Google Flu Trends Shuts Down Public Website, Continues Data Collaboration with Health Institutions

1、Google Flu Trends Announces Closure of Public Website

Recently, Google Flu Trends, a service under Google, announced the closure of its public website.

Its influenza trend monitoring team will continue to track flu patterns based on historical data; however, the data will no longer be made public but will instead be provided directly to public health research institutions, including the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Influenza Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Google Flu Trends team stated in a brief blog post, “We are now authorizing specialized infectious disease research institutions to leverage the data to develop their own surveillance models in our stead, and we eagerly anticipate what lies ahead.”

Google stated that this would not affect the accuracy of the data. Companies interested in accessing these data may submit an application form.



2. Chunyu International Healthcare Secures $15 Million in Series A Funding


Recently, Chunyu International Medical, which has entered into a strategic partnership with Chunyu Mobile Health under the leadership of former Global Times Deputy General Manager Xiong Juan, secured RMB 15 million in Series A funding from Spring Capital. The investment aims to build China’s largest international medical consultation service platform.

Chunyu International Medical officially commenced operations on July 22, 2015, primarily providing users with two core services: online remote consultations and offline cross-border medical treatment. Currently, Chunyu International has established partnerships with more than 30 hospitals and over 2,000 physicians across six countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Singapore. All partner hospitals are either authorized by their respective national foreign affairs departments or hold international Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation, and all physicians possess valid medical practice licenses issued by their respective countries or regions.

Chunyu International stated, “80% of our products will be priced below RMB 50,000, as we aim to provide cross-border medical service products that are affordable for Chinese consumers.”



3Five Global Medical Innovation Companies Receive Support from Bayer

Bayer HealthCare, the German pharmaceutical company, has announced the next cohort of five startups selected for its 2015 “Grant4App” incubation program. During the program, these startups will receive $58,031 in funding along with training and mentorship from Bayer and other industry experts.

These five companies are:Serona (United States), a company that provides hormone testing and data management tools for researchers or healthcare professionals;Medikeep (Estonia), they developed a medication management app;Sendinaden, a 3D-printable smart wearable device developed by Bayer China employees；Viomedo (Germany), a company that facilitates online connections between patients and clinical trials;Vitameter (Canada), a company that develops portable devices for analyzing users' vitamin levels through blood tests.



4Gauss Surgical Application Secures $3.3 Million in Funding

U.S. digital medical device company Gauss Surgical Secures $3.4 Million in Funding; Gauss Has Developed an App, TritonCanister, That Estimates Intraoperative Blood Loss (The App Received FDA Clearance in March This Year), Bringing Gauss’s Total Assets to Over $10 Million.

Surgeons take photos using the iPad’s camera, and the app automatically estimates hemoglobin levels and blood loss, helping doctors determine whether and when a blood transfusion is necessary.