Israel Active

Graduates from Israel’s Technion Institute have developed an ingenious solution for the rapid production of ventilators. With its 40 partners in the AmboVent project they have designed a product called AmboVent-1690-108 which can be mass-produced using the readily available “open” published design.

Students from Haifa’s Hebrew Reali school, mentored by engineers from Israel’s Technion, have developed COROBOT - a robot to deliver equipment, medicine and food to coronavirus patients. It can help protect hospital medical staff from COVID-19. A radio control device steers the robot.

On Sunday 5th Apr Israel set a new all-time record for the production of renewable energy. The peak was set at 1610 MW, accounting for 27% of the nation’s total production.

Three Hebrew University of Jerusalem professors have been awarded European Research Council Advanced Grants. They include 3.2 million Euros to Prof Yinon Ben-Neriah for a leukemia treatment and 1.6 million Euros to Math Prof Alex Lubotzky (his 3rd ERC grant).

Israel’s AnyVision is deploying thermal cameras at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center. The cameras can measure body temperature from a distance and can determine whether a high temperature is caused by disease.

Professor Noam Sobel of Israel’s Weizmann Institute has built smelltracker.org to help diagnose coronavirus patients. Thousands have registered on the site and report their ability to smell pungent household products.  Losing the sense of smell is a symptom of coronavirus.

Remote device monitoring of ventilators is currently being tested at Laniado Hospital in Netanya. Developed by the Directorate of Armored Combat Vehicles (Tank Assault Program) of the Ministry of Defense, it reduces the need for medical personnel to be in the contaminated area.

Israel’s Technion and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa have developed a face mask for those treating COVID-19 patients. A pump worn near the waist sends cool filtered air into a fan inside the mask, creating an air curtain to protect medical workers from any droplets containing the coronavirus.

Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems has repurposed assembly lines to manufacture thousands of automatic ventilation machines. It expects initially to produce around 300 machines per week, enabling medical centers to provide care to patients suffering from less severe respiratory conditions,

Another “beating swords into plowshares” story. The IDF Shayetet 13 Naval commando unit is using its expertise in diving with oxygen to convert its oxygen tank production line into making medical oxygen compression systems (ventilators) for critically ill coronavirus patients.