Florida lab owner guilty in $52M genetic testing fraud; AI spots major heart disease from single ultrasound; ‘trojan horse’ drugs – Morning Medical Update

Lab owner pleads guilty in $52M genetic testing fraud scheme

A Florida laboratory owner has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $52 million Medicare fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary genetic tests, federal prosecutors said. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Sean Alterman, 38, owned and operated two laboratories, Live Beyond Medical MGMT, LLC, and Dynix Diagnostics LLC, through which he purchased doctors’ orders through illegal kickbacks and used deceptive telemarketing and “doctor chasing” tactics — that is, faxing physicians false and misleading requests for prescriptions in order to trick them into signing off on tests their patients did not need.

Prosecutors said Alterman’s labs billed approximately $52 million to Medicare, $36 million of which was paid on the false claims. Alterman personally netted roughly $5.5 million through two shell companies — Shivv LLC and Shank LLC. He faces up to 15 years in prison and agreed to forfeit his Lake Worth, Florida estate and 2022 Rolls Royce Ghost, both of which were purchased with fraud proceeds.

AI spots major heart disease from a single ultrasound view

An artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by AISAP was able to accurately detect major heart disease using just one echocardiography view, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Digital Health. In a retrospective analysis of more than 120,000 echocardiograms, the AI achieved high diagnostic accuracy for conditions including reduced ejection fraction and right ventricular dysfunction, even when images were captured by non-cardiologists using handheld devices. Researchers said the findings suggest AI-assisted, single-view ultrasound could expand access to earlier cardiac screening and specialist-level triage, particularly in frontline, rural and resource-limited care settings.

‘Trojan horse’ drug targets MRSA

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson report progress on a novel antimicrobial approach that uses a copper-based “Trojan horse” strategy to kill drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA. In lab studies published in mSphere, the experimental compound disguises itself as iron — nutrient bacteria actively seek — but instead delivers a toxic dose of copper once taken up, killing bacteria even within protective biofilms. The findings suggest a potential new tool against antibiotic-resistant infections, though researchers emphasized that further development and clinical testing are needed before the approach could be used in patients.