Israel Active

Israel’s FeelBetter (see previously) has validated its AI algorithm, using Israeli patient records, to predict and reduce the risk of multiple medicines causing side effects. FeelBetter has just partnered New Jersey’s Atlantic Health Systems with its half a million patients.

Researchers from Israel’s Ben Gurion and Canada’s British Columbia universities have discovered the pathway for cells to coordinate activity such as tissue repair.  3 to 8 local cells send Calcium ion signals to “hot-spots” inside lymph nodes, which then trigger actions and send signals back.

Magen David Adom is partnering with the Israel Midwives Organization to help women deliver their babies safely even when war prevents immediate transport to hospital. Midwives are matched to expectant mothers. Equipment is funded by the Jewish Federations of North America.

Israel’s Ministry of Health has approved the ART100 Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Cardiopulmonary Bypass system from Israel’s Inspira Technologies (see previously). The ART100 helps increase the level of oxygen in patients’ blood.

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have discovered why natural killer (NK) cells in the immune system lose their ability to fight cancer. They introduced nanoparticles that silenced the enzyme DGK alpha and the transcription factor Egr2, returning the NK cells to normal function.

Israel’s Blink Energy has developed a tiny device, fitted to one eyelid, that monitors and analyzes blink patterns to detect or diagnose health conditions. E.g., to warn of an imminent epileptic seizure; or if about to fall asleep at the wheel; or to diagnose Parkinson’s disease or sleep disorders.

All fat is not created equal. Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have devised a non-surgical miRNA biomarker biopsy test for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation, which is derived from a specific type of body fat that poses a high cardio-metabolic risk in obese individuals.

Israel’s RespirAI uses artificial intelligence and smartwatch sensors to monitor chronic patients e.g., with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). RespirAI compares oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) and EKG data with the wearer’s physical movement to predict imminent deterioration.

Researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have created a derivative of the long pepper plant that disrupts the chemical communication between bacteria. The PL-18 derivative of Piperlongumine reduces bacterial virulence by disrupting the biofilm that surrounds bacteria.

I don’t know why an 8-year-old child swallowed a flashlight part - but he didn’t die. Doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital removed the object, which had created an electrical circuit in the child’s esophagus. In another hour, it could have caused irreversible damage.