Israel Active

A senior Palestinian Arab official has donated tens of thousands of shekels to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center after he himself underwent cancer treatment at the Israeli hospital. The money will fund a room for children, pre-and-post chemo and radiotherapy treatment.

Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center have made a breakthrough in non-invasive scanning. Using high-power MRI imaging they illuminate nuclei of Phosphorus atoms in body tissues.  It reveals tissue pH (acidity) levels that can indicate the early formation of tumors.

Medical history was made at Emek Medical Center in Afula when semi-liquid live human bone tissue grown in a lab from a 40-year-old patient’s own fat cells was transplanted into the patient’s arm by injection. The early-stage trial used technology by Israel’s Bonus Bio

Dr Orly Elpeleg of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center has identified the genetic mutation responsible for a rare and devastating pediatric neurological disease that has baffled doctors for years. Discovery of the DNA flaw can help early diagnosis and treatment development.

Israel’s BiPS Health is developing a medical bracelet that constantly monitors blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiration rate and heart rate. The bracelet incorporates two short inflatable finger cuffs with sensors. It will benefit both nurses and patients.

Israel-founded biotech Quark has announced success in a Phase II trial of its treatment for preventing kidney damage during open-heart surgery. 300,000 such operations are performed annually in the US alone. Quark is now in Phase III trials to use the treatment in kidney transplants.

I reported previously on the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Brain Sciences Center.  Construction is now complete and the $58 million building, scheduled to open in October. Another $92 million has been allocated for future research projects.

Thanks to United Hatzalah, Israel gap year students can now participate in Israel’s first officially recognized NREMT (national registry for emergency medical technicians) program - the most recognized accreditation for medical first responders in the United States.

Israeli border police medics have been testing Israeli-made Woundclot bandages that clot the blood fast (even on stomach and artery wounds) and then dissolve in a week. Also, Dr Amir Bakar (co-founder of Israeli startup Nurami) explained his post-brain-surgery patches on ILTV.

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have uncovered a molecule called Agrin, that appears to control the cardiac repair process. It was discovered in the surrounding supportive tissue of the heart known as the extracellular matrix, or ECM. In lab tests, Agrin healed scar tissue in a month.