By Rick Fromme
 | |
| Photo credit: sajr.co.za |
In this second installment, I’ll focus on the five leading med tech firms that were recently named
in “Forbes” magazine’s top ten list of the world’s leading med tech companies.
ReWalk
 | |
| Photo credit: Rewalk.com |
Over the past decade, ReWalk
has grown from a small Israeli R&D start-up to an international company
with headquarters in the U.S., Germany and Israel.
ReWalk Robotics worked with
leading international rehabilitation centers in testing and developing a
rehabilitation model of the ReWalk. As a result of these efforts, ReWalk
Robotics has been able to develop the ReWalk Personal, the next phase of
exoskeleton technology designed exclusively for use in everyday life. Employing
ReWalk Robotics’ proprietary technology, the ReWalk Personal is designed for
everyday use in a range of environments. It can be used at home, work, or other
locations. It functions outdoors and on different surfaces or terrains. The
ReWalk can sit, stand, allows turning and has the ability to climb and descend
stairs. The batteries that supply power are intended for all day use and are
recharged overnight. It’s customized and sized for each individual user. It’s
available after meeting requirements from a medical examination and successful
completion of the required training program. The company also offers a
comprehensive maintenance and warranty program for the system once the units
are taken home.
The ReWalk Personal is currently
available with FDA Clearance in the U.S., CE Mark in Europe (including Turkey)
and is licensed to sell in Canada.
ReWalk: An Israeli Miracle
uMoove
 |
| Photo credit: uMoove.com |
Some might be familiar with
similar technologies in the form of hardware developed for the military or
individuals with extreme physical limitations. uMoove offers precise face and
eye-tracking on any smartphone or tablet with a front-facing camera, without
the need for additional hardware of any kind. This tool is applicable to
numerous facets of contemporary society: advertising, analytics, eyewear, gaming,
medical, security, and more.
uMoove created this
ground-breaking technology and is now delivering it to mass audiences through
mobile apps, business partnerships, and a revolutionary analytics platform.
Umoove Brings Face & Eye Interaction to Mobile Devices
Telesofia Medical
 |
| Photo credit: telesofia.com |
Founded by a team of medical
doctors and Internet industry veterans, Telesofia Medical’s proprietary
platform allows healthcare providers to automatically generate personalized
educational videos for their patients, in a way that is friendly, easy to
understand and accessible on any device.
The platform is designed to
support many applications, such as describing the proper use of patients’
medications, details about surgical procedures, discharge instructions and
more. The fully branded videos are sent to patients via text or email or
embedded in patient portals/apps.
Telesofia video solutions help
doctors and other healthcare providers create customized information to their
patients anywhere, anytime, and in the most engaging way possible. Doctors, PAs
and APRNs can improve their patients’ understanding and adherence to their
prescription instructions, thus enhancing patient safety while reducing overall
healthcare costs. Caregivers can now provide complete, branded patient
discharge instructions and improved outcomes by extending their treatment plan
into the home. Improved communication platforms engages patients with
interactive procedural education videos, providing unparalleled quality of
service. Telesofia also improves the management of chronic conditions while decreasing
healthcare costs. Healthcare professionals can educate, engage and support
patients with customized educational videos.
Totali LLC
 |
| Photo credit: totallypregnant.com |
There are now two of Totali’s
products that are ready to go to market: Totally Pregnant and Totally Parents,
for new parents. The idea is to create an all-encompassing platform for parents
that accompanies them on the journey from pregnancy through to parenthood. Its
services and technologies enable the firm to provide advanced communication
between parents and local partners in each and every territory. Totali LLC was
created in Texas. A large part of its marketing, creative and development team
is based in Tel Aviv.
Totali's Totally Pregnant App
HelpAround
 |
| Photo credit: helparound.co |
After testing the app in various
neighborhoods and communities, the HelpAround team decided to focus on the
diabetes community. “The big learning point was in the idealism of strangers
helping strangers. We found that chronic conditions generate camaraderie that
gets people to sign up,” says one of its cofounders, Yishai Knobel.
HelpAround’s founders, Knoble and
Shlomi Afalo go back to the late ’90s in an IDF R&D unit. They reconnected
in 2013 to start HelpAround with the thought: make it easy for people to rely
on others so as "not to get stuck.” Together, they decided to take a
similar data-collection approach to online advertising, but use it to build a
smart safety net for chronic patients. Unlike online advertising where the data
is used for selling products, they use online data for the exclusive purpose of
finding the right helpers for diabetic patients.
There are lively conversations
already happening among members of the HelpAround community. Ideally, those
conversations move into the real world, too. The app’s “Ask” feature allows
users to request not just for online advice, but also for supplies. For
example, if a user forgets their blood glucose test strips while at a friend’s
house, they can send out a call for a neighbor to provide them with
supplies.
In this second segment highlighting
Israel’s dynamic medical technology industry, I focused on the five Israeli
companies that were recently named as “Forbes” magazine’s top ten med tech
firms worldwide: ReWalk, uMoove, Telesofia, Totali LLC, and HelpAround. If you
found this article useful, please feel free to click “Like” as well as share
and repost it. If you have any questions or comments, as always, I’m eager to
read them.
Rick Fromme combines
entrepreneurial enthusiasm with an insider's knowledge of the medical industry
to co-found MedMasters.com. Both
his drive and perspective helps provide health care professionals with a
superior mechanism with which to communicate, network and market their
strengths. Prior to founding MedMasters.com,
Rick operated a highly successful medical device distributorship. Other
milestones in his 12-year career in the medical industry include a key position
at a medical device start-up company that was later sold to the
Ethicon Endo division of Johnson & Johnson. You may also reach Rick
by connecting with him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube.
It used to be that cybernetic systems were stuff of science fiction. But recent developments in prosthetics proves that being a cyborg isn't all bad.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting series. What a powerhouse of invention Israel has become.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing what they are able to do today - things we never thought possible just a few years ago. Really makes you look forward to the future. Thanks for getting the word out!
ReplyDelete