FDA grants emergency authorization to 'machine learning-based' COVID detection device

The Food and Drug Administration this week gave emergency-use authorization to a "machine learning-based" device that will reportedly work to detect COVID even in cases in which no immediate symptoms are evident. The device, manufactured by Tiger Tech Solutions, "identifies certain biomarkers that may be indicative of SARS-CoV-2 infection … in asymptomatic individuals over the age of 5," the FDA said in a press release. The device works by reading signals of a patient's blood flow using an armband. "The sensors first obtain pulsatile signals from blood flow over a period of three to five minutes," the FDA said. "Once the measurement is completed," the statement continued.