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As always, ifyou find value in this work I do, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter,Sparky’s List!You can get it in your inbox or read it on Patreon, the content is the same. Don’t forget to visitthe Tom Tomorrow Merchandise Mall, and, if you’re so inclined,follow me on Bluesky!
The secretary spoke from a booth at Metro 29 Diner in Arlington, Va., on his second stop of a Labor Day tour of local restaurants to tout the tax break on tips that was recently enacted as part of Republicans’ sweeping tax-and-spending law.
‘A tipping point’: Bessent previews Trump administration’s latest tariff defense
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent told Semafor Monday that he plans to write a
brief for the solicitor general to file that defends the Trump
administration’s tariffs ahead of a likely Supreme Court ruling on their
legality.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday
that the tariffs are an overreach of the president’s emergency powers,
though the levies were left in place amid an expected appeal to the
Supreme Court. Bessent predicted that the justices would ultimately rule
in the administration’s favor; the administration faces an Oct. 14
deadline for initiating its appeal.
“Everyone says, ‘Well,
we’ve had these trade deficits a long time. How is it an emergency?’”
Bessent said.
There’s this idea of a tipping point. …
Are we
approaching — and I believe we are — an unsustainable equilibrium that
would have caused financial instability?
Is the president using his
emergency powers to truncate a financial crisis?
What if someone had
done that for housing in ’05 or ’06?”
“The president has
stood up and said,
‘These trade deficits keep getting bigger and bigger.
Our insanity needs to stop,’”
The diagnostic tool—commonly seen hung around doctors’ necks—is set to revolutionize care once again after receiving its first major overhaul in its 200 year history.
A new AI stethoscope can detect three common heart conditions in just 15 seconds by picking up sounds imperceivable to the human ear.
It means GPs will be able to diagnose and treat patients at a much earlier stage— before they become dangerously unwell.
The stethoscope is used to listen to
sounds within the body and has been a vital part of a doctor’s toolkit
since it was invented in 1816.
But an
AI version can do much more, including analysing tiny differences in
heartbeat and blood flow and recording electrical signals in the heart
at the same time.
A trial involving 205 NHS
GP surgeries with 1.5million patients found it increases detection of
heart failure at the early stage when someone first goes to their family
doctor with symptoms.
Those examined
using an AI stethoscope were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart
failure in the next 12 months, compared to similar patients who were not
examined using the technology.
They
were also 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial
fibrillation—an abnormal heart rhythm which can increase the risk of
having a stroke.
The stethoscope is used to listen to
sounds within the body and has been a vital part of a doctor’s toolkit
since it was invented in 1816.
But an
AI version can do much more, including analysing tiny differences in
heartbeat and blood flow and recording electrical signals in the heart
at the same time.
A trial involving 205 NHS
GP surgeries with 1.5million patients found it increases detection of
heart failure at the early stage when someone first goes to their family
doctor with symptoms.
Those examined
using an AI stethoscope were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart
failure in the next 12 months, compared to similar patients who were not
examined using the technology.
They
were also 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial
fibrillation—an abnormal heart rhythm which can increase the risk of
having a stroke.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director
at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said:
‘Given an earlier diagnosis, people can access the treatment they need to help them live well for longer.’
‘This
is an elegant example of how the humble stethoscope, invented more than
200 years ago, can be upgraded for the 21st century.
‘We
need innovations like these, providing early detection of heart
failure, because so often this condition is only diagnosed at an
advanced stage when patients attend hospital as an emergency.
However,
70 per cent of GP surgeries given smart stethoscopes in the study
stopped using them, or used them infrequently, after 12 months and
two-thirds of people identified by the AI stethoscope as having
suspected heart failure did not in fact have it, when given a further
blood test or heart scan.
The
researchers say efforts to integrate the technology into GPs’ existing
routines would be needed to roll the technology out more widely and
highlight the device is picking up cases that would otherwise be missed.
They
stress that the AI-stethoscope should be used for patients with
symptoms of suspected heart problems and not for routine checks in
healthy people.
The study, called
TRICORDER, was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care
Research (NIHR), British Heart Foundation and Imperial Health Charity.
Researchers supplied GP practices with an AI stethoscope manufactured by Californian company Eko Health.
They next plan to roll out the technology to GP practices in Wales, South London and Sussex.
Professor
Nicholas Peters, senior investigator from Imperial College London and
consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said:
‘Our study shows that three heart conditions can now be identified in
one sitting.
‘Importantly, this technology is already available to some patients and being widely used in GP surgeries.’
AI-powered stethoscope promises heart disease detection in seconds
Three serious heart conditions detected in just 15 seconds, while the results appear on a phone.
TheApple Watchis on the wrist of millions of users across the world. Over the years, Apple has developed algorithms that collect data from the integrated PPG sensor to senseirregular heart rhythmsand warn users about risks such asAtrial Fibrillation. Now, a similar approach has been deployed to develop anAI-powered stethoscope that is claimed to detect three serious heart conditions within a matter of seconds.
The device, which is roughly the size of a playing card and looks more like a power bank, has already been deployed by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as part of a nationwide study called TRICORDER. The smart stethoscope can detect Heart failure (HF), atrial fibrillation (AF), and valvular heart disease (VHD).
How does it work?
At the heart of the AI stethoscope is a single-lead ECG sensor and a mic array that records phonocardiogram (PCG) waveforms, while algorithms make sense of these heart activity and blood flow readings to detect any abnormalities. The device, which connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth and sends data to the cloud over Wi-Fi or cellular network, can reportedly detect the aforementioned heart issues in just 15 seconds.
Imperial College
This AI-driven stethoscope is classified as a Class IIa medical device, which means it is already authorized for regular use in healthcare. As such, doctors and healthcare professionals won’t need a written or signed consent from patients for using it either. The most notable aspect is that the trials have produced reliable results.
The device, which has been provided as a replacement stethoscope for routine patient clinical examination to general practitioners (GP) across the country, takes a 15-second recording after placing it over the upper left sternal border area on the chest. The real magic happens courtesy of the algorithms, which are governed by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and have shown promising results.
“The statistical performance of these three AI algorithms has been shown to be high and consistent against international external validation studies,” the team says in a research paper published in theBMJ Openjournal.
As part of the initial study, which spanned over 200 GP surgeries covering over 1.5 million patients, doctors examined patients who came in with complaints of fatigue and breathlessness.
Imperial College
According to theBritish Heart Foundation, which partly funded the studies, patients who got themselves examined by the AI-powered stethoscope were roughly 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. “They were almost twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of heart valve disease, which is where one or more heart valves do not work properly,” the institution adds.
A bright future
The core objective behind the development of this smart stethoscope is to detect heart problems in the early stages, so that patients can get the required life-saving medications and treatment in time.
Heart failure, which affects as many as a million patients in the UK alone, is detected in 70 percent of cases only after an individual is rushed in for emergency care.
Professor Nicholas Peters, senior investigator from Imperial College London and consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, notes that the smart stethoscope allows the detection of three serious heart conditions in one sitting.
As for the device itself, it is manufactured by a California-based company named Eko Health.
“It is estimated that implementing this tool in primary care could save the NHS £2,400 per patient by eliminating the potential need for an unplanned A&E visit,”claimsthe UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
It notes that over three million patients have already been enrolled as part of the TRICORDER trial program, and down the road, it could potentially enable healthcare savings worth over a hundred million pounds to the government.
Jude Law premiered 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, drawing attention for his striking transformation into Vladimir Putin.
Directed by Olivier Assayas, the film explores Putin’s rise to power, with Law delving obsessively into the leader’s mannerisms. The political drama is already emerging as one of the festival’s most talked-about titles.
