‘Sometimes the hardest journeys require the most patience’, posted Jared Isaacman on X as he and his crewmates await to embark on the ‘Polaris Dawn’ mission. This is a historical mission, with Polaris Dawn completing the first-ever private spacewalk and travelling farthest to the earth since Apollo. Over half a century has passed since humans have flown this far from Earth. Isaacman will fly as Polaris Dawn’s mission commander, and will be joined by the mission’s pilot, retired United States Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant Colonel Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and the first two SpaceX employees to launch to orbit, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who both work as Lead Space Operations Engineers. Gillis and Menon will serve as mission specialists.
The team at TrialX is eagerly awaiting the launch of the mission they are integral to. In the last few months, they have been working to develop the EXPAND app, in partnership with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at the Baylor College of Medicine for the Polaris Dawn crew.
As part of the mission, the four-member crew will conduct a wide range of experiments to collect data on various aspects of human health in space. These studies will examine environmental factors, health and hygiene, personality development, vital signs, cognitive function, vision, motion sickness, decompression sickness, Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), space radiation, and more.
All health data will be collected using integrated wearables and devices, along with nearly 30 surveys embedded in the EXPAND App. This comprehensive approach is designed to provide valuable insights into how the unique conditions of space affect human health at both physiological and molecular levels.
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Additionally, the crew will collect biological samples to contribute to a biobank, aimed at uncovering the molecular changes that occur during spaceflight. A paper detailing the creation and purpose of this biobank, with the most extensive collection of data ever assembled for aerospace medicine and space biology. has been published in Nature, underscoring its significance for future research.
TrialX’s remote data collection platform is the backbone of the EXPAND App, providing a robust and secure system for data collection, management and analysis. The platform integrates seamlessly with various health monitoring devices and sensors, ensuring real-time data capture, implementing top-tier security protocols and is designed to handle large volumes of data, including genomic data.
TrialX was chosen by TRISH in 2021 to build the innovative centralised data repository and analytics platform for the first all-civilian Inspiration4 mission. The database was built as part of TRISH’s EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration and Analog Definition) programme, a multi-year initiative developed to help the NASA Human Research Program to reduce the risk to human health in space. The database supports a variety of data types across a multitude of individual research studies and currently houses data from subjects across six space missions – Inspiration 4, MS-20, Axiom-1, Axiom-2, Axiom-3 and Polaris Dawn. It equips space researchers to reuse and integrate research data across different research studies and unlock innovative actionable insights.
TrialX has always been on the forefront of cutting edge clinical research solutions and space health informatics. From launching the first clinical trials app on Google Health in 2008, to powering online patient recruitment and research data collection for space missions, co-founders Sharib Khan and Chintan Patel are on a mission to facilitate One Billion Health Research Contributions.
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“Our mission at TrialX has always been to bridge the gap between research and participants, whether on Earth or in space. Partnering with TRISH to support commercial space missions allows us to extend our commitment to advancing clinical research, using technology to empower both researchers and participants in groundbreaking ways,” said CEO and cofounder Sharib Khan.
Khan and Patel first crossed paths at Columbia University, where their strong rapport led to the founding of TrialX Inc. and a partnership that has spanned over 16 years. Headquartered in New York, with presence in India, the Philippines, and Romania, the company is committed to accelerating clinical research and bridging the gap between research and patients—both on Earth and beyond.
Khan brings a deep understanding of clinical research and digital health to the table. With a background in medical sciences and biomedical informatics, he has been a driving force behind TrialX’s mission to democratise clinical research by using technology to engage and empower patients. Patel, with his background in computer science and a passion for healthcare innovation, plays a crucial role in driving technology solutions that make clinical research more accessible and efficient. Their shared vision and commitment to innovation and patient-centricity continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in clinical trials and space health.
More recently, TRISH, in collaboration with consortium partners Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology, has partnered with TrialX to develop a software platform for a portable device that acts as a “to-go” version of the EXPAND master repository. This portable device is designed to extend the repository’s capabilities, allowing spaceflight participants to access their previously collected health information and store new data offline during their mission.
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Upon returning to Earth, the device will automatically synchronise all collected data with the EXPAND Master Repository. If a participant continues on another segment of their space journey, the portable device will seamlessly transfer their existing health data from one mission segment to the next. By tackling the challenges of data transfer and interoperability in space, this portable solution aims to enhance the efficiency and quality of healthcare for astronauts.
The Polaris Dawn mission was initially slated to launch on August 27, but was delayed to August 28 due to technical issues and then postponed again, due to splashdown weather concerns for the end of the mission.
If you want to back up valuable data from your PC, transfer videos to a Mac or offload a few games from your game console, a good external SSD can help. These tiny bricks may cost more than a traditional portable hard drive, but they’re noticeably faster, smaller and far more reliable in the long term. That said, determining the best external SSD for you isn’t as simple as picking the one that’s priced the lowest or packs the most space. (At least, it shouldn’t be.) If you’re looking to add some portable storage to your desktop or everyday carry, we’ve spent months weeding through the external solid-state drive market, testing several contenders and sorting out which ones deliver the most value. You can find our favorites, plus a quick rundown of what to know before buying one of these things, below.
Table of contents
Best external SSDs for 2024
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Size: 2.56 x 1.97 x 0.39 inches | Weight: 1.34 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Motion SM2320 | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s read, 1,050 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
The Crucial X9 Pro finished at or just under the top in each of our benchmarks relative to its speed class, and it stayed noticeably cooler than most of the other drives we tested after extended use. It’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2 model, so it’s slower than alternatives based on Thunderbolt, USB4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, but it costs less, and it’s still quick enough for the non-professional tasks most people do with a portable SSD. Ports that can actually utilize USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds tend to be more ubiquitous on mainstream computers, too. This isn’t the cheapest 10 Gbps drive around, but it’s in the same ballpark as its peers and isn’t too expensive. As of this writing, a 1TB model is available for $105, though it often goes for less. (We’ve seen it fall as low as $60 in the past.) 2TB and 4TB versions are also available.
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Besides its relatively speedy performance, the X9 Pro stands out for being so tiny. Its aluminum case is shorter than a credit card and easy to fit in a pocket, weighing in at just 1.34 ounces. The whole thing is IP55-rated, so it’ll survive dust and water splashes, and it’s backed with a five-year warranty, which is a couple years longer than some alternatives.
Our only real complaints are that the included USB-C cable is small and there’s no adapter for USB-A ports in the box. And though the X9 Pro can utilize 256-bit hardware-based encryption, Micron (Crucial’s parent company) has been late to release its own password protection tool to take full advantage of it. We’ll also note that there’s a cheaper non-”Pro” X9, but that one uses QLC flash, so it’s not as durable or fast (especially with sustained writes). The X9 Pro is the better buy.
Pros
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Great performance for its speed class
Rugged and super compact form factor
Stays relatively cool with extended use
Five-year warranty
Cons
There are cheaper 10 Gbps drives
Included USB-C cable is short, and there’s no USB-A cable in the box
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB | Size: 2.74 x 1.28 x 0.53 inches | Weight: 1.01 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Motion SM2320 | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
The Kingston XS1000 performs similarly to the Crucial X9 Pro but has sold for less over the last several months, so it’s a good alternative if you want to save some cash. A 1TB model is available for $75 as of this writing, which is $30 less than the X9 Pro, while the 2TB version is down to $120, which is a roughly $50 drop. There’s no 4TB option, though.
At those prices, the XS1000 is a good value for everyday backups and transfers. It kept up with or slightly edged the X9 Pro across our benchmarks: In our custom file transfer test, for example, its reads were a second faster, while its writes were only six seconds slower. (The two drives appear to have comparable internals and are based on a similar controller — the Silicon Power SM2320G — so this may not be a huge surprise.) It topped every USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive we tested in 3DMark’s gaming storage benchmark as well. It’s slightly thicker than the X9 Pro but still wonderfully portable, with its stubby rectangular design weighing just over an ounce. Like the Crucial drive, it’s backed by a five-year warranty.
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Where Kingston’s model falls behind Crucial’s X9 Pro is in the extras. There’s no formal IP or drop ratings, so we wouldn’t feel as comfortable chucking it around on the go. It lacks hardware-based encryption, and it only comes with a USB-C to A cable, so you’ll need to supply your own adapter if your laptop only has USB-C ports. It doesn’t stay quite as cool as the X9 Pro with continuous use, and its sustained write performance isn’t as fast either, so it’s worth paying up if you plan to regularly copy hundreds of gigabytes to the SSD (and can’t just get a higher-class model). For the money, though, all of this may be easier to overlook.
Pros
Faster than most 10 Gbps drives we tested
Aggressively priced
Highly portable
Five-year warranty
Cons
No formal water-resistance or drop protection
No USB-C to C cable in the box
Only available in 1TB or 2TB
Slower sustained write performance than X9 Pro with very large files
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Size: 4.13 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan off), 4.82 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan on) | Weight: 6.4 ounces | USB interface: USB4 (40 Gbps) | Controller/bridge chip: Asmedia ASM2464PD | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 3,800 MB/s read, 3,700 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
If you’re a media editor, IT professional or just an enthusiast willing to pay for the fastest portable SSD possible, get the ADATA SE920. It utilizes the newer USB4 interface, and it blew away every non-40 Gbps drive we tested across our benchmark tests. In AmorphousDiskMark, for example, the Crucial X9 Pro delivered sequential reads and writes around 1,015 MB/s and 950 MB/s, respectively; here, those were about 3,350 MB/s and 3,125 MB/s. In our custom mixed file transfer test, we were able to move our 70GB folder to our MacBook in 32 seconds; with the X9 Pro, that process took about 81 seconds on average. Writing the folder to the drive, meanwhile, was about 30 seconds faster. If you’re buying an external SSD to move around large chunks of data, this kind of leap adds up.
The drive itself is significantly bigger and thicker than either of our picks above, but it’s not so large that we’d call it unwieldy. It’s about the size of a deck of cards, so it’ll fit better in a bag than a pants pocket. Beyond that, the brushed metal exterior feels crisp to the touch, and ADATA supports the device with a five-year warranty.
That said, this thing can get seriously hot. The design includes a built-in micro fan to help dissipate heat, which you activate just by clicking the case down; that’s clever, but it’s not enough to keep the drive cool on its own. All of this comes at a price premium, too, with a 1TB model currently available for $180. But if performance is the only thing that matters to you, it’s hard to do better.
The pre-built OWC Express 1M2 is a premium-feeling USB4 SSD that’s roughly as fast as the ADATA SE920, but it’s larger and significantly more expensive as of this writing.
If you’re in the relatively small group with a PC that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 but not Thunderbolt or USB4, the Crucial X10 Pro is essentially a faster version of our top pick. The Lexar SL600 is a larger but slightly quicker option, while the Lexar SL500, Kingston XS2000 or Samsung T9 could also work if you see them on discount. As a reminder, though, drives like these are aimed primarily at content creators and other professionals, and you have to make sure you won’t upgrade to a device with a faster USB interface anytime soon.
The Samsung T7 Shield has a conveniently rugged design with a rubberized, IP65-rated shell. It also comes with both USB-C and USB-A cables. But it was consistently slower than the X9 Pro and XS1000 in our benchmark tests, plus it has a shorter three-year warranty.
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The Silicon Power PX10 is an especially affordable USB 3.2 Gen 2 model. Its peak speeds weren’t too far off the X9 Pro or XS1000 in synthetic benchmarks, but it can get distractingly hot and its sustained writes are markedly worse. It took 50 seconds longer to move our 70GB custom test folder to this drive compared to the X9 Pro, for example.
The Crucial X6 is another low-cost option that’s a good bit slower than our top picks. It’s limited to a three-year warranty and lacks an IP rating as well. It’s not a terrible option for the basics, but there’s little reason to get it over the XS1000 when their prices are similar.
The OWC Envoy Pro FX is well-built and supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2, but it’s a smidge slower than the SE920 and Express 1M2, and it’s much pricier than the former.
What to consider before buying an external SSD
Capacity
The first thing to figure out before buying a portable SSD is just how much storage space you need. Most of the drives we considered for this guide are available in capacities ranging from one to four terabytes, though plenty of smaller and larger options exist.
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There’s no hard-and-fast rule for which size is “best” — that’ll ultimately depend on your budget and what exactly you’re looking to stash. But in general, it’s better to overcompensate than underdo it. Nobody wants to be forced into buying a second drive because they filled the first one up too quickly. If you’re backing up a PC, a good rule of thumb is to buy an external SSD with twice as much space as your computer’s internal storage. This way, you can save at least one full backup while also having room for additional data. If you want to store a bunch of PlayStation or Xbox games with huge install sizes, you may need more space. If you just want to back up a small collection of files, you may be better off saving your cash and just getting a smaller USB flash drive instead, which aren’t quite the same as the external SSDs we tested for this guide.
Price
In general, you get a better price-per-gigabyte ratio the further you go up the capacity ladder. As of this writing, the 1TB Samsung T9 is priced at $135, or $0.14 per gigabyte (GB), while the 4TB version is available for $350, or $0.09 per GB. That technically makes the larger model a better “value,” but not everyone needs to pay that much more upfront.
SSDs in the same speed class tend to not vary too wildly in terms of performance, so part of our decision-making for this guide came down to which ones are often the cheapest. But prices can fluctuate over time; if you see that one of our top picks is priced way higher than a comparable honorable mention, feel free to get the latter. At this point in time, costs are broadly trending upwards.
Speed and USB interface
Just about all external SSDs are significantly faster than mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs), so you’ll save time waiting for files to transfer and games to load no matter what. Within the market, however, there are distinct performance tiers. These are defined in large part by the USB interface a drive supports. While all of the SSDs we considered for this guide can connect over USB-C, some USB-C connections can supply faster transfer speeds than others. Sorting through this can get real confusing real fast, so we’ll try to put it in simple terms.
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Essentially, you can divide today’s crop of portable SSDs into five segments. At the top are drives that utilize Thunderbolt 3 or 4 or the more recent USB4 spec, which have a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 40 gigabits per second (Gbps). Note that USB4 comes in two different variants, though, one of which is limited to 20 Gbps. Below that is USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which also tops out at 20 Gbps. (Getting confused yet?) Then you have USB 3.2 Gen 2, which maxes at 10 Gbps. Next is USB 3.2 Gen 1, which is capped at 5 Gbps. Lastly, we’ll bundle together SSDs that use older standards and aren’t worth considering here.
For everyday folks, a good USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive is the sweet spot between fast enough performance and a cheap enough price, so those make up our chief recommendations below. If you work in a creative field or don’t mind paying extra to shave seconds off your large file transfers, though, a “higher-tier” model would make sense. However, note that systems that utilize USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 aren’t super common — no Mac supports it, for one — and the interface is effectively being replaced by USB4.
In general, your chain is only as strong as its weakest link: If your computer only has USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, for example, you could still use a Thunderbolt SSD, but you won’t get beyond Gen 2 speeds. Make sure you know what you’re working with before you buy.
As a refresher, storage devices are broadly measured in terms of read and write speeds. The former refers to how long it takes to access something from the drive; the latter, how long it takes to save something to it. From there, you can break these metrics into sequential and random performance. Sequential speeds tend to matter more with portable SSDs, since most people use them to save or access long, constant streams of data such as a bunch of high-res photos. Random speeds would be important if you want to run video games off the drive, since that’d involve reading and writing smaller, more scattered files. Either way, how well an SSD can sustain its performance with extended use is also critical.
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Other performance factors and enclosures
A modern portable SSD’s speeds aren’t just about its USB interface, though. Its performance can also depend on how advanced its controller is, whether it has a native USB flash controller or a separate bridge chip to communicate with a host device, the kind and quality of NAND flash memory it uses, whether it has a DRAM cache or it’s DRAM-less, and more.
We’re simplifying things, but here are some quick tips: Drives with triple-level cell (TLC) memory aren’t as cheap as quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs, but they’re generally more reliable and they offer better write performance. Having a dedicated DRAM cache helps if you plan to hit your drive with more intense, sustained workloads, but may not be worth the extra cost for most people. Some models with native flash controllers may not perform as well as those with a bridging chip, depending on the SSD inside, but they typically draw less heat and are physically smaller. All of this is to say that an external SSD’s speeds aren’t quite as straightforward as what the manufacturer chooses to advertise on the box.
It’s also worth remembering that you can turn an internal SSD into a portable solution with a good enclosure. If you have a spare drive and don’t mind going the DIY route, this can be a cheaper and more flexible solution, though we’ve stuck to pre-built models for this guide for the sake of simplicity.
Size, durability, endurance and warranty
Most portable SSDs are impressively small and light, so they won’t be difficult to tuck in a bag (or even a pocket) and take on the go. We note below if any drive is bulkier than usual.
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Nothing we’re talking about matters if your drive can’t last in the long term. It’s hard to definitively say which external SSDs are the most reliable, but we scoured through user reviews and feedback while researching this guide to ensure none of our picks show a pattern of catastrophic errors. If there was too much smoke around a particular model, we steered clear. We ruled out certain drives from SanDisk and Western Digital, for instance, after reports from Ars Technica and The Vergenoted an issue that led to data loss (and lawsuits) in 2023.
That said, one of the big reasons you’d buy an SSD in general is its superior durability. Because it has no moving mechanical parts inside, an SSD has far fewer avenues to failure than an external hard drive. You still don’t want to be careless with them, but an accidental drop shouldn’t be the end of the world.
Some portable SSDs build on this inherent ruggedness with plastic or rubberized casings and more robust waterproofing. These aren’t necessary for everyone, but if you’re a frequent traveler or someone who often works outdoors, there are options for you.
Still, all drives can fail. If you have any sort of data you’d be distraught to lose, you should back it up regularly, then make a second backup, ideally with a cloud service. Along those protective lines, we also took note of the warranty policy for each drive we tested. Just about all of them are backed for either three or five years; of course, longer is better.
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Encryption and software
It’s not uncommon to store sensitive data on a portable SSD, so some models offer extra security features like hardware-based encryption — i.e., direct scrambling of data stored on the drive itself — built-in keypads and fingerprint readers to protect against unauthorized access if the drive is lost or stolen. While not top requirements, perks like these are certainly good to have. Some SSDs also come with companion software to further manage the drive. The best of those can be handy to have around, but we wouldn’t call them essential.
How we test external SSDs
Unfortunately, we did not have access to a device that can make full use of USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 and Thunderbolt 4/USB4 speeds interchangeably, so we had to split our testing across multiple devices, including an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and an Alienware gaming PC running Windows 11. Because of this, we primarily compared the portable SSDs within each “class” against one another. Before switching OSes, we reformatted each drive to each platform’s standard file system format: APFS for macOS and NTFS for Windows.
After researching which SSDs had enough positive feedback to be worth testing in the first place, we put 13 drives through a range of synthetic and “real-world” benchmark tests. On Windows, these included CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 10’s Data Drive Benchmark and 3DMark’s gaming-focused Storage Benchmark. On macOS, we used AmorphousDiskMark (effectively a Mac version of CrystalDiskMark), BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and ATTO Disk Benchmark.
We also timed how long it took for each drive to read and write a custom 70GB folder filled with roughly 11,500 different files, including photos, videos, music files, PDFs and other large and small data types scattered across numerous subfolders. We performed multiple passes for each test to avoid irregularities, and we kept track of each SSD’s heat levels over the course of the whole suite. Our process wasn’t a perfect science, but it gave us a general sense of how each drive compares to other models in its price and performance range.
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Recent updates
October 2024: We’ve taken a sweep through this guide to ensure all pricing and availability info is still correct. Our recommendations are unchanged.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios told VGC that it is working on a game that it calls an Afro-Gothic RPG. It’s inspired by games like Planescape: Torment.
The company also said it is looking for a funding partner for the game. Studio head Abubakar Salim, an actor in House of the Dragon who is also the creative head behind Tales of Kenzera: Zau, has a pitch deck for the game. That title was a game about grief, as Salim was grieving for his own father, and he infused a similar backstory into the character Zau. I played a part of the game and GamesBeat’s Mike Minotti played a lot more and we both enjoyed it.
It’s an isometric role-playing game, set in the Tales of Kenzera universe. But Salim told VGC that it’s darker, more visceral and gritty. It’s a single-player game, and the art will be stylized, not photorealistic.
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Surgent Studios has developed a prototype of Project Uso.
The original Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a Metroidvania game. It was released earlier this year as an EA Original title, and it received a Metacritic score of 76. Sadly, the company laid off a dozen developers and it now has put the team on hold (notice of redundancy) while it is seeking partners for the new game.
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Gut health isn’t the most glamorous of topics, but as many as 1 in 10 people regularly suffer from gastric symptoms like nausea, bloating, or cramping after eating. Figuring out exactly what’s causing stomach misery is not easy without invasive tests. But New Zealand-based startup Alimetry has developed a wearable device that can speed up diagnosis of functional gastric issues.
The noninvasive wearable consists of a flexible electrode array that’s applied to the patient’s stomach where it’s able to pick up electrical activity produced by their gut. Cloud-based analysis — including the use of artificial intelligence to help extract signal from digestive noise — turns the captured data into useful clinical biomarkers to support patient diagnosis.
The startup has just taken in a second tranche of Series A funding — $18 million, led by VC firm GD1 — on top of roughly $10 million it pulled in through an earlier Series A raise in 2021. It also raised seed funding back in 2019 the year it was founded.
Listen to your gut
“It’s much like the heart; the gut runs on a natural electricity, and that electricity causes it to move,” explains co-founder and CEO Dr. Greg O’Grady. “Those electrical rhythms and currents are really weak. They’re about 100 times weaker than the heart, which makes it really difficult to detect them.
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“People have known about them for a long time, but no one’s been able to get at it reliably for clinical use — unlike the heart, which is obviously very mature and a huge industry now — and so the secret to cracking it has been taking a really high-resolution approach. And it’s only really been recently, through advances in stretchable electronics, wearables, and in AI, that we have really cracked the code to make this possible.”
To use the device, a patient attends a clinic where Alimetry’s device is applied and a benchmark recording of their gut activity is taken. They remain in situ while they consume a light meal still wearing the device, allowing data to be captured as their stomach works. The patient also logs any symptoms they experience in Alimetry’s app during the test.
The entire session (from benchmark to active gut recording) lasts a few hours, after which the device is removed, and Alimetry’s analysis of the data is sent to their doctor as a downloadable report to support diagnosis.
O’Grady says the data it presents enables clinicians to determine which phenotypes (or descriptive categories) apply to their patient’s condition to help personalize treatment.
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“One of the main things we can do, for example, that’s unique to what we do, is we can diagnose whether a patient has a true gastric neuromuscular disorder or not, and completely noninvasively,” he tells TechCrunch, saying this is a major advance for diagnostics of functional gastric complaints.
The startup is using a “very high density” array of 64 electrodes to dial up its ability to capture stomach activity. The array itself is a single-use device but another component of Alimetry’s product (the reader) can be cleaned and reused after each patient use.
Alimetry’s business model entails selling the hardware to hospitals. Currently it does not have any software or licensing fees on top of that, but that may change as it continues to develop the product and add more features.
FDA approvals
Alimetry has been testing its “gastric alimetry” wearable with more than 30 hospitals in the U.S. market, the U.K., and New Zealand for several years. It’s also obtained four clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for the device to be used as a diagnostic aid; the company will be applying for more approvals as it continues to evolve the product.
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The startup thinks its technology could have additional uses to support diagnostics in pediatrics and for issues affecting the colon. But its first product is focused on stomach complaints. “It’s a brand-new class of technologies, and we’ve been developing it really fast,” O’Grady says, adding: “As we discover new features, we put them through the FDA as soon as possible, then make them into the product. And we’re definitely not done.”
He says the (recent) addition of AI-based data processing has greatly enhanced its ability to pluck useful signal from gastric noise.
“We had a huge number of algorithms that would filter and process and analyze that data and present it to the clinician, and it only became possible once we’d done that a few thousand times that we could use the AI,” he says. “And it’s dramatically impressive how superior [it is] — we thought our algorithms were already excellent, but it’s really been, you know, almost surprising how dramatically superior they are at eliminating noise through that training process. But it required a very large dataset [before we could train neural networks].”
The version of the product that incorporates AI will be submitted to the FDA for approval next quarter, per O’Grady.
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Building utility
While Alimetry’s wearable could be a boon for diagnosis of functional gastric disorders, like chronic nausea, O’Grady confirms that this noninvasive “body surface gastric mapping” approach is not going to be able to help with chasing down the cause of every type of gut health issue. But it could still help doctors narrow down the list of potential causes of stomach complaints.
“We don’t have all of the answers within that category,” he says. “For example, we don’t detect things like the microbiome and influences that can have and immune reactions and so on. And so there’s always going to be a range of patients who require other testing.”
“That’s the way it is with the gut,” he adds. “It’s a pretty complex system, but we know that there’s a very large number of patients within that functional group who we can significantly help.”
Asked whether Alimetry’s wearable technology could automate diagnosis of relevant health complaints in the future, O’Grady reckons it will be possible — although such a product would require a likely higher risk class of regulatory approval. For now, the device sits firmly in the clinician support category with human doctors in the loop.
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The startup’s Series A2 funding will be used for the next stage of commercialization as it seeks to build on a controlled market release it started in 2022 by getting more hospitals regularly using its kit to support diagnosis of neuromuscular gut disorders, sensory disorders, and gut-brain disorders.
“We’re opening ourselves up to more hospitals,” he says, stressing that expanding access will be more gradual, rather than a big bang. “We work closely with the hospitals to make sure that the reimbursement billing is successful, and that requires quite a bit of effort at the moment. And once those barriers start to come down, then we will be spreading out — but we’ve got a reimbursement code that came through in July, a CPT III code, that’s specific to this device, and that’s going well.”
The U.S. market will remain the company’s main focus as it continues its commercialization journey, per O’Grady. Thus far, Alimetry has about 4,000 tests recorded — but the medtech will be hoping to build on that by reaching many more patients in the coming years.
Commenting on the device in a supporting statement, Dr. Bu’ Hayee, a professor of gastroenterology at King’s College London, said the wearable is “transforming how we approach patients with various gastric disorders,” adding: “It’s difficult not to get over-excited about this.”
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Other investors in Alimetry’s A2 funding round are AGA Ventures (the fund of the American Gastroenterological Association), Icehouse Ventures, and Olympus Innovation Ventures, along with follow-on from existing investors.
OpenAI plans to launch Orion, its next frontier model, by December, The Verge has learned.
Unlike the release of OpenAI’s last two models, GPT-4o and o1, Orion won’t initially be released widely through ChatGPT. Instead, OpenAI is planning to grant access first to companies it works closely with in order for them to build their own products and features, according to a source familiar with the plan.
Another source tells The Verge that engineers inside Microsoft — OpenAI’s main partner for deploying AI models — are preparing to host Orion on Azure as early as November. While Orion is seen inside OpenAI as the successor to GPT-4, it’s unclear if the company will call it GPT-5 externally. As always, the release plan is subject to change and could slip. OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment for this story.
Orion has been teased by an OpenAI executive as potentially up to 100 times more powerful than GPT-4; it’s separate from the o1 reasoning model OpenAI released in September. The company’s goal is to combine its LLMs over time to create an even more capable model that could eventually be called artificial general intelligence, or AGI.
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It was previously reported that OpenAI was using o1, code named Strawberry, to provide synthetic data to train Orion. In September, OpenAI researchers threw a happy hour to celebrate finishing training the new model, a source familiar with the matter tells The Verge.
That timing lines up with a cryptic post on X by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in which he said he was “excited for the winter constellations to rise soon.” If you ask ChatGPT o1-preview what Altman’s post is hiding, it will tell you that he’s hinting at the word Orion, which is the winter constellation that’s most visible in the night sky from November to February (but it also hallucinates that you can rearrange the letters to spell “ORION”).
Even ChatGPT thinks Sam Altman is teasing Orion.Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge
The release of this next model comes at a crucial time for OpenAI, which just closed a historic $6.6 billion funding round that requires the company to restructure itself as a for-profit entity. The company is also experiencing significant staff turnover: CTO Mira Murati just announced her departure along with Bob McGrew, the company’s chief research officer, and Barret Zoph, VP of post training.
If Batman: Arkham Shadow is tempting you to finally pick up a Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S, or you already own one of Meta’s best VR headsets, then this might sweeten the deal. Meta has revealed the dates of the 52 free NBA and WNBA matches it’s hosting in Horizon Worlds for the 2024-2025 season.
To catch you up to speed, Meta allows its headset owners (in supported regions) to jump into the NBA Arena in Horizon Worlds to virtually sit courtside during live matches. If you miss the game, you can also tune into immersive highlights for 24 hours after the game has ended. Additionally, you can play mini-games and hang out with friends like you would in other Horizon Worlds.
If you subscribe to NBA League Pass, you can use Xtadium to watch every live 2D game in mixed reality – it’s not quite as immersive, but it’s still a lot of fun for sports fans, especially if you’re already paying for the content.
Here’s the full list of free matches you can watch:
October 25 – Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 5pm PT
October 26 – Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Chicago Bulls – 5pm PT
October 28 – Indiana Pacers vs. Orlando Magic – 4pm PT
November 2 – Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets – 5pm PT
November 4 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons – 4:30pm PT
November 7 – Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs – 7pm PT
November 12 – Phoenix Suns vs. Utah Jazz – 6pm PT
November 15 – Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers – 4pm PT
November 19 – Denver Nuggets vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 5pm PT
November 22 – Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wizards – 4pm PT
November 24 – LA Clippers vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 3pm PT
November 26 – Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 5pm PT
November 29 – Orlando Magic vs. Brooklyn Nets – 4:30pm PT
December 1 – Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 3pm PT
December 3 – Philadelphia 76ers vs. Charlotte Hornets – 4pm PT
December 5 – Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 5pm PT
December 8 – Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors – 3:30pm PT
December 20 – Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat – 5pm PT
December 26 – Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic – 4pm PT
December 27 – Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns – 6pm PT
December 28 – Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls – 6pm PT
December 29 – Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics – 3pm PT
January 3, 2025 – San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets – 6pm PT
January 4, 2025 – New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls – 5pm PT
January 6, 2025 – Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 5pm PT
January 10, 2025 – Golden State Warriors vs. Indiana Pacers – 4pm PT
January 18, 2025 – Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 6pm PT
January 19, 2025 – Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 4pm PT
January 24, 2025 – Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte Hornets – 4pm PT
January 27, 2025 – Orlando Magic vs. Miami Heat – 4:30pm PT
February 2, 2025 – LA Clippers vs. Toronto Raptors – 12:30pm PT
February 3, 2025 – Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 5pm PT
February 8, 2025 – Indiana Pacers vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 5pm PT
February 10, 2025 – Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 4pm PT
February 22, 2025 – Phoenix Suns vs. Chicago Bulls – 4:30pm PT
February 24, 2025 – Denver Nuggets vs. Indiana Pacers – 4pm PT
March 3, 2025 – Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 5pm PT
March 10, 2025 – Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs – 5:30pm PT
March 14, 2025 – LA Clippers vs. Atlanta Hawks – 4:30pm PT
March 16, 2025 – Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 3pm PT
March 20, 2025 – New York Knicks vs. Charlotte Hornets – 4pm PT
March 22, 2025 – Golden State Warriors vs. Atlanta Hawks – 4pm PT
March 23, 2025 – Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets – 3pm PT
March 24, 2025 – Dallas Mavericks vs. Brooklyn Nets – 4:30pm PT
March 27, 2025 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls – 4pm PT
March 28, 2025 – New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 5pm PT
March 29, 2025 – Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 4:30pm PT
March 31, 2025 – LA Clippers vs. Orlando Magic – 4pm PT
April 5, 2025 – New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks – 12pm PT
April 6, 2025 – Indiana Pacers vs. Denver Nuggets – 5pm PT
April 11, 2025 – LA Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings – 7pm PT
April 13, 2025 – LA Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 12:30pm PT
Don’t dismiss Horizon Worlds
Horizon Worlds is one of those apps that I’ll be the first to admit is easy to dismiss. A disappointing launch and sporadic rollout meant it never quite hit its stride in many people’s eyes.
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That’s definitely starting to change. The Worlds it offers are steadily becoming a lot more impressive, and with these free sports games and free immersive concerts being hosted regularly, it’s become one of those VR apps which, if you aren’t using regularly, you’re missing out on a big chunk of what your Meta Quest headset has to offer.
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“While both public and private sectors face cyber security challenges, the public sector tends to be more exposed to the threats in an ever-evolving landscape,” consultancy major KPMG said in a recent report. A Palo Alto study last year said that 67 per cent of Indian government and critical public sector installations had a 50 per cent increase in cyber attacks
It is no exaggeration. From the country’s premier medical institution—the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) came under not one, but two malware attacks over the course of one year—to premier banks losing money, India, and particularly its public sector, remain vulnerable to cyber crimes in what is one of the top five cyber attacked countries in the world.
“India’s public sector is the Achilles’ heel of our national cyber security,” said Trishneet Arora, founder and CEO of the cyber security company TAC Securities. “The absence of an actionable risk management system and outdated infrastructure leave critical systems vulnerable to cyber threats.”
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Banks, including public sector banks, are a particularly high-value target. According to data, there were 248 successful breaches of Indian banks by cyber attackers in the four year period between 2018 and 2022, primarily card information leakage and theft. However, in a serious incident in November last year, UCO Bank had reported erroneous crediting of more than 800 crore rupees via IMPS. The bank later managed to recover nearly 80 per cent of the amount through actions like freezing accounts.
After a cyber security and information technology examination, or CSITE, identified vulnerabilities in certain Indian banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had in March this year cautioned banks to adopt cyber security measures. RBI’s deputy governor T. Rabi Sankar, speaking at a banking conference in February, had called on banks to upgrade their encryption systems to counter artificial intelligence (AI)-spawned attacks.
RBI has also instituted a dedicated Cyber Security Framework for Scheduled Commercial Banks.
For India’s public sector undertakings (PSU), the problems stem from “legacy systems, staff training, bureaucratic complexities, relying on third parties, difficulties in continuous monitoring and real-time threat detection (and) cultural resistance to change, scarcity of specialised cyber security personnel…(all) leaving these institutions vulnerable to evolving cyber risks,” according to Ruchin Kumar, vice president (South Asia) of Futurex, a US-based cyber security company.
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So what can be done? Modernising IT infra and complying to cyber security regulations would be a no-brainer, but many PSUs still don’t allocate enough budget, or specialised personnel, for this. “Furthermore, strengthening third-party and supply chain security, promoting inter-agency collab and enhancing threat detection capabilities are vital components of this approach,” added Ruchin Kumar. With cyber threats always evolving, it is imperative that PSUs invest in continuous monitoring tools and stay updated. They also need to enhance security by following government updates, including encryption and tokenisation to protect sensitive data, as well as deploying hardware security modules (HSMs) to manage and protect cryptographic keys.
The situation is even more critical for public sector banks, as they deal in millions of financial transactions daily. “Cyber criminals obtain data from social networks and are also learning new technologies to make cyber attacks,” pointed out Rajendra K. Sinha, professor and chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Banking, JAGSoM. “Further, they use methods that are not easily detected by endpoint protection code.”
So what can the hapless ordinary citizen who is a bank customer do? Sinha has some tips in addition to training and awareness of bank staff and customers. “Precautionary measures include changing passwords regularly with strong password, removing personal information from social media, and not opening emails from an unknown source.”
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