NIH announced it will provide funding to diagnostic test manufacturers for the development of the next generation of COVID-19 tests, with a focus on improved accessibility. Source: LabPulse 

Using a suspended nanowire, a research team has created a tiny sensor that can simultaneously measure electrical and mechanical cellular responses in cardiac tissue, work promising for cardiac disease studies, drug testing and regenerative medicine. Source: Science Daily/University of Massachusetts Amherst

A team of researchers has developed a new class of biomaterial inks that mimic native characteristics of highly conductive human tissue, much like skin, which are essential for the ink to be used in 3D printing. Source: Science Daily/Texas A&M University

By combining optical measurements with ultrasound, researchers were able to study oxygen levels in the placenta, paving the way for a better understanding of this complex, crucial organ. Source: Science Daily/University of Pennsylvania

Patients with darker skin who received less accurate readings of their oxygen levels using pulse oximeters — the ubiquitous devices clamped on hospitalized patients’ fingers — also received less supplemental oxygen during ICU stays, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Source: STAT

A flaw in a widely used medical device that measures oxygen levels causes critically ill Asians, Blacks and Hispanics to receive less supplemental oxygen to help them breathe than white patients, according to data from a large study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Source: Reuters

Over the past two years, the pulse oximeter has become a crucial tool for tracking the health of COVID-19 patients. The small device clips onto a finger and measures the amount of oxygen in a patient's blood. But a growing body of evidence shows the device can be inaccurate when measuring oxygen levels in people with dark skin tones. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine only adds to this concern. Source: NPR

The Council on Strategic Risks hosted a webinar on June 8 titled RADx® Initiative & COVID-19 Solutions: Bioengineering at Unprecedented Speed and Scale. This NIH RADx Initiative was critical in the shift from solely laboratory-based testing to the public-private partnership that enabled the production and accessibility of point-of-care and over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. Source: Council on Strategic Risks

As more machine learning tools reach patients, developers are starting to get smart about the potential for bias to seep in. But a growing body of research aims to emphasize that even carefully trained models — ones built to ignore race — can breed inequity in care. Source: STAT