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Amid a major period of consolidation in the healthcare space, health systems have grown so large that using a patient’s name or date of birth isn’t a good identifier anymore. Instead, hospitals are turning to biometric systems, which use fingerprints or other physical characteristics to identify people, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An AI algorithm helped determine adult women’s brains are, on average, a few years younger than the brains of males of the same age, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The rise of AI and machine learning in the healthcare market hasn’t gone unnoticed by KenSci, a Seattle-based company that offers an AI and machine learning platform for healthcare groups. The company has now raised an additional $22 million in hopes of growing along with the market.

Mayo Clinic has teamed up with Fortune 500 company Leidos in a strategic collaboration to develop and market tools, technologies and therapeutics to engage patients and families in their care.

Utah-based healthcare big data company Health Catalyst announced it has closed $100 million in Series F equity and debt funding. Financing will support the expansion of Health Catalyst’s technology and services offering for healthcare information. 

It was a record-breaking year for medical device approvals in the FDA, with the government agency approving 106 novel devices in 2018—beating 2017’s 99 novel device approvals.