Israel Active

Israel’s Enzymit is developing enzymes to enable some life-changing chemical reactions (see videos). First, though, it has synthesized hyaluronic acid - a natural biopolymer used to heal eyes, wounds, inflammation, and more. This avoids the use of animal tissue or costly alternate processes.

Israeli biotech MemoryPlus has developed a peptide to block the interaction of proteins PTEN & PSD-95, that causes memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients. The disease makes excessive PTEN, which attacks PSD-95, weakening the brain’s synapses. The peptide also lowers PTEN levels.

Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have found that Erbitux - a therapy for colon and neck / head cancer - can also cure lung cancer in non-smokers with a mutated EGFR gene. They have also identified a biomarker to identify those patients.

Personally tailored treatments for cancer patients are well known. Now Tel Aviv University researchers propose a similar approach to fighting infections. Two immune markers in the blood indicate which medication and dosage can best fight the pathogen and repair the damage.

Israel’s Avertto won the 2023 Hebrew University Asper Prize. Most stroke patients do not reach the emergency room on time. Avertto’s system monitors blood flow to the brain, detects any changes and provides real-time alerts to enable timely treatment, thereby preventing strokes.

The Israeli nonprofit Start-Up Nation Central has announced a new initiative, Hospital2Hospital, to partner South Florida’s Baptist Health Innovations and Israel’s Sheba Medical Center’s ARC Innovation. Israeli startups will compete for a $75,000 grant to help launch in the US.

This brief video summarizes the successes of Israel’s leading hospital – Sheba Medical Center. It emphasizes Sheba’s ethos of innovation, compassion, and a commitment to a global well-being.  Advancing healthcare not only to Israelis, but to the citizens of the world.

Healthcare organization Ballad Health, serving around a million people in 29 US counties, is adopting the AI-powered drug safety platform from Israel’s MedAware (see previously). The system identifies potential medication-related errors.

Bar-Ilan University graduate Aviv Mesika has developed the LacriScan diagnosis test which uses a patient’s tears to diagnose Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in their pre-symptom stages. The new test is more sensitive than previous ones and checks for multiple brain chemical markers of the two diseases.

Israel’s Actic Medical has developed the Hybrid+ insole. It has sensors that can measure the pressure, temperature, and motion of the foot to inform the wearer of impending foot ulcers. The patient then uses a special screwdriver to change the insole’s shape to redistribute the pressure.