Israel Active

Israel’s National Plan on Aging includes increased budgets for R&D for healthy longevity; health education and increased awareness about aging-related diseases; better public systems for early detection and prevention of aging-related diseases. See also report “Longevity in Israel”.

Many Mexicans lose their lives each year because emergency calls from mobile phones do not accurately pinpoint the caller’s location. Israel’s Carbyne, is to provide Google’s ELS (Emergency Location Service) in real time. For previous newsletter articles on Carbyne,..

Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that fat cells close to melanoma cells cause them to become aggressive and form secondary cancers. Removing the fat cells, calms down the melanoma cells and they stop migrating to the organs. The study also suggests new cancer treatments.

Some 2 million people die of Tuberculosis (TB) every year. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have developed an algorithm that can predict those whose immune system response to TB infection would put them at risk. These people can then be treated while the level of TB bacteria is low.

Israeli emergency organization Magen David Adom has used its “First 7 Minutes” program to train over 3,000 people in 15 countries to respond to mass casualty events. These include Canada, Australia, South America, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Greece and now in the United States.

The Nachliel farm in Samaria has rehabilitated hundreds of at-risk boys for over 20 years. They cultivate the land, ride horses, swim and catch fish. They learn to navigate, take care of themselves in difficult conditions and most importantly how to look after one another.

Israel’s Well-Beat has developed an Artificial Intelligent system that improves the effectiveness of chronic treatment. It provides healthcare professionals with the tools to change their patients’ lifestyles plus communication and motivation techniques to help patients comply with the treatment.

I reported previously on Israel’s Viz.ai and its AI brain scan analysis technology. Viz.ai’s new partner is medical device giant Medtronic, who will distribute Viz.ai’s technology in the U.S.

Many elderly Israelis wear Virtual Reality (VR) goggles, not only to have fun, but also to maintain health. Israeli startup VRHealth’s VR therapy platform provides real-time data analytics and warn of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia. It can also jog memory, reduce stress and counter loneliness.

An international research team led by the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology has developed innovative, Artificial Intelligence-based software to detect obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which people stop breathing during their sleep. The software can be implanted on a smart watch or bracelet.