Israel Active

Doctors at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center used MRI-guided ultrasound from Israel’s Insightec to cure a 60-year-old Palestinian Arab from Bethlehem from severe essential tremor.  He is now able to return to work at his restaurant.

The CT-scan version of the robotic needle from Israel’s XACT has completed successful trials. XACT has signed an agreement with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop further versions. It has also raised another $5 million of funds.

Non-cataract patients with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) who cannot wait for the Nano-Retina implant,  can already be fitted with the Israel-developed Implantable Miniature Telescope from VisionCare.  Trials are also starting shortly for post-cataract patients.

Israel’s Inomize has teamed up with Israel’s Nano-Retina to help build the tiny integrated circuits (ASICs) for Nano-Retina’s Bio-Retina. The implant is designed to restore sight to those suffering from retinal degenerative diseases such as AMD.

Tel Aviv University Professor Illana Gozes has made yet another discovery about the gene fragment NAP and its potential to treat Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. NAP stops abnormal Tau proteins from tangling the microtubules that maintain the brain’s nerve cells.

I reported previously (Dec 2013) that VB-111 from Israel’s Vascular Biogenics (VBL Therapeutics) had been fast-tracked by the US FDA for the treatment of GBM - aggressive brain cancer.  Meanwhile, VBL has announced that VB-111’s Phase 2 trial for thyroid cancer was successful.

Dr. Michal Kaufmann of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital performed cochlear implant surgery on 16 Palestinian Arab deaf and mute children to allow them to hear for the first time in their lives.  She performed six of the operations in just one month.

I reported previously (May 2015) on the pain measurement device developed by Israel’s Medasense Biometrics.  The innovative PMD200 has now received CE approval, allowing physicians to assess and manage pain for patients who cannot communicate.

For the first time in Israel, doctors at Beersheba’s Soroka-University Medical Center performed a brain catheterization on a patient suffering from severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears).  The condition was due to an aneurysm of veins in the brain, causing blood flow to press on air cells in the ear.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have discovered that dyslexics have a shorter implicit memory than non-dyslexics. On hearing a sound repeated sometime later, dyslexics failed to recognize it.  The findings pave the way to early diagnosis and intervention.