Changing the way medical conditions are diagnosed...

Whether it's through medical imaging systems or biological markers. Companies in Yokneam are changing the way medical conditions are being diagnosed.

The disposable camera capsules developed in Yokneam by Given Imaging have already spared more than 1.5 million people from having to undergo invasive endoscopic procedures. Patients simply swallow a disposable pill-sized camera that enables their physician to visualize the small bowel, esophagus and colon to monitor and diagnose disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. With over 100 million people diagnosed each year, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are one of the most common complaints made to physicians worldwide and the gastrointestinal endoscopy devices market is expected to reach $6.6 billion in 2017 and $11 billion in 2023.

Companies like Biosense Webster (part of Johnson&Johnson), Pixcell Medical and RealView Imaging are developing new imaging technologies that will enable earlier and more effective treatment of a whole range of diseases.

Personalizing treatment for different types of cancer makes sense medically, but it requires specialized clinical research. CureWize is making that happen for treatment of cancers common in children, adolescents and young adults.

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Applied Spectral Imaging

ASI develops computer-aided systems for use in diagnostics by pathology, cytogenetic and research laboratories. They provide labs with accurate, repeatable and standardized analysis of karyotyping, FISH, CISH, quantitative IHC, as well as spectral imaging for research applications.

Biosense Webster

Biosense Webster, a Johnson & Johnson company, specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal electrical activity in the heart). Biosense Webster (Israel), Ltd. Is the Technology Center for R&D and Manufacturing for systems worldwide.

A global leader in its field, Biosense, Inc. began as a start-up in Haifa, Israel, with Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim’s development of a 3-D cardiac mapping and navigation technology that provided new levels of insight, precision, and safety in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. At the same time, Webster Laboratories was founded by pioneer inventor Will Webster, whose advanced catheter designs were based on the practical needs and demands of physicians. In 1998, Biosense joined Webster Laboratories to form Biosense Webster.

2012 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the acquisition of Biosense Webster by Johnson & Johnson. Biosense Webster continues to be one of the fastest growing businesses in Johnson & Johnson and, in fact, has grown more than 20-fold since the acquisition. As the world’s leading cardiac electrophysiology company, Biosense Webster currently has more than 2000 employees worldwide, with above $1 billion in annual sales.
The CARTO® 3 System has given electrophysiologists access to 3-D, real-time, color-coded views into the heart’s electrical activity, allowing diagnosis and treat-ment with increasing precision. The ThermoCool® SmartTouch™ Contact Force Sensing Catheter provides electrophysiologists with the ability to sense the amount and force of contact. ThermoCool® SF Catheter with Surround Flow Technology provides uniform cooling during ablation procedures. Biosense Webster has also developed an image integration solution for electrophysiology labs around the world. This solution integrates real-time x-ray images, from Siemens Healthcare, GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare X-Ray systems, into the CARTO® 3 System.

BioShai

The diagnosis of Parkinson's is mainly based on patients' medical history and clinical examination. In some cases Parkinson's disease can be difficult to diagnose with early signs and symptoms being dismissed as the effects of normal aging.

BioShai is developing PDx, a simple blood test for the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The blood test can be combined with other clinical data to provide a more complete diagnosis to help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.

PDx is based on the measurement of the level of expression of a set of genes. Gene expression is a dynamic process affected by stress, diet, and health leading to dramatic changes in the amount of messenger RNA molecules and protein in the human body over the course of our lives.

Expected to be on the market in 2017.

BrainMARC

Brainmarc’s proprietary technology has resulted in closed-loop digital therapeutics, leveraging its clinically proven bei™ and bes™ neuro-markers, extracted from a short sampling time, single-channel EEG headset. These validated, digital neuro-markers provide the bases for closed-loop therapeutics that personalize the treatment for each subject based on their engagement level dynamics, enabling data driven decisions. Brainmarc’s platform is the only solution which closes the feedback loop based on both the level of the patient’s performance and the patient’s brain engagement in real-time.

CMT

CMT Medical Technologies is a leading provider of advanced digital X-ray imaging systems for medical diagnosis. CMT provides high resolution digital imaging solutions for General Radiography, R&F rooms and Angiography special procedures suites. CMT products available in multiple configurations and as a subsystems for OEMs to incorporate into their own newly manufactured X-ray rooms.

CureWize

Curewize Health is a clinical research and commercialization company aiming to advance the personalized treatment of cancers common to children, adolescents and young adults. Its lead product family is ProALLTM, which are microRNA (miRNA) based predictive tests for the early prognosis and monitoring of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) patients. ProALLTM assays will change the complicated and lengthy process of deciding how to treat a leukemia patient to a clear and simple process.

Given Imaging

Since pioneering the field of capsule endoscopy in 2001, Medtronic (formally Given Imaging) has become a world leader in GI medical devices, offering health care providers a range of innovative options for visualizing, diagnosing and monitoring the digestive system. The company's technology is the PillCam™ Platform, featuring the PillCam™ video capsule, a disposable, miniature video camera contained in a capsule, which is ingested by the patient, a sensor array, data recorder and RAPID™ software.

Medtronic has four commercially available capsules: the PillCam™ SB video capsule to visualize the entire small intestine, the PillCam™ COLON video capsule to visualize the colon, the PillCam™ UGI video capsule to visualize the upper GI tract, including the esophagus, stomach and first part of the small intestine and the PillCam™ Patency capsule to assess functional patency in the GI tract.

healiumMedical

Healium Medical develops no-contact guided ablation system for treatment of atrial fibrillation – the most common cardiac arrhythmia affecting more than 46.1 Million patients worldwide.

The company develops transcatheter ultrasound technology enabling rapid, no-contact circumferential pulmonary vein isolation with real-time lesion monitoring. Our goal is to improve procedure efficacy simplify procedure flow and shorten procedure time.

The company operates out of Yokneam, Israel, have full scale in-house R&D lab, employs multidisciplinary team of physicist, engineers & physicians and have pre-clinical data supporting the feasibility of its proprietary technology.

Atrial fibrillation (AF or Afib for short) is the most

common cardiac arrhythmia or rhythm abnormality.

AF is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that may cause symptoms like heart palpitations, fatigue, and shortness of breath. AF occurs when the upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat rapidly and irregularly (fibrillate). This can cause blood to pool and form clots in an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage (LAA). When a blood clot escapes from the LAA and travels to another part of the body, it can cause a stroke. These who have AF X5 times more likely to suffer a stroke than someone with a regular heartbeat.

Fortunately, AF may be treated with medication, cardioversion or a catheter ablation procedure. However, Despite the large number of advances in the field over the past two decades, AF remains a substantial cause of mortality and morbidity

Jubaan

Advanced pre-screening system for GI disorders

Jubban’s mission is to provide an advanced pre-screening system able to deliver warnings of GI disorders, as opposed to the current scenario where symptoms may indicate advanced disease by the time patients seek medical help.

To date, early screening has been accomplished through a Fecal Occult Blood test (FOBT), however compliance for this test is low and the reasons patients decline the test are poorly understood and are constantly being studied.

NeuroIndex

Preventing brain injury during anesthesia

Developing an intra-operative brain monitoring device based on EEG signals for use in the OR by anesthesiologists, to measure the effects of anesthesia and sedation. Such monitoring is critical in most surgeries to prevent (a) postoperative state of delirium and cognitive dysfunction resulting from excessive use of anesthetics, and (b) the prevention of insufficient anesthesia, exposing the patient to the possibility of being paralyzed yet fully aware of what is occurring during surgery.

PixCell Medical

PixCell Medical Technologies develops, produces, and markets portable medical diagnostic products for point of care testing. PixCell's products are based on its innovative Viscoleastic Focusing (VEF) technology and single use cartridges that enable rapid, accurate and simple blood sampling and analysis. Results are displayed within minutes in an easily readable format. PixCell's mission is to make tests currently restricted to the laboratory more accessible, easy to use and affordable.

Real View

RealView Imaging Ltd is introducing the world’s first 3D holographic display and interface system, initially for medical imaging applications. The company’s proprietary technology projects hyper-realistic, dynamic 3D holographic images “floating in the air” without the need for any type of eyewear or a conventional 2D screen. The projected 3D volumes appear in free space, allowing the user to literally touch and interact precisely within the image, presenting a unique and proprietary breakthrough in digital holography and real-time 3D interaction capabilities.

Sorek Medical

Sorek Medical Systems Ltd. is an R&D company focused on developing high-tech medical subsystems, including electronic interfaces, computer algorithms and mechanical manipulators.

The company is using advanced digital and analog technology such as FPGA, microcontrollers, high level analog interfaces and front ends, high accuracy CNC and 3D printing.

The main line of development is MRI add-ons, which makes the company an expert in electromagnetic subsystems.

Sorek is responsible for small scale manufacturing and installation of some of its products for clinical and investigational use.

As the subsidiary of Robin Medical Inc., the company developed the EndoScout® system enables tracking of the location and orientation of miniature sensors during an MRI scan. The tracking is based on the native gradient fields of the MRI scanner, thus there is no need to register the tracking system to the scanner before each use. The system can be easily installed and used on any scanner, with no need to modify the scanner or its mode of operation and with no electromagnetic interference.

As an expert in electromagnetic navigation, the company developed for a location and orientation system for gastrointestinal navigation system using the Given Imaging capsule.

Carmel Diagnostics

Carmel Diagnostics is an Israeli privately owned healthcare company that develops clinical applications of its proprietary Thermochemiluminescence technology platform. The technology enables assessment of oxidative stress in body fluids and prediction of clinical problems linked to levels of oxidative stress.

TCL Analyzer™, a diagnostic medical device based on TCL technology, has been constructed and validated both in laboratory and pre-clinical studies.

Carmel Diagnostics focuses its activity on two major applications: prediction of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) condition, and selection of the most promising embryo for implantation duringIn-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedures. Proof of concept for both applications has been demonstrated in pre-clinical studies.