European grant for mental health startup
Israel’s Taliaz (reported previously) has just received a $2.7 million grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. It will help Taliaz expand its clinical research using its PREDICTIX products to help psychiatrists treat and manage patient depression in EU countries.
Preventing suicide
Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed an innovative technology for early detection of suicidal tendencies based on automatic text analysis of social network content. They check for negative words and other factors. Newsletter readers should be safe!
Rehabilitate during the pandemic
Israel’s WizeCare (reported previously) has become popular as a physical therapy tool during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 23,000 patients in Israel and the United States have used WizeCare’s product in their recovery. It improves adherence to treatment regimes by around 80%.
Inflammatory eye diseases
Israel’s Tarsius reported positive results in a study of its TRS01 treatment of Active Anterior Non-Infectious Uveitis – an inflammatory eye disease. It shows promise for saving the eyesight of patients with uveitic glaucoma, which has no current approved treatment.
First human tests of Israeli Covid-19 vaccine
On Nov 1, two Israelis received the first doses of Israel’s coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the Israel Institute of Biological Research. The volunteers were inoculated at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Hadassah’s Jerusalem Ein Kerem Medical Center.
Breath test detects asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers
Israel’s Flanimus has developed a breath test that can detect Covid-19 infected individuals, even if they never display symptoms. 20,000 nano antennas absorb material from the mouth. These are then scanned with a terahertz spectrometer to identify Covid-19’s signature.
The next generation of antibiotics
Israel’s Omnix Medical (reported previously( is developing novel antibiotic agents for the treatment of hospital-acquired infections involving resistant bacteria. Omnix has successfully completed lab testing and has now raised funding to allow it to commence human clinical trials.
How the brain learns movement
Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have discovered which of the brain’s neurons are involved in learning complex movements of the body. These neurons remember success or failure and adjust their initial state for the next trial, so that the body’s movement can adapt.
Monitoring high blood pressure in the voice
Israel’s Vocalis (reported previously) has partnered with the Mayo Clinic to detect and monitor pulmonary hypertension (PH) from analyzing a person’s voice. Initially, they will identify PH vocal biomarkers indicating an increase in blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs.
New microcatheter saves patient
Doctors at Israel’s Sheba Neuro-Interventional & Stroke Center performed a unique procedure using the BENDIT steerable microcatheter. They saved a 74-year-old Israeli who had a giant brain aneurysm that was compressing his brainstem and had a high risk of brain hemorrhage.