Innovation Nation:
10 Israeli Technologies That Are Changing The World
By Yonatan Sredni and Einat Paz-Frankel, NoCamels May 11, 2016 7 Comments
Israel has been dubbed the “Startup Nation” – the country with the highest number of startups per capita in the world. Over the past decades, thousands of Israeli startups have given rise to innovations in a range of fields, from agricultural irrigation and GPS navigation to life-saving cancer treatments.
SEE ALSO: Meet The Winners: The Coolest Israeli Startups And Innovations Of 2015
Just ahead of Israel’s 68th birthday, and in recognition of the country’s achievements in the fields of science, technology and medicine, an exhibition of the most outstanding Israeli discoveries opened at Ben Gurion Airport. A large part of the exhibition is devoted to Israeli Nobel Prize winners; another part showcases Israeli inventions such as the flash drive, Teva’s Copaxone drug for treating multiple sclerosis, the PillCam disposable capsule that films the gastrointestinal tract, a robot that helps with back pain, and Intel chips that were developed in Israel.
 Photos of Israeli inventions currently exhibited at Ben Gurion Airport
But which Israeli startups and technologies are truly changing the world? In honor of Israel’s 68th Independence Day, we highlight 10 innovations that have impacted the world for the better or are in the process of changing our lives forever.
IceCure: Turning tumors into ice balls
What, if any, could be the connection between cancer and ice? It’s a tough one, but the Israeli scientists at IceCure seem to have figured it out. IceCure’s cryoablation technology, which has already shown promise in clinical trials in Japan and the US, actually turns small benign and malignant breast and lung tumors into balls of ice, eliminating the need for surgical procedures. The cryoablation system uses below-freezing temperatures and liquid nitrogen to essentially freeze the tumor in place, in a procedure that takes just 15 minutes and requires only a bit of local anesthetic. Watch out cancer – it’s about to get cold.
ReWalk: Helping paraplegics walk
If driving is something most of us take for granted, then walking surely is. In the US alone, there are nearly 250,000 individuals with spinal cord injuries that partially or entirely inhibit regular motor functions. For them, standing and walking around freely remains the stuff of dreams. Now, using a revolutionary exoskeleton walking device ReWalk, which was recently approved for home and communal use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, wheelchair-bound individuals are be able to move freely.
At the forefront of medical technology, ReWalk’s exoskeleton is powered not by robots, but by a computer and motion sensors that work together to mimic natural gait. The revolutionary system corrects itself to pick up slight changes in the user’s center of gravity; can be adjusted to a functional walking speed; and even enables users to climb and descend staircases. Claire Lomas was even able to complete the 2012 London Marathon in 17 days using the ReWalk device.
Founded by Israeli Dr. Amit Goffer in 2001, ReWalk could soon make wheelchairs obsolete.
Mobileye: Preventing accidents
Making driving safer and potentially saving lives, Israeli company Mobileye develops driver assistance technology to prevent accidents, but is also one of the major developers of autonomous car technologies.
Its systems use video cameras and advanced algorithms to identify and respond to other vehicles, bends in the road, pedestrians and traffic signs, providing advanced warning for drivers and thereby preventing road accidents. Mobileye has already embedded its technology into cars made by Audi, Tesla Motors and others.
Founded in 1999 by Ziv Aviram and Amnon Shashua, the Hebrew University professor who developed the technology, Mobileye raised nearly $1 billion in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2014, making it the largest-ever Israeli IPO.
Waze: Saving you time on the road
Speaking of driving, no list about innovative Israeli startups would be complete without mentioning Waze.
Launched in 2008 in Israel, and now owned by Google, this navigation app uses a complex algorithm and the real-time speeds of its users to determine the best driving routes. Waze’s strength is its crowd-sourced reports. It’s stronger in denser areas than in rural ones and has the advantage of using both human and machine knowledge. Waze’s initial mission was simply to save five minutes a day for every motorist, but now it has become a must-have app for any driver.
As the world’s attention focuses on news of Google’s self-driving cars, Waze’s innovative technology will certainly play a major role in their development.
SniffPhone: Detecting deadly diseases on the breath
Last year, Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology introduced a device that can sense disease on the breath, much like a breathalyzer test. What he calls the SniffPhone uses nanotechnology sensors to analyze the particles on the breath and is able to pinpoint exact diseases, including certain kinds of cancer.
The SniffPhone, Haick’s new mobile device, contains his previously-developed ‘NaNose’ breathalyzer test, which “sniffs out” lung cancer before it spreads. The smartphone device is a vehicle for the NaNose technology that’s mobile and thus can be taken anywhere, including rural areas.
Netafim: Drip irrigation saves precious water
Netafim is synonymous with the famous Israeli invention of drip irrigation, which is now helping numerous countries around the world to conserve water and save money by supplying plants with just the right amount of water. The drip irrigation technique was developed back in the 60s by Israeli engineer and inventor Simcha Blass, along with Kibbutz Hazerim, which later started manufacturing the original drip irrigation systems on site.
SEE ALSO: In Face Of Global Shortage, World Leaders Praise Israel’s Water Technologies
Today, Netafim is the world’s leading manufacturer of drip irrigation systems, which save 30-70 percent of the water used with overhead sprays, oscillating sprinklers or rotors. |
