At the end of 2020, biotech companies such as Moderna and Pfizer, obtained emer- gency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. These vaccines are reportedly more than 94% effective in warding off the novel virus, as well as lowering serious side effects.
As of April 2021, more than 230 million doses have been given, and over 96 million people are fully vaccinated in the United States. Until recently, the majority of vaccines were prioritized to frontline workers, and people 65 years of age and older. President Joe Biden moved up the eligibility target for all American adults to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but many states around the country had already opened up criteria that anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to receive the vaccine.
AlgoMedica, Inc., the developer of PixelShine®, is pleased to
announce they have signed a distribution agreement with AUXO Medical, a reseller of
refurbished and reconditioned medical equipment that sells through their direct sales force
and a partnership with McKesson. AUXO Medical will sell and service the PixelShine AI solution
throughout the US.
PixelShine from AlgoMedica is a new deep learning CT scan processing software that overcomes
the limitations of standard Iterative Reconstruction techniques. It automatically improves the
quality of any CT scan by reducing image noise without reducing the conspicuity of fine details
or changing the appearance of the image, even for ultra-low dose studies. PixelShine improves
the image quality of CT studies acquired at any dose level, such that lower dose scanning is
possible for all CT studies. In addition, because PixelShine is vendor neutral it can harmonize
image quality across the healthcare enterprise the benefit of radiologist productivity.
“We look forward to leveraging AUXO Medicals strong regional relationships and their deep
understanding appreciation good customer service and technical know-how in the refurbished
CT market.” explains Mikael Strindlund, CEO of AlgoMedica Inc.
PixelShine from AlgoMedica can provide a number of benefits:
• Harmonize image quality across all CT scanners within an organization
• Dramatically improved image quality of low dose screening and pediatric studies
• Enables increased radiologist diagnostic confidence
• Facilitates greater use of thin slice imaging
• Extends the clinical utility of older CT scanners
Auxo Medical is extremely excited about the partnership with PixelShine. Greater image quality
at lower doses is something that we feel parallels the healthcare industry’s emphasis on patient
safety while observing cost reductions, explains Jay Crabtree, CEO, AUXO Medical.
About PixelShine from AlgoMedica PixelShine by Algomedica was developed using machine learning. It can improve the quality of any CT exam by reducing the inherent image noise during the image reconstruction process.
This is particularly applicable to ultra-low dose CT scanning applications such as lung screening.
Pixelshine empowers healthcare providers to acquire high-quality CT scans using substantially
lower radiation dose. PixelShine is vendor agnostic and can enhance the quality of noisy CT
scans acquired by all types of CT scanners, including older and refurbished models. PixelShine is
fast, requires no user interaction and can be remotely installed. Learn more at
www.algomedica.com
About AUXO Medical
Auxo Medical, LLC is a national medical equipment supplier and repair service provider that
specializes in new and refurbished value-based medical equipment solutions. With the addition
of nationwide service locations, Auxo Medical provides the personal support most expect from
a local business, but with several of the efficiencies of larger suppliers. The company regularly
works with healthcare systems, outpatient imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers,
laboratories, Veterans Affairs, private physician practices, and more. Learn more at
auxomedical.com.
Contact Information:
AlgoMedica, Inc.
Mikael Strindlund
516-448-3124 [email protected]
Media Inquiries:
Algomedica, Inc.
Dean Kaufman [email protected]
Sales:
AUXO Medical
Tanner Seese
804-233-4424 [email protected]
For more than a year, the swift spread of a novel COVID-19 virus, has made its way around the globe. While there are non-pharmaceutical tools that are pivotal in slowing the spread, such as wearing face masks and practicing social distancing, vaccines appear to be the foundation of long-term defensive interventions in order to get our communities back to some semblance of normalcy again.
Every year, vaccines are responsible for saving millions of lives, according to the WHO (World Health Organization). In short, vaccines enable the body’s immune system to recognize and battle viruses. Once vaccinated, if certain bacterias infiltrate the body, then the immune system is equipped to kill the germs in an effort to prevent illness.
SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Development
The dire need for successful vaccines has propelled research developers to acutely focus on COVID-19, which led to an accelerated pipeline of preclinical candidates as well as the vaccine development itself.
As of April 2021, there have been at least seven COVID-19 vaccines distributed in countries across multiple platforms. Currently, more than 80 additional vaccine candi-dates are in development, and over 180 are in pre-clinical development.
Due to the astounding global response and the extraordinary quantity and pace of re-search to develop an effective vaccine, a vaccine tracker was created and is hosted by the Vaccine Centre. It is an interactive, user-friendly tool that is accessible online. Launched one year ago in April of 2020, the goal is to collect updated data on all COVID-19 vaccine contenders, from the beginning steps to final execution.
This transparent tool allows both the public as well as researchers the ability to stay ap-prised of the latest information, and is updated on a weekly basis. The insights include preclinical and clinical candidates.
Vaccine Key Metrics & Execution
The vaccine tracker includes important metrics of both trials that are actively underway, as well as those that are in pre-planning phases. Its database features a variety of de-tails such as the size and location of the study, randomization, and the recruitment standing of registered vaccine trials in humans for COVID-19. Once a week, a clinical trial database from the US National Institutes of Health, as well as the WHO landscape pinpoints newly registered and/or updated protocols.
In addition to the preclinical and clinical candidate vaccine tracking, there is also a fea-ture that captures data on storage requirement, forecasts for manufacturing the vaccine, and approval status by the FDA. For each projected vaccine, countries who plan on dis-tributing it along with their statistics are included in the tracker. As the vaccine develop-ment gets underway, the tracker outlines the roll-out stages and execution steps.
The expeditious progression in developing the COVID-19 vaccine is evidence of the commitment and ingenuity of research experts, as well as the general public’s trustwor-thiness who agreed to participate in clinical studies. There have been nearly 700,000 people from around the world who are actively in, or plan to be a part of these studies. In order for the trials’ assessments to have full efficacy and safety, there must be vitreous information throughout the entire process.
Consequences of continuing vaccine delivery for the COVID-19 virus will play an im-portant role in providing credibility and belief concerning vaccination now, and in the fu-ture. While proven vaccines will be a staple for protecting the public, people should con-tinue to wear face masks, social distance, and stay away from large crowds
for the indefinite future.
Stay tuned for an upcoming Auxo Medical blog post where we’ll discuss the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Working in the healthcare industry can be quite gratifying — helping people feel better who are suffering, comforting the patient’s concerned family members and friends, and making a difference to the most vulnerable population. On the other hand, being a front-line medical worker is known to be stressful, as well as emotionally and physically taxing. These ‘healthcare heroes’ including nurses, technicians, physicians, and therapists, are encountering additional challenges due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Supporting our medical frontline workers is essential as we have now surpassed a full calendar year fighting COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a radical disruption to life as we once knew it. However, the pandemic will also be earmarked as a transformative time for evolving medical education.
The rapid public health response to the pandemic demanded changes in delivering medical education. These course corrections magnified the necessity to broaden the scope of expertise among physicians and physicians-in-training across the United States.
Years ago, for someone to earn a medical degree or certificate in person, they would likely need to overhaul their sources of income, sacrifice relationships, and rearrange priorities in life. Earning a higher-level education in healthcare is a valuable career choice, but it is difficult to integrate schooling into one’s lifestyle.
Today, through a variety of platforms and with the help of technology, pursuing healthcare education has become more accessible, more immersible, and even more affordable. Online and virtual education resourceshave enabled healthcare students to obtain an engaging education in an accommodating format.
The plan to vaccinate all Virginians is fluid and a moving target. That is because vaccine inventory is limited (at a global, national, state, and regional level), and the logistics behind distributing the vaccine hasn’t been a seamless process. Also, as is the case with any high demand product, supply is limited.
On the bright side —a studyby QuoteWizard ranked the Commonwealth of Virginia most likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, as compared to all states across the country. These predictions to estimate vaccination rates were supported by the current rate of adults getting vaccinated, accessibility to healthcare, as well as public opinion.
Every year, millions of people safely receive vaccinations. All FDA-approved vaccines undergo comprehensive and laborious trials prior to being given to the public. Testing during the development process includes screenings to analyze which antigen should be utilized to solicit a response from our immune systems.
The stage that precedes clinical testing is conducted without testing on humans. An exploratory vaccine is initially used in animals to gauge its efficacy and ability to prevent illness. If the vaccine sparks a response from the immune system, then it can be investigated in human clinical trials; this typically takes place over three phases.
