Israel Active

Israel’s Discure Technologies is developing an implantable bioelectronic device designed to treat and reverse degenerative disc disease (DDD). The Discure System restores fluids and nutrients to the affected discs. DDD accounts for 35% of all lower back pain, at a cost of $100 billion in the US alone.

Tel Aviv University researchers ran an international contest to develop an algorithm to detect “Freeze of Gait” (FOG) in Parkinson’s sufferers, using data from 100 patients. The prize of $100,000 attracted nearly 25,000 solutions from AI researchers in 83 countries.

Israel’s Bettear provides Auracast-based assistive listening solutions to enhance sound experience. Its B-CASTER streamer integrates with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Other products support tour guides, teachers, entertainers, and museums.

Current and ex-students from Israel’s Technion Institute have developed CommU - a real-time language translation platform that allows doctors to converse with patients in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, and most other European languages.

An Israeli clinical trial shows that diabetics who drink a beverage with the Mankai cultivated aquatic plant after meals can reduce blood sugar levels by 20%. It confirms the results of initial tests that Israel’s Ben Gurion University scientists conducted five years ago (see previously).

Israel’s TruLeaf Medical has received approval from the Helsinki Committee to begin human trials of its minimally invasive Mitral Valve Replacement procedure. The Israel Innovation Authority awarded TruLeaf an additional NIS 1.5 million, to make a total of NIS 11.5 million.

Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a sonodynamic cancer therapy - ultrasound that targets sensitive nanoparticles accumulated in the cancerous tissue to treat deep-seated tumors. It destroys tumors without damage to healthy cells.

Surgeons at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya are the first in Israel to use a robot to completely remove a patient’s pancreas and other organs. The 78-year-old patient had multiple cystic (non-malignant) tumors. After a few days, he was discharged home.

Israel’s AIDOC (see previously) has announced seven new CE-approved AI solutions for European healthcare. They help analyze blocked blood vessels; a tear in the aorta; spinal fracture; a malplaced tube for opening the airway in the throat, and three cardiovascular and neurological conditions.

A study published in Clinical Lung Cancer finds that 93% of oncologists adjust their treatment recommendations with the help of PROphetNSCLC, a test developed by Israel’s OncoHost (see previously).