Tech

Inexplicably volatile Theranos results falsely warned pregnant woman of miscarriage

Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes goes through security after arriving for court at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building September 17, 2021 in San Jose, California. Holmes is facing charges of conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly engaging in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors with the Theranos blood testing lab services.

Enlarge / Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes goes through security after arriving for court at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building September 17, 2021 in San Jose, California. Holmes is facing charges of conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly engaging in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors with the Theranos blood testing lab services. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Jurors in the Elizabeth Holmes trial yesterday heard emotional testimony from Brittany Gould, the first patient called as a witness, who said that one of Theranos’ tests told her in 2014 that she was miscarrying. Gould, who had already been through three miscarriages at the time, heard the news from her nurse practitioner, Audra Zachman.

“She told me your numbers are falling, unfortunately, and that I was miscarrying,” Gould said.

Gould had initially thought she was on her way to a successful pregnancy. Her first test, performed by Sonora Quest on September 30, 2014, reported that a key pregnancy hormone, hCG, was at 1,005, which was suggestive of pregnancy.

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments