Here, we take a look at some of the international news stories on health and care that have caught our eye in the last month.
Cambio acquires FRISQ AB to help expand their international footprint
Swedish e-health provider, Cambio has acquired the digital health software company FRISQ AB, taking on 100 percent of shares with the aim to expand their own offering and create “new opportunities” for patients. This acquisition comes with FRISQ AB’s scalable and interactive communication tool, FRISQ Care, which “enables the creation of personalised, digital care plans that facilitate collaboration and secure information sharing between care teams and patients”, while also generating “valuable insights” for all stages of care.
“We are very happy to welcome FRISQ, their employees, partners and customers to Cambio,” Cambio CEO, Rami Avidan said. “With their strong expertise in process support we expand our competence and offering to our customers and enable better communication between care providers and patients in Sweden as well as internationally.”
The Africa Centre for Disease Control outlines plans for Continental Health Data Governance Framework
The Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) has committed to developing a Continental Health Data Governance Framework, following a roundtable held at the 2025 Africa Health ExCon. The framework will reportedly cover policies, procedures and practices across the continent that help to make sure healthcare data is “managed, protected, and used responsibly throughout its lifecycle”.
The Africa CDC also aims to “establish a common understanding and agreement around essential legislative provisions, support legal coherence across jurisdictions, enhance trust and facilitate cross-border data sharing”, while building on the existing AU Data Policy Framework and other best practice approaches already being used throughout Africa.
Speaking on the importance of the framework, Dr Martha Terefe, deputy chief of staff at Africa CDC, said, “Such a framework would establish an agreement between Member States around optimal legislation and regulation for the effective and equitable governance of health data and build continental alignment and collaboration around a harmonised African position on health data governance that supports cross-border data flows, with the needed protections in place.”
Scientists in Singapore develop an AI-powered scoring system to help predict the recurrence of liver cancer
Scientists from the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (A*STAR IMCB) and Singapore General Hospital have developed an AI-powered scoring system called the Tumour Immune Microenvironment Spatial (TIMES) score. According to A*STAR IMCB, the system can predict the recurrence of the liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with “approximately 82% accuracy”, which they have noted is currently “outperforming existing staging methods”.
The TIMES score system works by “analysing the precise spatial distribution of immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells and five specific genes within liver tumour tissues”, allowing doctors to identify which patients are more likely to experience a recurrence after surgery, for “earlier and more targeted treatment”.
Research was conducted based on samples from 231 patients across five hospitals in order to validate the new system, before making the technology accessible via a free web portal and putting plans in place for further validation studies later in the year. “In Singapore, up to 70% of liver cancer patients experience recurrence within five years. TIMES offers a significant advancement in predicting these outcomes, enabling clinicians to intervene at the earliest possible stage,” Dr Joe Yeong, principal investigator at A*STAR IMCB, said.
CHEO maintains Stage 7 status with HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model
Canada-based health institution, CHEO has been revalidated at Stage 7 of the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) for their use of technology to improve care for children and young people in “truly advanced and meaningful ways”. By maintaining this high standard, CHEO remains as one of the top 20 paediatric hospitals to be recognised on a global scale as a “leader in digital health”.
According to the organisation, the HIMSS reviewers were “most impressed by how digital systems are woven into everything CHEO does”, including their key initiatives around providing access to real-time data, using AI responsibly to support care, giving nurses access to tools and dashboards to see their impact and helping researchers find answers faster through various programs.
Singapore-based AI health tech company, Respiree secures $11.6 million in Series A funding
In a recent LinkedIn post, the Singaporean AI health tech company, Respiree announced that they have secured $11.6 million in Series A funding, which will be used to help expand their presence within the US. This includes creating a new headquarters in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, as well as looking at ways to accelerate their mission of “transforming how disease is monitored and managed across the continuum of care”.
The funding round was led by We Venture Capital and ClavystBio, with Respiree noting additional participation and support from Adaptive Capital Partners, Mayo Clinic’s Mayo Foundation for Medical Research, Greenwillow Capital Management, Seeds Capital and she1K.
