Israel Active

I reported previously on Israeli start-up Healthy.io that allows patients to test their urine at home, using a smartphone camera. Patients with kidney disease (for example) can closely monitor their condition. Siemens Healthineers is now partnering Healthy.io to provide testing kits.

I reported previously that Israel Technion researchers have proved that positive emotions have the ability to shrink tumors. Here is another couple of articles about their research.

This video highlights seven ways that Israelis exercise to stay fit and healthy.

I wrote previously about a seriously ill baby boy, born to Syrian refugees in Cyprus being flown to Israel for emergency heart surgery. He is now making a good and steady recovery in Israel’s Sheba Hospital after a second heart operation.

A $10 million cutting-edge heart center has been dedicated at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. The center more than doubles the department’s capacity to treat heart patients with 32 extra cardiac beds, 11 post-catherization beds and 11 intensive care private rooms.

I reported previously on the recovery from muscle injury of hip-replacement patients treated with PLX-PAD stem cells from Israel’s Pluristem. Follow-up data has now confirmed the results and expanded Phase III trials are being supported by the European Horizon 2020 program.

Israeli-US startup TrialJectory helps match (initially) melanoma patients with clinical trials appropriate to their condition.  The patient provides details of themselves and their cancer to TrialJectory. An algorithm and AI (Artificial Intelligence) then select trials likely to be effective.

Israel has moved up from 7th to 6th in the world ranking for its achievement of having an average life-expectancy of 82.5 whilst spending only 7.9% of its GDP on Health.  In comparison, the USA has an average life-expectancy of 79 but spends 16.8% of GDP on Health.

Israel’s Beck Medical has developed NozNoz – a silicon nasal insert that curbs the appetite by blocking the senses of smell and taste. The effect is to prevent stimulating the body’s olfactory bulb that controls hunger and food preferences. NozNoz is comparable to contact lenses for the nose.

Israeli startup ICI Vision has developed Orama - digital glasses to help the visually impaired to see more clearly. Orama uses artificial intelligence (AI), eye-tracking software, a built-in 3D camera and more, to map and project images onto an individual’s remaining healthy retina cells.