TECHNION RESEARCH FOR A CANCER FREE WORLD
September 24th marks World Cancer Research Day – an international awareness day to raise worldwide attention and inspire action for a cancer-free future.
The Technion’s Integrated Cancer Center is comprised of: state-of-the-art cancer research in the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, exceptional engineering and basic science faculties, and five affiliated medical centers – including the Rambam Health Care Campus, which is adjacent to the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and has the largest cancer facility in northern Israel and one of the largest in the country.
Technion researchers are committed to finding new diagnostic technologies, treatments and cures to create a healthier, cancer-free future.
CURE FOR MELANOMA
Patients often fail to respond to treatments for Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. However, a team led by Technion Prof. Amir Orian and Technion lecturer Dr. Emily Avitan-Hersh found two proteins that could lead to a new approach to overcoming anti-cancer drug resistance in melanoma.
TREATMENT-RESISTANT CANCER GETS FUNDING BOOST
Why does cancer therapy help some patients and not others? That is a question Technion Prof. Yuval Shaked has been trying to answer with his latest medical research backed by EU funds.
EARLY CARDIOVASCULAR DIAGNOSIS IS THE ANSWER
According to a team of researchers headed by Technion Professor Ami Aronheim, Professor Yuval Shaked, and Dr. Shimrit Avraham, early diagnosis of heart problems in cancer patients could significantly impact treatment success.
BACTERIA TO FIGHT CANCER
Prof. Naama Geva-Zatorsky’s research determines that immune effects of gut bacteria can prevent cancer. Prof. Geva Zatorsky is a member of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Technion Integrated Cancer Center.
CANNABIS: FOR CANCER AND BEYOND
Technion Prof. Dedi Meiri is best known for his cutting-edge research into cannabis as a cancer treatment. He also investigates cannabis’ potential to treat Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurological diseases.
COLD ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA TECHNOLOGY: THE FUTURE OF CANCER TREATMENT
Technion and Rambam Health Care Campus is progressing their research to create a Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) device that can selectively fight cancer cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue.
A FASTER WAY TO DIAGNOSE & PREDICT CANCER
Technion Prof. Daphne Weihs has found a way to diagnose aggressive cancer tumors in two hours. The next stage of her research is that “[they] may be able to find out more and predict where in the body a secondary tumor is likely to develop.”
CURING CANCER – AND SHRIMP VIRUSES
Technion Researcher Avi Schroeder is leading multiple breakthroughs to fight cancer and cure viruses. “I feel, and this is supported by research data, that in the upcoming decade, we will solve most problems with cancer treatment,” he said. “By 2030, we will reach a place where most cancer patients will be cured.” Today, he is also applying his research to find a vaccine for COVID-19.
PROMISING TUMOR-BUSTING TECHNOLOGY GETS FUNDED
After 10 years of funded research, aMoon, a health-tech fund,makes a $5 million investment in Technion Dean Marcelle Machluf’s venture to help bring her Nano-Ghost tumor-busting technology to market.
BLOOD TESTS IN YOUR OWN HOME
Ten years of research went into the creation of PixCell’s HemoScreen hematology analyzer. This enables cancer patients to have their blood tested at home. The patent pending, FDA-approved device is based on technology known as viscoelastic focusing, which was first discovered at the Technion.
With your help, Technion researchers will help create a future without cancer. Let’s give them the tools to create a healthier tomorrow for all of us!
Israel’s Sheba Hospital recently unveiled what they call “the ICU room of the future”. It features many innovative technologies that were developed by Technion alumni including: AnyVision, Vocalis and CLEW Medical. This room maximizes care and comfort while minimizing risk to staff during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Using the Internet of Things (IoT), original algorithms, and artificial intelligence, Israeli startup Kando, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and Ben-Gurion University have launched a pilot project to detect traces of the novel Coronavirus in the wastewater of Ashkelon. Kando allows experts to pinpoint specific areas affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, enabling responses and potentially avoiding total lock-down in the event of a second wave of the Coronavirus.
Nanoscent is using nano-sensor technology and AI to diagnose patients in half a minute through breath samples. Originally tested by researchers at the Technion and the Rambam Health Care Campus back in March, trials are underway to apply this testing method to drive-through testing clinics across Israel. In addition, Magen David Adom has started using the technology at their testing stations, as have Tel Aviv Medical Center and Poriya Medical Center. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Oren Gavriely is a Technion alumnus.
The unique “Maya” sticker is a 3D-printed sticker, developed by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, led by Prof. Eyal Zussman. The innovative sticker contains nanofibers coated with antiseptics. Stuck onto surgical masks, the team says the sticker significantly upgrades protection, and is able to capture and kill nano-particles of 99 percent of viruses from droplets that reach the mask. The next step is mass production for hospitals and the public.
Researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology announced a successful trial of pooling medical samples and performing simultaneous testing for the presence of the Coronavirus in batches of 32 or 64 samples at a time. Now, the test is undergoing final validation and it should be available for widespread use by winter, when the prevalence of other respiratory diseases will make rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 even more critical.
Diagnostic Robotics Ltd is an AI-based remote screening platform used by Israel to monitor the spread of COVID-19. It has now been deployed globally, including in the U.S., Western Europe, and Asia. Co-founders Jonathan Amir and Dr. Kira Radinsky, and Prof. Moshe Shoham are all Technion alumni. Prof. Shoham also teaches at Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and heads the Kahn Medical Robotics Laboratory.
Corsight, a subsidiary of the high-tech company Cortica, launched their touchless AI technology globally. Their high-speed AI facial recognition technology helps medical teams access locked areas without removing protective gear. Emerging from research at the Technion, Cortica was founded by Technion Prof. Yehoshua Zeevi and doctoral graduates, Igal Raichelgauz and Karina Ordinaev.
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have suggested a new approach to overcoming anticancer-drug resistance in melanoma based on the discovery of two proteins that together play together a major role in the phenomenon.
Researchers at the Technion were able to prove that positive emotions can shrink cancer tumors based on a study that involves activating the reward system in the brains of mice.
Storytelling doesn’t just stimulate our imaginations. Assistant Professor Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Director of the Educational Neuroimaging Center in the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology in the Technion, explains just how important this nighttime routine can be in developing the minds of babies and children.
Thanks to a patented technology from Technion, the next generation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) will help us see the bigger picture of the brain.
Technion student Shaked Ron has invented a breakthrough technology mapping the cerebral cortex during brain surgery while minimizing risk.
Technion graduates, Imad and Reem Younis, developed a GPS for the brain that helps guide doctors to treat movement and psychiatric disorders in hundreds of hospital and labs around the world.
Surgical Theater’s VR platform lets doctors and patients see inside the brain and rehearse for surgery. COO Alon Zuckerman, a Technion graduate, is helping build more confidence for neurosurgeons in hospitals around the United States.
Technion researchers have found a way to slow down and possibly repair the effects of Alzheimer’s and other neuro-degenerative diseases by administering a specific protein called “neuro growth factor”.
Technion researchers have developed an AI-based technology to help accurately identify those with sleep apnea.
Professor Itama Kahn, director of the Brain Systems Organization in Health and Disease Lab at Technion, is leading a brain research that involves identifying neurodegenerative diseases years before their effects are noticed.