ILSI-Biomed Israel

The DaVinci of Surgery

Artist, dentist, sculptor and internationally-known surgeon: all these titles belong to one man, Prof. Stephen A. Schendel, who recently visited Rambam. There, he performed innovative operations and gave lessons in the art of medicine. Prof. Stephen A. Schendel and Rambam doctors performing surgery. © Pioter Fliter-RHCC During the beginning of March, Rambam surgeons conducted two complicated operations that included maxillofacial and plastic surgery. Such treatments are usually divi...

Israeli Breath test could identify head and neck cancer

An 'electronic nose' can distinguish between molecules found in the breath of head-and-neck cancer patients and those of healthy people, according to the results of a small, initial study published in the British Journal of Cancer. Researchers from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology collected breath samples from 82 people from three groups: head-and-neck cancer patients, lung cancer patients and healthy people. The team examined the differences in the molecules present in the exhal...

Not Clowning Around

The operating room is not the most pleasant place for any patient. But for children about to undergo surgery, it is especially frightening. At Rambam we’ve learned that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Now, as part of preparation for surgery, children become familiar with the operating room through the guidance of a medical clown called ‘Bermula’ Rambam’s medical clowns. Pioter Fliter-RHCC.© Medical clowns have been active at Rambam for the last eight years. Now, they have ent...

Israeli Life Sciences Boom

A recent Wall Street Journal feature story claims to see "symptoms of a bubble" in the flooding Biotech IPO scene in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Appetite for Israeli initial public offerings of life-science companies is booming, writes the WSJ, but critics say the sector is immature and lacks the transparency for investors to make informed decisions. Over the last few years the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange loosened up on its rules for tech companies looking to go public. At the same time, ...

Protecting Fetuses and their Mothers

Rambam researchers were the first in the world to link blood clotting with fetal loss and vascular complications in pregnant women. In light of these findings, they developed medical treatment that is now saving fetuses and their mothers around the globe. Prof. Benjamin Brenner at the laboratory in Rambam. Raanan Tal-RHCC© Research at Rambam Health Care Campus (RHCC) has drawn a direct connection between blood clotting, and fetal loss and vascular complications in pregnant women. The...

Six trends that will change the fundamentals of pharmaceutical distribution

The latest report in the Pharma 2020 series from PwC US outlines six trends that will fundamentally change the way pharmaceutical companies make and distribute products. “The current pharmaceutical supply chain worked well when the ‘blockbuster’ paradigm prevailed, but pharma’s focus in a post-health reform world is shifting from products to patients, and their supply chain processes need to adopt the speed and agility of other, more consumer-oriented industries such as consumer electroni...

Robots back breakthrough surgery.

SpineAssist – an Israeli invention – is revolutionizing delicate spinal surgery. Judy Siegel-Itzkovich spoke to the innovative company’s CEO. Many patients scheduled for a major spinal operation naturally worry that they might find themselves in a wheelchair due to a surgical error, or simple bad luck. While this happens only rarely, it is a possibility. The results of orthopedic surgery are as good as the specialist who performs it – but today, the risk is much reduced. Not only is there...

PwC: Israel being overtaken in medical devices

Israel's start-ups are considered one of the country's competitive advantages in the global high-tech and life sciences industries. However, a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) says that emerging economies are breathing down Israel's neck and may have already passed it. PwC says in its “Race for Global Leadership: Medical Technology Innovation Scorecard” that start-up activity in Israel's medical devices sector is less than in countries such as India, China, and Brazil. PwC ...

Research at Rambam: One Session of Waterpipe Smoking May Significantly Affect Health

Rambam researchers have shown that even one waterpipe session significantly affected users’ lung function, and increased blood pressure and pulse. It boosted amounts of the toxin carboxyhemoglobin to levels that may require medical attention, oxygen administration or hyperbaric treatment. To achieve this toxic level, one must smoke between 10-100 cigarettes. Additionally, levels of exhaled NO, a molecule that helps protect the heart, lung and blood vessels greatly decreased. Research subjec...

Out, Damn’d Spot! Hand Washing Combats Deadly Infections

Hospitals are hothouses for bacteria and viruses – sometimes deadly – that are often passed from patient to patient by the medical staff. An innovative Israeli device, already operating at Rambam, monitors the medical team to ensure proper hand-washing. Hospital-acquired diseases and infections have reached plague-like proportions in medical centers around the world. In the USA alone, close to 100,000 deaths and expenditure of some $30 billion yearly result from preventable illnesses contract...