. AssistIQ has several additional health system Epic integrations planned in the coming months. Article content 'Our mission is to build trust in data and empower health systems with AI-driven insights that improve margins, drive sustainability and ultimately enhance patient care,' said AssistIQ CEO Lisa Israelovitch. 'We're thrilled by the market's response to our product and deeply grateful to our health system partners, whose collaboration helps us innovate and deliver solutions that create value across clinical and operational workflows. We're also excited to welcome Brandon and the Battery team to the AssistIQ journey as we accelerate our growth and expand our impact in the market.' Article content AssistIQ Brings Automation and Visibility to One of Hospitals' Costliest Blind Spots Article content U.S. medical and surgical supply expenses have increased by an average of 6.5% annually since 2017, reaching $57 billion in 2023. Contributing to these rising costs are factors such as unnecessary variability in the use of similar products and the waste of unused surgical items. Hospitals' return on investment is further diminished by missed charges for billable supplies that are not accurately tracked and associated with patient cases in billing systems, leading to significant revenue leakage. Article content AssistIQ closes these costly gaps by giving hospitals real-time, automated visibility into what's actually used for surgeries and other high-cost procedures. Its AI-powered platform replaces outdated barcode scans and paper logs with computer vision that captures every implant and supply item tied to a procedure instantly and accurately. AssistIQ seamlessly integrates into the clinical workflow, driving down surgical costs by automating supply capture and surfacing data and insights that were previously unavailable, and allows clinicians to focus on providing patient care. This enables hospitals to recover missed revenue, reduce costs and standardize how supplies are tracked and used. Article content The result is a new, trusted layer of data that connects clinical, finance and supply chain teams – unlocking more accurate billing, tighter inventory control and stronger margins. AssistIQ integrates directly with leading EHRs like Epic and GE, as well as major enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, embedding seamlessly into hospital infrastructure to automate costly manual processes and gain control over their most complex cost centers. Article content Now in use across major academic and regional hospital systems in the U.S. and Canada, with several additional deployments underway, AssistIQ is delivering measurable outcomes, including: Article content Hospitals and health systems looking to close costly supply gaps and unlock real-time surgical data can learn more at or request a demo today. Article content Quotes from Health System Partners and AssistIQ Investors Article content Phyllis McCready, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer, Northwell Health 'Innovation is woven into the very fabric of Northwell Health. Our goal is to globally monitor the usage and movement of high-end clinical products across all procedural areas in the health system. This collaboration combines AssistIQ's technology with Northwell Health's large-scale operating environment to provide scalable value to the health system.' Article content Beth Steele, Chief Operating Officer, Owensboro Health 'We're choosing technology that works for our staff. AssistIQ has helped us reduce paperwork, close documentation gaps and create more efficient surgeries. It allows our clinicians to focus on providing patient care, while uncovering insights that were once invisible to our teams.' Article content Brandon Gleklen, Principal, Battery Ventures 'We're thrilled to partner with Lisa and the AssistIQ team as they leverage cutting-edge computer vision and AI to streamline clinical and operational workflows in healthcare. Battery has long invested at the intersection of healthcare and AI, focusing on solutions that deliver results. AssistIQ empowers clinicians to spend less time on documentation and more on patient care, while helping hospitals reduce waste and enhance margins. We're excited to support their mission.' Article content AssistIQ is streamlining healthcare supply management with cutting-edge computer vision, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that transforms the way supplies and implants are managed in the operating room and procedural areas. The AssistIQ platform eliminates manual processes, integrates seamlessly with electronic health records and enterprise resource planning tools, and provides actionable insights for clinical, financial and supply chain teams to improve margins, enhance patient care and drive sustainability. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $16 million, from investors including Battery Ventures and Tamarind Hill. For more information, visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Selma Blair reveals the MS symptoms doctors dismissed since she was a kid: ‘It took me 30 years to get an MRI'
The world learned about Selma Blair's multiple sclerosis diagnosis nearly seven years ago — but the autoimmune disease has been tormenting her for most of her life. The 'Cruel Intentions' actress, now 52, can trace early symptoms back to her childhood, but claims doctors brushed off the red flags for decades. 'It took me 30 years to get an MRI,' Blair said last week during a panel at the second annual Women's Health Lab, hosted in partnership with Northwell Health's Katz Institute for Women's Health. Advertisement 3 Selma Blair was diagnosed with MS on August 2018. Getty Images for Glamour At the age of 7, Blair lost control of her bladder and use of her right eye and left leg — yet, after ruling out cancer, doctors and family branded her an attention seeker. What they missed: Juvenile MS, a debilitating disease that affects the central nervous system by disrupting the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. 'If you're a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you're a girl, you're called 'crazy',' Blair told British Vogue in 2023. Advertisement As a child, the 'Hellboy' actress would wake up laughing uncontrollably in the middle of the night. Decades later, those laughs gave way to sudden, uncontrollable spells of sobbing. 'I just thought I was a hugely emotional person,' Blair said. In reality, MS had damaged her frontal lobe — like a brain injury. Advertisement It would be another 40 years until she received the diagnosis. 3 Selma Blair with her service doc Scout at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2025 Getty Images '[I was] thrilled,' Blair told People earlier this month. Advertisement 'I felt like people thought it had to be some tragic thing, but I was like, 'No, you don't understand,'' she said. 'I was feeling tragic inside before.' Blair, who shares 13-year-old son Arthur with ex Jason Bleick, said she often wondered what was 'wrong' with her before the diagnosis. 'I just did not understand how I was so different from people, but yet totally kind of fine-ish,' she told the outlet. 'I finally just felt seen.' Nearly 1 million Americans have been diagnosed with MS, according to the National MS Society. The disease can affect anyone, including children. You may be at higher risk if you're female, between 20 and 40, and of Northern European descent, per the Cleveland Clinic. 3 'If you're a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you're a girl, you're called 'crazy',' Blair said. Getty Images Doctors don't know exactly what causes MS, but research suggests that factors like smoking, childhood obesity, low vitamin D levels and genetics could be possible triggers. Advertisement Exposure to toxins like secondhand smoke and pesticides — as well as viruses such as Epstein-Barr or mono — may also increase the risk. Early warning signs of the MS include blurred vision, muscle weakness and numbness. As the disease progresses, symptoms can range from fatigue and dizziness to trouble with balance, bladder control, mood swings, muscle stiffness, and cognitive issues like memory and concentration problems. Many patients experiencing periods of remission where signs of the disease fade. While there is no cure, treatments can help manage symptoms and reduce flare-ups. Advertisement Last year, Blair revealed she suffered a major relapse after a stem cell transplant — but she's now in remission thanks to a new provider. Her doctor — the first woman she's ever been treated by — took a holistic approach, including factoring in the actresses early menopause. 'It really did change my life completely,' Blair said at the Women's Health Lab panel. 'We found a way to manage my MS and I am doing really, really well right now.'
Cosmopolitan
23-05-2025
- Health
- Cosmopolitan
Inside Look: Women's Health Lab 2025
This year's Women's Health Lab, presented by Women's Health with support from Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, Oprah Daily, Prevention, and Town & Country, featured a diverse group of doctors, researchers, thought leaders, and advocates, each bringing their perspectives and expertise to a topic near to our hearts: women's health. The symposium, in partnership with Northwell Health and its Katz Institute for Women's Health, an organization dedicated to improving health outcomes for women, focused on cardiovascular health, brain and mental health, menopause, and more. Sherri Chambers, chief marketing officer of Hearst Magazines, kicked off the day by telling the audience that Hearst and Northwell Health support women at every phase of life by spotlighting the innovations that can make it better. Then she introduced Northwell Health's new commercial, 'Masterpieces,' which you can watch here. Afterward, Women's Health executive editor Abigail Cuffey teased the day's agenda. Read on for recaps and videos of each panel. Northwell Health president and CEO Michael Dowling and chief medical officer Jill Kalman, MD, discussed the importance of looking at things differently—including healthcare. 'More organizations need to take women's health more seriously and focus on it,' said Dowling, pointing out that many other healthcare executives he encounters are men. 'Sixty percent of Northwell Health's leadership is women,' noted Dr. Kalman. When you have holistic advocates that push you, that's when things change, said Dowling, and that would be one of the key themes of the day. The number-one risk factor for women is heart disease and stroke, said moderator Stacey E. Rosen, MD, executive director of the Katz Institute for Women's Health and volunteer president-elect of the American Heart Association, as she kicked off a panel that highlighted the experiences of three women with heart disease: —Supermodel, actress, and author Christie Brinkley talked about how atrial fibrillation affected her mother. —Journalist and lifestyle reporter Elisa DiStefano recounted her postpartum preeclampsia that occurred after the birth of her third child. —Northwell Health patient and heart-health advocate Katherine Bormann shared how a mammogram uncovered a blockage in her arteries. Cuffey spoke to author, entrepreneur, and Sanofi paid spokesperson Chrissy Teigen about the diagnosis of her 7-year-old son, Miles, with type 1 diabetes. They discussed how it changed the family dynamic and the importance of screening for the autoimmune disease. Women's Health celebrates female athletes, and our director of special projects, Amanda Lucci, moderated a discussion with Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, CEO of Next 3 and governor of Gotham FC; Jade-Li English, head of women's basketball and agent at KLUTCH Sports Group; Rebecca Haarlow, an award-winning sports broadcaster; and Scout Bassett, an adaptive sprinter and president of the Women's Sports Foundation, about what sports has meant to them and how it is growing as a business. After a video introduction from ELLE editor-in-chief Nina Garcia, the brand's digital director, Claire Stern Milch, interviewed actress and advocate Selma Blair about her life with multiple sclerosis (MS). Blair discussed how she was always sick, starting from the age of 7, and how it took 30 years for her to get an MRI—one of the tests that help diagnose the disease. 'Getting diagnosed was one of the kindest things for me,' Blair said while recounting how MS has affected her life. In a session sponsored by Vionic, Women's Health executive health and fitness director Jacqueline Andriakos spoke to women who are creating products that help improve health for all. —Beau Wangtrakuldee, founder and CEO of AmorSui, who created personal protective equipment (PPE) for women after a lab accident that resulted from an ill-fitting lab coat. —Casey Ann Pidich, DPM, a podiatrist and Vionic Shoes Violab member, who discussed how healthcare professionals should consider partnering with brands. —Nina S. Vincoff, MD, medical director and vice president for clinical initiatives and patient experience at the Katz Institute for Women's Health, who suggested brands partner with doctors who are not thought of as being in the women's-health field. —Shannon Race, co-founder and CEO of which makes products that help lead to a more balanced microbiome, who talked about getting consumers to trust her supplement brand. Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Willa Bennett talked about anxiety, depression, social media, and more with multi-hyphenate actresses Lili Reinhart and Lizzy McAlpine. Both have been open about their own struggles with mood disorders, and they offered tips on how to cope. In this panel sponsored by Sensei, Town & Country executive travel editor Klara Glowczewska spoke about how travel is health-adjacent because it can be a stress-reliever. Tara Narula, MD, chief medical correspondent at ABC News and associate director of the Lenox Hill Women's Heart Program, then discussed all the ways stress affects the body. 'Sometimes we don't know we're stressed,' added Vishal Patel, MD, PhD, chief science and innovation officer at Sensei, while Nellie Barnett, founder and coach at Nellbells Fitness, suggested that just taking a breath can be a mini stress-relief vacation. Then, during lunch, Dr. Patel led participants in a mindful-eating session. Do you know someone who lives with dementia or Alzheimer's disease? In this Lilly-sponsored panel moderated by Jane Francisco, editorial director of Prevention and editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, all the panelists lost their mothers to Alzheimer's disease. Anne White, executive vice president and president of Lilly Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company; Arlinda McIntosh, owner, operator, and content strategist of Sofistafunk The Skirt Co.; and Paula Zahn, host and executive producer of Warner Bros. Discovery's On the Case with Paula Zahn and board member of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, shared their stories and their visions of the future of this disease. Rounding out the day, Pilar Guzmán, editorial director of Oprah Daily, moderated a discussion about longevity, menopause and aging with Deborah Roberts, co-anchor of ABC News's 20/20; Lo Bosworth, founder of Love Wellness; Stephanie Trentacoste McNally, MD, regional vice president ob/gyn and director of ob/gyn services at the Katz Institute for Women's Health; and Tamsen Fadal, author, podcast host, documentary filmmaker, and menopause advocate. During their candid conversation, these women had many tips about how to age well. Watch to see them all. The Health Lab concluded with activations from our sponsors, including one from Lilly and a Vionic pop-up where guests were able to pick up personal pairs of shoes from the brand designed for healthy feet. We would also like to thank Bank of America Private Bank for its support of the event.
Business Wire
23-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Mitochondrial Transplantation Conference Showcases Positive Advances in Mitochondrial Medicine
MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first annual Mitochondrial Transplantation and Next Generation Therapeutics Conference, hosted by Northwell Health's Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, brought together leading scientists, clinicians and innovators in the fields of mitochondrial medicine, transplantation and bioengineering. The three-day conference, held April 27-29 at Hofstra University featured a diverse program of scientific presentations, panel discussions, networking opportunities as well as powerful conversations with advocates, families and patients suffering from mitochondrial diseases. The conference, led by Lance Becker, MD, professor in the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes, focused on the translational potential of mitochondrial transplantation to address a range of health challenges, from aging and longevity to traumatic brain injury and genetic disorders. 'The growing field of mitochondrial transplantation holds promise for transforming how we treat patients living with some of the most complex diseases – many of whom have no current treatment options,' said Dr. Becker. 'This conference, the first of many more cross-industry conversations, serves as a vital platform for accelerating the translation of cutting-edge research into effective therapies for patients.' Mitochondrial transplantation is an emerging therapeutic approach aimed at addressing mitochondrial dysfunction by transferring healthy mitochondria into damaged or dysfunctional cells. This innovative technique holds promise for treating a variety of conditions, including genetic mitochondrial diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, ischemia-related injuries and other conditions associated with mitochondrial impairment. Several hundred attendees from academia, industry and research foundations across the United States, and internationally, convened to discuss topics such as clinical trials for mitochondrial transplantation, novel mitochondrial transfer technologies, therapeutic applications in various disease models (including cardiac arrest, retinal ischemia and cutaneous wounds), and the development of enhanced mitochondrial monitoring and therapeutic strategies. Key highlights of the summit included keynote presentations by Dr. Becker and James McCully, PhD, associate professor of surgery at Boston Children's Hospital, part of Harvard Medical School, along with focused sessions on translational studies, communicating scientific advancements, and the future of mitochondrial transplantation. Interactive panel discussions explored critical questions in the field and strategies to accelerate innovation and impact. Dedicated poster sessions and networking events fostered collaboration and knowledge exchange among participants. The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine. Through the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit and follow us on LinkedIn.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Northwell Health opens Center for Bioelectronic Medicine
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Northwell Health has been a pioneer in the bioelectronic medicinal research field for decades. Finally, they were able to open a clinical Center for Bioelectronic Medicine in Manhasset, New York. Now, they are looking for people interested in bioelectronic medicine clinical trials, like studies to evaluate vagus nerve stimulation. President and CEO of Northwell, Michael J. Dowling, says, 'Northwell Health prides itself on offering patients innovative treatment. Bioelectronic medicine has shown benefit to patients in clinical trials, and with the development and expansion of the field, we have an opportunity to offer this cutting-edge treatment to our patients. Northwell's Center for Bioelectronic Medicine is a unique destination where doctors, scientists and patients will explore and potentially benefit from today's medical advancements.' The scientific foundation of bioelectronic medicine stems from research conducted by , president and CEO of , Northwell's home of medical research, and author of the new book – . For nearly four decades, Dr. Tracey and collaborators published their discoveries about a link between the brain, immune system, and inflammation and whether or not their connection could be modulated through technology and electrical signals, like vagus nerve stimulation. Today, bioelectronic medicine clinical trials are conducted at Northwell and around the world. In 2023, Northwell was a site for the SetPoint Medical RESET-RA study, which evaluated a novel treatment option for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using neuroimmune modulation, a therapy that uses electrical stimulation to modulate functions of the immune system. Dawn Steiner, one of the RESET-RA trial participants, has firsthand experience with the debilitating effects of RA. For more than a decade, the 58-year-old speech and language pathologist from Massapequa, NY, felt excruciating pain that often left her bedridden. An avid Mets fan and concertgoer, Dawn found herself unable to enjoy the things she loved – or even conduct everyday tasks, like brushing her teeth or tying her shoes – because of her RA flare-ups or her medication side effects. Over the years, she tried more than eight biological RA medications that often didn't relieve her symptoms and caused her to feel troubling side effects. After seeing family and friends benefit from enrolling in clinical trials for other conditions, Dawn enrolled in the SetPoint Medical trial, and today, many of her symptoms are relieved. 'A year after receiving this therapy, I feel as good as I did before my RA diagnosis – like a different person. I feel better, and I'm able to just feel healthy and do all the things that make me happy without those awful, awful medications,' Steiner said. 'To the researchers, thank you! I'm so glad you looked into a different type of technology. From my perspective, this is the future of rheumatoid arthritis treatment.' The new Center will aim to connect participants like Dawn to bioelectronic medicine clinical trials. Current bioelectronic medicine trials underway at Northwell include treatments for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, methods to stop excessive bleeding, treatments for post-traumatic stress disorders and brain implant applications to reverse paralysis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
