Israel is a global leader in medical innovation

• Published date: 02 June 2023
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The 21st BIOMED Israel Conference and Exhibition was held in Tel Aviv in mid-May. "BIOMED is Israel's premier and most established life sciences conference," its statement read, noting that this year the conference focused on aging and artificial intelligence

"These themes reflect biomed exigencies resulting from an aging population with a variety of chronic diseases; a lack of medical professionals; a profusion of data which must be analyzed to realize its potential value; issues concerning the quality of life; and the escalating cost of healthcare," the statement continued.

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Even though Israeli hospitals and health funds are considered among the best in the world, there are only 30,000 doctors active in the country – 3.19 per one thousand people. Although the number has risen over the past decade, it's still lower than the 3.5 average in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Israel ranked sixth in the 2022 World Index of Healthcare Innovation, similar to its standing in previous years. "Israel's performance was consistent across all dimensions, with particular strength in science and technology (ninth), owing largely to a robust scientific community supported by its world-class university system," the report found.

Israel Medtech was established in 2020 to promote Israeli hi-tech companies specializing in medical technologies. According to the Israel Export Institute, more than 1,200 Israeli companies operate in this field, providing technological solutions to global challenges such as increasing home-based care, early diagnosis and preventive medicine.

Patients from abroad come to Israel to receive quality medical care and undergo a range of operations. Save a Child's Heart, for example, has saved the lives of more than 6,600 children suffering from heart disease.

What are some of Israel's top medical innovations?

Among the top five Israeli medical innovations are the following:

* The Sniffphone, a diagnostic tool that sniffs out disease, is an evolution of the NaNose technology developed by Technion professor Hossam Haick, simplifying the diagnostic process by making the technology accessible via a plug-in that can be attached to...