Israel Active

Israel’s AEYE Health (see previously) is trialing its AI-based retinal camera on 500 patients at UMass (University of Massachusetts Amhurst) medical school. The camera detects retinopathy (eye disease) and is operated by a family doctor or nurse, without the need for an eye specialist.

Israel’s Grin is literally changing the face of dental visits.  Why waste time with a face-to-face appointment with your dentist or orthodontist when they just want to see your teeth. Sign up; send off for the Grin Scope; download the Grin App; scan your teeth; and schedule a virtual meeting with your dentist.

AION Labs, the Israeli innovation lab for startups (see previously), has helped launch DenovAI – a startup that will harness artificial intelligence and biophysics to build a platform for computer-designed antibodies from the start, geared to the development of new treatments.

Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that the secreted protein LCN2 facilitates the formation of aggressive brain metastases (secondary cancers). In lab tests, reducing LCN2 in the blood halts the advance of the inflammatory process that causes tumors in the brain.

Israel’s SpotitEarly (see previously) has just reported a 93% success rate in its study using a combination of dogs, sensors, and AI software to detect and identify breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancer. And another Israeli startup Early Labs reported similar results using trained rats to detect lung cancer.

My highlight at the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem last week was 10-year-old Itai, saved thanks to Surgical Theater’s Augmented Reality system. Itai ran on stage to greet Surgical Theater’s CEO, Alon Zuckerman – Itai’s father.  Please watch this.

The Israel Cancer Association has used Artificial Intelligence in a new campaign to highlight the importance of early cancer diagnosis. Videos show people asking AI to show them as a grandparent, or at their child’s wedding, but the future will only become reality if the person avoids cancer.

Israel’s Beyeonics (see previously) is now rolling out its 3D Byeonics One Augmented Reality (AR) surgical headset across Europe. It has already been used for 2,000 surgeries in the US including recent endothelial keratoplasty, to remove abnormal matter from the cornea.

Israeli medics treated around 470 injured victims of the Turkish earthquakes at their field hospital outside the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş. They included 150 children and several Syrian refugees. The teams also performed ten surgical and orthopedic operations.

Israel’s Rambam Medical Center has been testing a microclimate suit that evaporates fluids to help heart failure patients (see previously). The manufacturer - Israel’s AquaPass Medical - states that patients no longer need daily diuretics or periodic six-hour infusions.