US cigarette smoking dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released Thursday. Meanwhile, electronic cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults. The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 adults.

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In the mid-1960s, 42% of US adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public. Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about 11%, down from about 12.5% in 2020 and 2021. The survey findings sometimes are revised after further analysis, and CDC is expected to release final 2021 data soon.

E-cigarette use rose to nearly 6% last year, from about 4.5% the year before, according to survey data. The rise in e-cigarette use concerns Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. Nicotine addiction has its own health implications, including risk of high blood pressure and a narrowing of the arteries, according to the American Heart Association.

Smoking and vaping rates are almost reversed for teens. Only about 2% of high school students were smoking traditional cigarettes last year, but about 14% were using e-cigarettes, according to other CDC data.

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Basketball legend Michael Jordan is donating $10 million to launch two medical clinics in underserved communities near his hometown in North Carolina, a regional health care system announced Monday.

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The Novant Health clinics are set to open in early 2022 in New Hanover County along North Carolina's southeastern coast, according to a statement from the system. The gift marks one of the largest ever from the Basketball Hall of Fame athlete, news outlets reported.

Jordan previously gave $7 million to open Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte in 2019 and 2020. Those clinics have since seen more than 4,500 patients and have administered nearly 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines, Novant Health said.

"I am very proud to once again partner with Novant Health to expand the Family Clinic model to bring better access to critical medical services in my hometown," Jordan said in a statement. "Everyone should have access to quality health care, no matter where they live, or whether or not they have insurance."

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Thanks to a new steerable microcatheter developed by Israel's BENDIT Technologies and the medical staff at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, a 74-year-old man has survived a brain aneurysm.

This week, doctors at Sheba's Neuro-Interventional & Stroke Center performed the first procedure using the flexible device.

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"The patient had a giant brain aneurysm that was compressing his brainstem and had a high risk of brain hemorrhage," explained Sheba's Acute Stroke Director Dr. David Orion.

"The previous endovascular procedures we performed with the standard devices were unsuccessful due to this patient's complicated anatomy and the presence of crucial brain arteries coming out of the aneurysm," the surgeon added.

With in-use protocol failing to help the man, the hospital asked the Ministry of Health for compassionate approval to try BENDIT's microcatheter.

"This is the first-ever use of the BENDIT microcatheter in a neuro indication," Orion said, adding that he believed the device could "dramatically change the endovascular field."

According to BENDIT CEO Yossi Mazel, "Providing endovascular intervention for the brain and hard-to-access organs is a race against time. Being unable to move a catheter through a bend in the artery can result in delayed treatment and devastating outcomes."

"Dr. Orion's successful procedure using our device showcases a new frontier in the treatment of brain aneurysms and beyond," Mazel said.

BENDIT's patented technology reduces the complex catheterization procedure to a single step, and enables radial access to reduce patient risk. BENDIT Technologies has already received FDA and CE certification for peripheral use of its microcatheter, and plans to submit it for approval for neurovascular indication soon.

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One of Israel's largest hospitals, the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, is reportedly in negotiations with medical organizations in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the setting up of a branch of the hospital in Dubai.

The idea reportedly grew out from a visit that Hadassah Medical Organization director-general Prof. Zeev Rotstein made to Dubai as part of an official Israeli delegation that met with Emirati government ministers.

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"I'm thrilled that the name of Hadassah has reached the UAE and that they want to bring Hadassah to them," said Rotstein. "I could never even have dreamed of such a thing and I pinch myself to check that it is real. They want to take Hadassah, build new homes, a series of buildings, and new equipment for our staff in Dubai."

Rotstein added that the talks are in a preliminary stage with many issues still needing to be ironed out, and said that even a concrete proposal has yet to see the light of day.

It is thought that Dubai would want to relocate 1,000 Hadassah doctors and nurses to the emirate, along with their families. Any staff that would be prepared to move would likely request generous remuneration and other conditions.

"They are offering staff amazing terms, homes, jobs, for their partners and children, free education and full healthcare.," Rotstein maintained. "They have unlimited money. We asked that they also help here in Israel but it's not certain that that's what's in mind."

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Hadassah's director-general said that talk of opening a branch in Dubai was not a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Finance Ministry. He maintained that the ministry would have to decide whether "it is interested in the continued existence of Hadassah as a leading hospital in Israel, or not."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Since the start of the epidemic in Israel, 113,648 Israelis have contracted the virus. As of Sunday morning, there were 20,151 symptomatic cases.

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Three more people succumbed to the virus on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 909 – more than double what it was on July 24, when the total number of deaths stood at 448. Of all the corona patients to die of the virus in Israel, 90 (nearly 10%) died this past week.

On Sunday there were 892 coronavirus patients hospitalized, 441 of whom were listed in serious condition, including 121 on ventilators.

The only coronavirus units at over 90% capacity were those at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Laniado Hospital in Netanyahu, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, and the Old Scottish Hospital.

Cities designated "red" because of high rates of COVID spread included Bnei Brak, Tira, Kafr Qasim, Umm al-Fahm, Daliyat al-Carmel, Laqiyya, Maaleh Iron, Yakir, Kisraa-Samia, Furedeis, Tifrach, Kaabiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre, Buka'ata, and Yad Binyamin.

Meanwhile, the percentage of US citizens confirmed to have contracted coronavirus is approaching 2% of the total population. Each day tens of thousands of new cases are identified. Some 186,000 Americans have died of the virus thus far, and the US death toll is expected to exceed 200,000 within a few weeks.

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On Thursday, negotiations between the lab workers' union and the Treasury fell apart after the two sides failed to reach any understandings.

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While the strike is in effect, labs will provide emergency services only, and lab services will not be available at clinics.

Tests for hospital units (other than lifesaving tests in emergency departments, trauma centers, and intensive care units) will not be processed. Blood work and other tests carried out for non-urgent surgeries will also not be processed. Tests for urgent surgical procedures, women giving birth, and cancer patients will be processed as usual.

However, tests for newborn babies will not be processed, a decision expected to delay the process of releasing mothers and newborns from the hospital.

Labs will continue to process coronavirus tests, but will provide data on positive results only in order to help the authorities cut off outbreaks.

Officials in the Association of Biochemists, Microbiologists, and Laboratory Workers said in response to Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy's comment that he hoped the strike would end on Sunday by saying that since Thursday, there had been a "total disconnect" between the workers and the Treasury, and that no additional meetings had been scheduled.

Long before the coronavirus epidemic began in Israel, the country's lab workers were demanding a new pay scale that would offer a starting wage of at least 50 shekels ($14.87) per hour. Currently, newly-hired lab workers with post-graduate degrees earn 31 shekels ($9.22) per hour. However, private labs operated by the My Rating company pay four times as much.

Lab workers are also demanding that the government increase the number of positions, in accordance with population growth and consumption of health care services.

Dr. Raul Kolodner, director of laboratory services at Emek Medical Center in Afula said, "Unfortunately, we have reached the point of declaring an open-ended strike. I would like to ask our partners to show empathy for the lab workers who are fighting for their basic rights, who have been rejected for years. We have no intention of harming patients, and we will do everything possible to avoid putting lives in danger, heaven forbid."

Esther Admon, chairwoman of the Association of Biochemists, Microbiologists, and Laboratory Workers, said, "The government is treating us with contempt and ignoring us, the lab workers, despite the heavy responsibility we have shouldered, and even though we are putting our lives in danger on a daily basis. Our working conditions and pay are some of the most pathetic in Israel. We're ashamed."

The Treasury issued a statement in response: "In recent weeks, there have been negotiations about the laboratory workers' demands. In intensive negotiations thus far, agreements about some of the issues being discussed have been reached.

"On other issues, generous offers were made, but rejected. We regret that despite the agreement signed with the lab workers and the significant raises we gave them for processing corona tests, the association is choosing the take advantage of the situation and go on strike at a time that is very sensitive, both in terms of economics and in terms of public health. We are willing to go back to the negotiating table at any time, and call on the Association of Biochemists, Microbiologists, and Laboratory Workers to join the fight."

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The PulseNmore device docks with a smartphone and uses advanced navigation and AI tools, as well as an app, to guide users through the scanning process.

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Physicians or sonographers can use telemedicine platforms to review the scans offline or in real time and reassure parents that all is well, or instruct them on appropriate next steps, if any are warranted.

Israel's largest health care provider, Clalit Health Services, has signed a multi-year agreement to purchase the device, which it plans to provide to tens of thousands of its pregnant members.

"At home tele-ultrasound scanning is a major leap forward in digital medicine and prenatal health," said Dr. Elazar Sonnenschein, Founder and CEO of PulseNmore.

"We have successfully miniaturized the traditional ultrasound system to create a solution that is both affordable and accessible for expectant families. According to Clalit, pregnant women pay 'false' visits to the emergency room more than twice on average with concerns about their baby's well-being. Our solution provides vital information to healthcare providers to determine if a baby is healthy, helping expectant mothers have peace of mind at home and avoid unnecessary visits to the ER," Sonnenschein explained.

Head of Clalit's eHealth Division Leor Wolff said that "In today's connected world, women and their partners want and deserve to know about the well-being of their baby without having to visit the emergency room. PulseNmore makes that possible."

Wolff said that Clalit physicians reviewed more than 1,300 self-scans in its initial study of the PulseNmore device, and in 95% of the scans has been able to see fetal heart activity, movement and amniotic fluid.

"We are confident that PulseNmore's device will support our healthcare professionals during COVID-19 and beyond," Wolff said.

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"The program aims at accelerating innovative diagnostic technologies from the Israeli health tech ecosystem that address global healthcare challenges," the firms announced in a joint statement.

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The collaboration, called StarFinder Lab, will focus on "identifying and cultivating disruptive AI-driven data as well as digital healthcare solutions from the agile and highly skilled Israeli health tech ecosystem," according to the statement.

Funding, mentoring and strategic support will be provided to newly-formed or existing ventures chosen for the StarFinder Lab program. Elected entrepreneurs will have "access to global expertise from Roche and aMoon to build and tailor technologies for product-market fit."

Applications for the StarFinder Lab program will open in October 2020.

"As a world-renowned digital innovation hub, Israel has robust entrepreneurial resources that can provide solutions to major challenges faced by the healthcare industry," said Dr. Yair Schindel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at aMoon.

CEO of Roche Israel Avi Danziger said the program "offers a unique strategic partnership model from concept to global market."

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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CAPS Medical's platform is designed to treat solid tumors through minimally invasive procedures, attacking cancer cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue.

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Founded in 2018 by the Israeli Innovation Authority's MEDX Xelerator, the company based its treatment option on non-thermal atmospheric plasma technology originally developed by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in conjunction with Rambam Health Care Campus.

The application of non-thermal plasma directly targets and kills cancer cells and subsequently triggers an immune response that enables the body to target additional tumor-specific cells in the body.

Sheldon Liber, CEO of Chasing Value Asset Management, one of the investors, said that CAPS Medical's product would provide a treatment option that can selectively target cancer cells with greater precision and fewer side effects than many treatment options currently available.

"We believe CAPS Medical is on the cusp of the next revolution in cancer care, and we look forward to helping the company progress through its clinical trials towards eventual FDA clearance," Liber said.

CEO of CAPS Medical Ilan Uchitel said "We are committed to enhancing internal solid tumor treatment via highly selective and minimally invasive non-thermal plasma treatment to elevate the standard of care for treating internal solid tumors."

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