Israel Active

Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat (Safed) will be the first Israeli hospital to use drones. They will transport medical equipment, medicines, and blood and Corona tests, to and from the hospital. Initially, they will carry 5kg loads up to 10km, saving time and bypassing road blockages.

Israel’s Kamada (reported previously) has signed a deal to supply Israel’s Health ministry with its plasma-based hyperimmune immunoglobulin (IgG) product. The product treats COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and is currently in Phase 1 & 2 trials in Israel.  

The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is beginning Phase 1 human trials. Head of IIBR, Professor Shapira confirmed this at the recent Christian Media zoom Summit attended by this newsletter editor, who asked a question at 1:38:47.

Israeli biotech Nasus has developed the Taffix anti-viral nasal spray. It creates a thin gel over the nasal mucosa, blocking viruses for 4-5 hours. In recent tests, Taffix reduced Covid-19 infections from 10% down to 2.4%. Taffix is marketed in Europe and available at SuperPharm in Israel.

During a C-section at Israel’s Sourasky (Ichilov) hospital, doctors bypassed a tumor that was blocking the baby’s airways. Only then could they cut his umbilical cord to avoid oxygen starvation. The doctors practiced the complex operation using a 3D-printed model of the baby’s neck.

The Israel Innovation Authority is to invest up to about $30 million in bio-convergence technologies and companies, the next growth engine for the Israeli economy. Bio-convergence is the overlap of biology, physics, computer science, math, engineering, materials science and nanotechnology.

Surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital repaired several vertebral fractures in the spine of an Israeli who stayed awake throughout the operation. Due to the 74-year-old patient’s heart and lung issues, only local anesthesia was used - a procedure only Hadassah surgeons perform.

Israel’s i-BrainTech uses neuroscience to train the brains of soccer players off the field. With a unique helmet, players visualize their tactics while an avatar (image of the player) performs the actions on a screen. A 30% improvement in 2 months is claimed.  It is also used in stroke rehabilitation.  

Israel’s Diagnostic Robotics (reported previously) is bringing its Artificial Intelligence-powered patient triage and prediction platform to the Brown University-Lifespan Center for Digital Health in Providence, Rhode Island.

The US National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has chosen Israel’s Itamar Medical.(reported previously) as the winner of its 2020 SleepTech Award, which recognizes the year’s most innovative achievement in sleep technology. Itamar’s WatchPAT ONE diagnoses sleep apnea.