Good News Israel presents Israeli TB skin patch wins Gates award; CuPID prevents falling and much more.
By: Michael Ordman
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
TB skin patch wins Gates award
Israel Technion’s Professor Hossam Haick has won a Gates Foundation award to help development of a sensing plaster that can detect tuberculosis biomarkers on the skin. Professor Haick is already famous for his nanotech breath analyzer that detects cancer.
http://focus.technion.ac.il/news_story.asp?id=361
Universal flu vaccine heads for clinical trials
Israel’s BiondVax has received FDA approval of its application to proceed with clinical trials of its universal Multimeric-001 flu vaccine (M-001).
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biondvax-announces-fda-acceptance-of-ind-application-for-its-investigational-universal-flu-vaccine-507856431.html
50 young spines straightened
The Israeli ApiFix system has now been used to correct scoliosis (deformed spines) in 50 adolescents since the minimally invasive system was approved for marketing in Europe in 2013.
http://trendlines.com/apifix-reaches-50-patient-milestone/
CuPID prevents falling
The CuPID project, co-directed by Tel Aviv University’s Dr. Anat Mirelman, has developed a smartphone app to help Parkinson’s sufferers who have a common symptom called Freezing of Gait (FoG). The CuPID app uses sensors on the shoes and alerts the wearer audibly, if they are likely to fall.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israeli-researchers-smartphone-app-may-help-parkinsons-patients-video/2015/06/25/
Treating gastro problems with newborns
Israeli biotech Nutrinia develops treatments for intestinal failure in preterms, infants and adults. Its NTRA-9620 treatment has just been granted orphan status by the US FDA.
Crowdsourcing platform for insomniacs
Israel’s Sleep ASAP (Art Science Awareness Platform) is described as “Waze for the sleep-deprived”. The sleep-management organization educates sleep-strugglers about getting a pill-free good night’s sleep, and is launching meetups in the USA, Canada and Australia.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/waze-for-the-sleep-deprived/
Internet tool to analyze genes
Dr. Yuval Tabach of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed an Internet tool that will allow any investigator, physician or patient to analyze a gene according to its evolutionary profile. It will help identify genes associated with genetic diseases and cancer.
http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/27065
$5.5 million donation for Israeli healthcare
Beneficiaries of the latest donation from the Helmsley Trust include Ezra LeMarpeh which is building a medical rehabilitation center in Sderot; the JNF, for a medical center in NW Negev’s Halutza community; and United Hatzalah, for its central dispatch center.
http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Health-and-Science/55-million-from-Helmsley-Trust-to-benefit-three-Israeli-health-projects-406489
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