RUTHFULLY YOURS

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Heart implant is a breakthrough (twice). (TY Atid-EDI) I reported previously (see here) on the interatrial shunt developed by Israel’s V-Wave. The US FDA has just granted two Breakthrough Device Designations to the device – the first is for Heart Failure (HF), and the second, for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH).
http://vwavemedical.com/2019/09/12/v-wave-receives-second-fda-breakthrough-device-designation-interatrial-shunt-for-pulmonary-arterial-hypertension/
 
Spine device gets humanitarian status. (Ty Atid-EDI) I reported previously (see here) on the twisted spine treatment from Israel’s Apifix. The U.S. FDA has given Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) to Apifix to market its MID-C system. Apifix addresses the unmet clinical need for an alternative to spinal fusion.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190827005604/en/ApiFix-Receives-FDA-Approval-Commercialize-MID-C-System
 
US approval for upright wheelchair.  I’ve reported previously (see here)about Israel’s UPnRIDE robotic standing wheelchair that allows wheelchair users to travel upright. The US FDA has just cleared the UPnRIDE for marketing and use in the US. Cofounder Dr Amit Goffer is a quadriplegic who uses the UPnRIDE himself.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-upnride-standing-wheelchair-receives-fda-clearance-1001301453
 
FDA approves diabetes management system. I’ve reported previously (see here) on the diabetes monitors from Israel’s DreaMed. The US FDA has just given approval to DreaMed’s Advisor Pro, to add to its EU approval. The software tells Type 1 diabetics how much insulin to use, without having to contact a physician.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/DreaMed-wins-FDA-clearance-for-AI-insulin-recommendation-technology-601846  
 
Smartphone CKD diagnosis approved. (TY Atid-EDI) I’ve reported previously (see here) on Israel’s Healthy.io and its smartphone-based urinalysis for Chronic Kidney Disease. It is now US and EU approved and some 100,000 kits have been sold. Healthy.io has just raised $60 million of funds. https://healthy.io/about-us/
https://vimeo.com/200176528 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLQ5lqsq2Y0(UK Financial Times video)
 
US approval for ultrasound skin tightening. (TY Atid-EDI) I recently reported (20th Aug) that Israel’s SofWave had received CE certification for its non-invasive ultrasound technology for skin tightening. It has now also received FDA approval. 86% of a recent trial demonstrated improvement in wrinkle appearance.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sofwave-medicals-low-divergence-ultrasound-technology-has-received-fda-clearance-for-the-aesthetic-treatment-of-facial-lines-and-wrinkles-300918611.html
 
US approval for lung diagnosis catheter. I reported previously (May 2017) on Israel’s Body Vision Medical when it was producing hi-res maps of the lungs to aid tumor removal. Since then it has developed a disposable lung navigation catheter which recently received US FDA approval. The company has also raised $20 million.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3771163,00.html
 
EU funds heart protection device. Israeli startup Filterlex Medical has received 2.1 million euros from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Filterlex develops an embolic protection device to reduce the risk of stroke and other complications during catheter-based heart procedures.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3770877,00.html http://filterlex.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e48mW5-Zdxo
 
Treatments for eye diseases. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli biotech Wize Pharma markets Israeli-developed LO2A eye drops for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, including Dry Eye Syndrome. Wize is now to develop and trial the WP-REP1 gene therapy from Cleveland’s Copernicus for treating the rare eye disease Choroideremia.
http://wizepharma.investorroom.com/2019-09-09-Wize-Pharma-Enters-Exclusive-License-Agreement-for-Ophthalmic-Non-viral-Gene-Therapy-Technology   https://www.wizepharma.com/lo2a-eye-drops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBw3cO_YMsM
 
Innovative infusion systems. (TY Atid-EDI) The infusion systems of Israel’s Eitan Group (Q-core, Sorrel and Avoset), are installed worldwide. E.g. there are 100,000 of Q-cores Sapphire devices in the market. Eitan has now agreed that Canadian Hospital Specialties will supply and support Sapphire across Canada.
https://www.massdevice.com/how-the-eitan-group-aims-to-disrupt-the-infusion-pump-industry/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-hospital-specialties-to-distribute-eitan-groups-sapphire-infusion-systems-in-canada-300918470.html  
 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/26/as-attack-drones-multiply-israeli-firms-develop-defenses/

Israel, one of the pioneers of drone warfare, is now on the front lines of an arms race to protect against attacks by the unmanned aircraft.

A host of Israeli companies have developed defense systems they say can detect or destroy incoming drones. But obstacles remain, particularly when operating in crowded urban airspaces.

“Fighting these systems is really hard … not just because you need to detect them, but you also need to detect them everywhere and all the time,” said Ulrike Franke, a policy fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations.

Drones present unique challenges that set them apart from traditional airborne threats, such as missiles or warplanes.

They can fly below standard military radar systems and use GPS technology to execute pinpoint attacks on sensitive targets for a fraction of the price of a fighter jet. They can also be deployed in “swarms,” which can trick or elude conventional defense systems. Even small off-the-shelf drones can be turned into weapons by rigging them with explosives or simply crashing them in crowded areas.

A series of drone strikes across the Middle East, including an attack on a Saudi oil field and processing plant that jolted international markets earlier this month, have underscored the devastating effectiveness of small unmanned attack aircraft.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/27/israeli-birth-rate-reaches-all-time-high-as-population-tops-9-million/
Jewish population in Israel hits 6.74 million, or 74.2% of the country’s population. 43% of the population describes itself as secular, 10% as haredi, and the rest fall somewhere in between. Shanah tovah!

As the Jewish world prepares to usher in the year 5780, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics published its annual population data for the country, which show that this past year, the population reached 9.092 million people and is expected to increase to 10 million by 2024.

According to demographic projections, when Israel celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2048, it will have a population of 15 million.

According to the CBS data, 43.2% of the population is secular, with 12.8% defined as “traditional,” 11.3% “religious,” and 10.1% ultra-Orthodox. Another 22.1% define themselves as “traditional but not very religious.”

Heading into the new year, Israel’s Jewish population numbers 6.74 million, or 74.2% of the total population. The Arab population numbers 1.91 million, or 21% of the population. Another 4.8%, or just over 440,000 Israelis, made aliyah under the Law of Return but are not listed as Jewish by the Interior Ministry’s Population Administration.

Since Rosh Hashanah 2018, Israel’s population grew by 184,000 (2.1%), a growth rate that has remained fairly stable in recent years. This past year also saw an all-time high birth rate for Israel, with 196,000 babies born. The average Israeli woman gives birth to 3.09 children.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14909/jerusalem-jewish-history

As has been true with previous archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, this one is unlikely to put a dent in the long-term international campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state by rewriting and distorting its history, even by renaming the Jewish sites Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem to “Bilal ibn Rabah mosque” (it was never a mosque) and Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs the Ibrahimi Mosque.

“Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel’s right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the ‘Intifada,’ 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history.” — Palestinian Media Watch.

Where Palestinian propaganda is concerned, however, none of the above [documentation or archeological evidence] appears to matter.

The City of David Foundation recently delivered a major blow to the Arab effort to erase Judaism’s 3,000-year ties to Jerusalem. On September 9, the foundation’s leading archaeologist, Eli Shukron, announced the discovery of a 2,600-year-old royal seal, found near the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, which bears the name (in Hebrew) of Adenyahu, a son of King David mentioned in the biblical Book of Kings.

As has been true with previous archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, this one is unlikely to put a dent in the long-term international campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state by rewriting and distorting its history, even by renaming the Jewish sites Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem to “Bilal ibn Rabah mosque” (it was never a mosque) and Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs the Ibrahimi Mosque.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/netanyahu-holds-on-11569454352

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been counted out of politics many times in his long career, including after last week’s election saw his center-right coalition fail to win the necessary 61-seat parliamentary majority. On Wednesday he was granted a mandate to form a government, though what happens next is anyone’s guess.

Mr. Netanyahu’s main rival, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party, also failed narrowly to win a majority. If Mr. Netanyahu can’t twist enough arms to form a government, Mr. Gantz may get a chance—or Israelis may need to head to the ballot box for an unprecedented third time.

There are wider lessons to be drawn from the political tumult. The first is that Israelis have moved right on security. Last week’s election was triggered because Mr. Netanyahu’s longtime partner Avigdor Lieberman, a secular-nationalist hawk, split with Mr. Netanyahu over religious issues. Mr. Lieberman felt comfortable sinking a center-right government in part because he knew that the opposition would not deviate much from Mr. Netanyahu’s positions on borders and security.

While the Blue and White party strikes a more inclusive tone when it comes to Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, many of its leaders are drawn from the upper ranks of the Israel Defense Forces, including General Gantz. In power he may be more aggressive about defending Israel’s interests in the region. American liberals hoping that a Prime Minister Gantz would repudiate President Trump’s Iran policies and make a priority of restarting the peace process will be disappointed.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/trump-and-israel-lasting-love-not-a-broken-bromance-with-bibi/

(September 24, 2019 / JNS) Approached by reporters on the tarmac of a California airport last Wednesday as the tally from the Sept. 17 Knesset elections was still being calculated, U.S. President Donald Trump measured his words.

When asked whether he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—whose political future appeared to be hanging in the balance of what was clearly leading to the current deadlock—Trump replied: “I have not. Those results are coming in, and it’s very close. Do you have any updates? You people [the press] usually should know before the president, right?”

Indicating that he was not surprised by the turn of events, Trump added, “Everybody knew it was going to be very close. We’ll see what happens.”

Grasping the point of the question, which had to do with his much-touted close personal bond with Netanyahu, he concluded by saying, “Look, our relationship is with Israel.”

It was like a shot that could be heard around the world. For days on end, media outlets highlighted this little exchange as evidence that Trump is a fickle fair-weather friend turning his back on an embattled buddy.

Yes, journalists known for their hostility to both leaders gleefully portrayed Netanyahu as a pitiful figure whose campaign posters included a photo of himself with the American president, and described Trump as a man giving his Israeli counterpart the cold shoulder.

As we approach the Jewish New Year, the volume of new Israeli innovations is phenomenal. They include new medical treatments in development, a new concept in microprocessors, 100 startups presenting in London, a new World record, and new lives for critically sick patients, thanks to Israeli donors…..Michael Ordman

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Double-whammy cancer treatment. Israel’s Khar Medical plans to begin human trials of its DSP-107 treatment on lung cancer patients. It will be tested both standalone and in combination with Roche’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab). DSP-107 finds and marks cancer cells, then alerts the immune system and blocks the cancer.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-startup-joins-roche-to-hold-clinical-trials-for-double-whammy-cancer-drug/
 
Blood test for lung cancer. I reported previously (31st Dec) on Israel’s Savicell and its ImmunoBiopsy blood test for detecting early stage lung cancer. Savicell’s test checks for the metabolic reactions that the immune system produces when it detects and attacks a tumor. Experts say the method is very promising.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/startup-says-its-blood-test-can-detect-early-stage-lung-cancer/
 
Another discovery in treating melanoma. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have found that treating melanoma with immunotherapy is only successful if the cancer cells are homogeneous (simple / comprised of a small number of subtypes). Other treatments should be used if they are heterogeneous (complex / diverse).
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/cancer-protocols-new-approach-predicting-treatment-outcomes
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30951-1
 
Hi-tech safety system at Ashdod hospital. (TY OurCrowd) I reported previously (Jan 2017) on Israel’s Medaware and its medication error protection system. The potentially life-saving solution has just been implemented at Assuta hospital in Ashdod. It is already deployed at Sheba medical center in Tel Hashomer.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/09/assuta-ashdod-hospital-deploys-medawares-patient-safety-platform/
 
Making Salmonella slip up. Bacteria such as salmonella use a layer of biofilm to attach themselves to surfaces such as skin, medical devices, tissues, etc. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute used Alzheimer’s treatments to disrupt the biofilms. The salmonella virus couldn’t stick to the surfaces and became much less aggressive.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/researchers-tackle-biofilm-to-make-salmonella-infection-less-aggressive/
 
Genetic testing could save lives.  Israel’s Igentify develops a digital genetic testing analyzer that can provide medical professionals with the means to focus on, treat and counsel high risk patients. Already in use in two major Israeli hospitals, Igentify has just raised $10.5 million including from crowdfunding company OurCrowd.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3770478,00.html  https://www.igentify.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEvMEG_xjHE
 
EU grant for Israeli treatment of eye diseases. The European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program has awarded a 2.4 million euros grant to Israel’s Tarsius. Tarsius’s new molecule “re-engineers” the immune system to treat autoimmune and inflammatory ocular diseases that can eventually cause blindness.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3770582,00.html http://tarsiuspharma.com/
 
Minimizing the trauma of spine surgery. Surgeons have now used the Dreal system from Israel’s Carevature in over 1600 spine decompression procedures. The system helps remove the minimum amount of obstructing tissue, reducing patient trauma and speeding recovery. Now available at Scripps Green hospital in California.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carevatures-cutting-edge-dreal-technology-now-available-to-spine-surgeons-at-scripps-health-300904272.htmlhttps://www.carevature.com/dreal/ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmimilm9r9g
 
AI in Israeli health care. The Wall St Journal reports that Israel is becoming a testing ground for the power of artificial intelligence to improve health care. It suggests that digitized records and big data could make medicine cheaper and more effective.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-prepares-to-unleash-ai-on-health-care-11568599261

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14901/palestinians-lebanon-better-life

“We talked about the general situation of Palestinian refugees who have been living in Lebanon for the past 72 years. We told them that Palestinians in Lebanon are banned from working in 70 professions and have no right to own property. We gave them a list of 2,300 Palestinian refugees from Syria who want to go to Canada.” — Mu’awya Abu Hamideh, a representative of the Palestinian refugees who fled from Syria to Lebanon after 2011, akhbarten.com, September 9, 2019

Human Rights Watch says that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in “appalling social and economic conditions” and are barred from employment in at least 25 professions, “including law, medicine, and engineering.”

“The Palestinian factions and others who benefit from our stay in Lebanon are denouncing us as traitors and of serving foreign agendas… but if anyone has another solution, he should bring it to the table. We are sure, however, that these voices are designed to prevent us from living in dignity.” — Mu’awya Abu Hamideh.

Instead of encouraging and assisting their people to move on with their lives and seek a better future for their children, Hamas and other Palestinian groups continue to lie to the refugees by promising them that one day they will go back to their villages and towns in Israel.

Are the Lebanese seeking to get rid of the Palestinians living in Lebanon? Many Palestinians seem to think that the Arab country they have been living in for decades has plans to throw them out.

Palestinian factions, meanwhile, are working in precisely the opposite direction, trying to stop the Palestinians from leaving their refugee camps. The factions want the refugees to continue living in misery and poverty so that they can continue to use them as pawns in the conflict with Israel.

They are hoping that the continued presence of refugee camps will keep the issue of the refugees at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In recent weeks, many Palestinians have been flocking the embassies of several Western countries in Lebanon asking to be granted asylum for humanitarian reasons.