IDF is 1st army in the world to vaccinate 80% of its personnel; Doctors from Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre in the UAE to treat diabetes patients; Tel Aviv University researchers participate in international research to prevent snakebites; and much more!

By Michael Ordman

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

IDF has herd immunity

Israel Defense Forces was the first army in the world to vaccinate over 80% of its personnel. The whole operation was conducted with military precision in just 10 weeks without wasting a single vial. Currently, no IDF member has died from Covid-19 and only one had a serious infection.
https://www.jns.org/idf-becomes-first-vaccinated-military-in-the-world/

Treating diabetics & women in Dubai

Doctors from Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre are flying out to Dubai to treat an initial 350 diabetes patients in the UAE army, police, and firefighting services. Sheba is also sending physicians to train medical staff at Medcare Women & Children Hospital in Dubai.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-14/israel-s-largest-hospital-to-treat-emirati-security-personnel

Saving lives from snakebites

Some 1.8 million people are bitten by snakes each year – about 94,000 fatally. An international research team including Tel Aviv University’s Eyal Goldstein have designed a model to determine (and so avoid) the probability of a snakebite at specific places, months, and times of day.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/tel-aviv-university-participates-in-new-study-to-predict-snakebites-661850

It could have been much worse

Excluding the Negev desert, Israel’s population density is by far the highest in the OECD – a key factor for high Covid-19 mortality rates. But Israeli fatalities were lower than most of the 37 OECD countries. Only South Korea had both less deaths per million and a higher total population density.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298575

The human-cloud interface

Israel’s X-trodes has developed a wireless sensor patch combined with data analysis algorithms that a patient wears on their body. It remotely measures and analyzes the health of the brain, eyes, muscles, or heart during sleep or everyday tasks. The technology was developed at Tel Aviv University.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896277,00.html

Developing an oral Covid-19 vaccine

Israel’s Oramed (reported here previously) has launched Oravax – a joint venture with India’s Premas Biotech to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine is administered orally (not injected) and targets 3 virus proteins, so should counter any mutations. Human trials expected soon.
https://www.oramed.com/oramed-forms-a-joint-venture-oravax-medical-inc-for-the-development-of-novel-oral-covid-19-vaccines/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXaylnGXLM

Treating heart & kidney patients remotely

The IPUD (Implantable Peritoneal Ultrafiltration Device) from Israel’s Paragate Medical (reported here previously) removes excess fluid from patients coping with chronic heart and kidney failure at home. Paragate is a portfolio company of Nazareth’s NGT3. Human trials start soon.
https://www.med-technews.com/news/latest-medtech-news/implantable-device-developed-for-remote-care-of-heart-and-ki/   https://www.startupvalley.news/uk/paragate-ngt3-vc/

Huge drop in coronavirus reproduction

Israel’s “R” factor – the average number of people that one person infects with the SARS-Cov-2 virus – has fallen to just over 0.5 and less than 1% of tests are returning positive. Israel has no “red” (high infection rate) cities for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299353

Training the brain to see

Israel’s Revitalvision has developed vision training software to improve eyesight in adult amblyopia, eye diseases and vision impairments. The FDA-approved therapy uses Gabor patches with a patented stimulation technique to stimulate the visual cortex and create new neural connections.
https://www.revitalvision.com/

 

Saved twice by the same medic

When United Hatzalah volunteer medic Alan Malka saved a 30-year-old man who suffered a heart attack in Petah Tikva, he recognized that he saved the same man two months previously. Resuscitation was much quicker this time, and he now should get treatment to prevent a further incident.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298658

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