(Israel Ministry of Economy)

1,500 business meetings in a three-day marathon - that's what's in store for Israeli companies taking part in two international conferences in Dusseldorf, Germany - MEDICA and COMPAMED.

MEDICA opened on Monday and will be visited by around 150,000 people from some 100 countries. This year, the Israeli national booths will host ten new companies alongside veterans of the exhibition. In addition, three Israeli apps (iFeel Labs, MobileODT and Doctome) made the finals of an international competition for advanced medical apps as part of MEDICA.

All Israeli companies featured in the national booths will present a variety of innovations, presenting technological solutions in the field of life sciences in general and medical equipment in particular, including novel techniques in diagnostics, equipment for hospitals and clinics, therapeutic devices and more.

The Foreign Trade Administration has set up a special website which includes the profiles of Israeli companies participating in the MEDICA expo according to their fields of expertise. The website also has a page for setting up appointments with these companies.
 
For the first time, the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Israel Export Institute have also established a national booth at the COMPAMED expo, which focuses on subcontracting in the medical equipment industry, in addition to the booth at the MEDICA expo, the world’s largest and most important exhibition of medical equipment.

According to the Foreign Trade Administration in the Israeli Ministry of Economy, more than 200 foreign companies and other entities from around the world have already booked meetings with Israeli companies via their trade representatives in order to get firsthand impressions of the technology and to examine possibilities for cooperation. The overall number of meetings is some 1,500.
 
Ohad Cohen, Head of the Foreign Trade Administration at the Israeli Ministry of Economy, said: "The activity of our network of trade representatives around the globe at flagship expos like MEDICA contributes to the growth of exports by the Israeli companies taking part. Our marketing is based primarily on Israeli innovation - with a special effort towards increasing the exposure of expo visitors to the wide array of Israeli innovations. This year, these innovations will be presented on an exceptionally grand stage - two national booths and beyond. We expect to see significant growth in foreign representatives seeking to get acquainted with these Israeli companies, with an emphasis on innovations in the fields of preventative medicine and tele-medicine - which gives long distance patients access to medical care, especially in developing countries. In addition, we see growing interest from companies from Southeast Asia looking for technological solutions and innovations like those coming from Israel."
 
Ofer Sachs, Director General of the Israel Export Institute, said: "The field of medical equipment is estimated at $308 billion globally and is expected to grow to $435 billion by 2017. This is one of the markets experiencing the most rapid growth and transformation in recent years. Medical equipment exports are on the rise. As the global population ages, the demand for technologies like long-distance monitoring and those improving quality of life is growing. Israeli companies, known for their flexibility and innovation, understood that this is the next big trend and have developed suitable technologies, which they will be presenting in this year’s expo. MEDICA is an excellent business platform for Israeli companies to showcase their strengths and I believe they will derive much success from this event."


Two innovative companies participating:
 

• Nuvo - Israeli startup Nuvo has developed a "sensor belt" for pregnant women, monitoring uterus contractions and the pulse of the embryo or fetus. The data is transferred to the Cloud transmitting to any predetermined computer or smartphone. In this way, an obstetrician can track patients, identify cases of fetal distress and instruct an expecting mother to be hospitalized. The devices is used one hour per day, but also allows for 24-hour monitoring when necessary. Nuvo was established in 2007 and is located in Tel Aviv. The company currently employs 17 people.
• Hip Hope Technologies Ltd. (HHT) is the developer of Hip HopeTM, a revolutionary active device intended to reduce fall impacts causing hip fractures in seniors suffering from conditions such as low bone density (osteoporosis) and from loss-of-balance related fall events. Hip fracture is the most common severe fracture among elderly people, associated with extremely high rates of mortality and morbidity.
  The Hip HopeTM belt-shaped device incorporates a highly advanced fall detection system, comprising a unique set of sensors and fall detection logic. Once an impending collision with a ground surface is identified, the system activates two fast deploying airbags that radically attenuate fall impact. The device provides additional functionalities, such as: Remote fall alert transmission, ongoing motion and activity data logging, built-in emergency-distress button, a GPS locator and pockets for storing small-size personal items.
  

Three Israeli apps have already made the world medical equipment top 10 list:

• iFeel Labs asthma digital therapy - Kids addicted to mobile games? This Israeli innovation will change the way children suffering from asthma use an inhaler, making taking their medicine on time "part of the game." From the company's communique: Our apps are essentially a collection of favorite and popular mobile games (like Candy Crush) which have been converted to even more exciting biosense games. The mobile game guides the user when exactly to inhale and exhale to enjoy the scientific benefits from breathing in harmonious rhythm with your heart - HRVB. You can only progress in the game when you are breathing properly and healthily.
• MobileODT: Enabling Cervical Cancer Screening for Every Woman Everywhere - This Israeli development uses patients' smartphones to diagnose cancer and other diseases. By building smartphone-based medical instruments, the technology enables health providers to delegate services further down the "treatment chain" (e.g. from doctors to nurses), to increase the range of health services and to reduce expensive treatment costs. The novel technology has been tried and used in 11 countries. MobileODT’s improved visual assessment system (EVA) was launched in May, 2015 and enables the diagnosis of cervical cancer. The company claims this is a first step in the development of a comprehensive range of tools for health providers that will enable visual diagnosis through the use of mobile devices.
• Doctome - Hybrid Care, Everywhere - The situation is quite common: a child wakes up at the middle of the night with high fever and the parent needs to decide whether to take them to the nearest hospital (which in some cases can be more than 1 hour away) or to stay at home, wait until the morning, and see a doctor at the clinic, without knowing exactly how to treat the child. This is a very tough decision a parent must take, without necessarily having the skills to make the right decision.
  Doctome is an Israeli company that provides a holistic solution for these kinds of situations. Doctome developed an innovative telemedicine platform that enables provisioning of online medical consultations, using video calls/chat anywhere around the globe. The consultations are done by doctors speaking the patient's language, 24/7, 365 days a year. EHR and document generation are part of the system. Clinical summary, referral to ER and digitally signed prescriptions are sent securely to the patient as a by-product.