Over the 65 years that the modern State of
Israel has been in existence, the sharp minds of its scientists, doctors and
entrepreneurs have been responsible for developing thousands of cutting-edge
innovations that are still making a huge impact on our lives. They include the solar water heater,
amniocentesis testing, drip irrigation, desalination, Intel computer chips,
instant messaging, the flash memory drive and a whole lot more. Latest news shows that this creativity
continues.
The first three recent medical items are
intended to reduce surgical cutting to a minimum. The area of medicine known as cell therapy has already begun to
regenerate organs and repair diseases without traditional surgical
methods. There are 18 Israeli companies
developing or marketing cell-based treatment products - and they all attended
this week’s Israstem
Conference in Ramat Gan. Next,
Israeli start-up Lev-El Diagnostics has teamed up with Sheba Medical Center
researchers to create a mathematical algorithm
that could save lives. Normally
patients with heart disease have to wear heart monitors for 24 - 48 hours
before the results can be analyzed. The algorithm can diagnose problems in just
one hour. Finally, Israeli start-up
Oxitone has developed a blood-oxygen monitor
that can be worn on the wrist by those “at risk” to warn of any sudden
deterioration in their condition.
When there is no option other than to
perform major surgical operations, Israeli help is of course available. Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital
were extremely grateful to the Israelis
that helped set-up their disaster team two years ago. Following another terrorist incident, Asael
Lubotzsky knew exactly what he was cut out to do. When he finally recovered
from the horrendous injuries caused by a Hezbollah rocket attack in 2006, he
became an Israeli doctor.
Most of the beneficial results of medical
science come at the end of years of cutting-edge research and development.
Israel’s BiolineRX announced positive results from the Phase IIa clinical trial
of BL-7040, an oral treatment
for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease affect as many as 1.4 million
individuals in the US alone. Sometimes
a sudden breakthrough occurs, as happened when researchers at Tel Aviv
University gave high-frequency “bursts” of electrical stimulation to rats and
produced the
same destructive plaques as found in the brains of Alzheimer’s
patients.
The Israelis working at the cutting-edge of
Israeli medical science are the product of the Jewish State’s top Universities
and scientific institutions. 46 per
cent of Israel’s population has
a college degree - only Canada has more. So it was gratifying to read a rare positive article in the New
York Times about Israel’s
Technion Institute. It also
featured one of the 20 percent of students at the Technion who represent
Israel’s 20 percent Arab minority.
Students at nearby Haifa
University are busy promoting the State. A Muslim Bedouin girl, several Druze, a Pole and 26 Israeli Jews
are training to represent Israel as unofficial ambassadors. Muslim Ayat Rahal said, “I want to show a
true picture of Israel. It’s not all protests.” And dozens of Haifa’s 800 overseas students from 40 countries
wanted to let the world know that they share the desires and ambitions of local
Israelis.
Dozens of multinational companies have
established cutting-edge research and development (R&D) centers here in the
Jewish State. Israel’s high-tech
industry - in the form of the Israel
Advanced Technologies Industry group brought together representatives
of 17
R&D labs of multinational companies, including Intel, Google, IBM,
Microsoft, Yahoo, HP, Oracle, Philips and GE,
who talked about the innovations and contributions they make to
their parent companies. And when Israel
builds an industrial park you know it is going to be something special. Such as the new industrial park in
Nazareth, built to promote economic cooperation between the region’s
diverse Jewish, Christian and Muslim citizens.
It is modeled on nearby Tefen
Industrial Park, designed to bring together industrial, educational and
cultural facilities all in one space to foster innovation, growth and
peace.
Eight
Israeli companies received the 2013 Red
Herring's Top 100 Europe Award, given to Europe's leading private
companies in recognition of their cutting-edge innovations and
technologies. Next year’s awards are
likely to include the emergency
response system from Israeli start-up NowForce, that cuts response
times down to under 3 minutes at the fraction of the cost of traditional call
center systems. And the smartphone
application Everything.me, which dynamically displays
almost everything you may need at the push of a button.
Finally, thanks to all these innovations,
Israel’s $91 billion annual exports make Israel the 38th largest
exporter in the world, although it has only the 97th largest population
in the world. And these exports are
likely to improve further following the new Free
Trade Agreement between Israel and India. This will expand the market
for Israel’s cutting-edge healthcare, agriculture, irrigation, renewable
energy, aviation, IT and water management products.
Israel’s innovations continue to keep us at
the edge of our seats.
Keep tuned for another slice of the
action.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
