From 6:29 AM on October 7, 2023, it's as if Israelis have been riding a never-ending high-speed train of trauma, each day punctuated by the sounds of sirens, buzzing drones, artillery fire, and fighter jets. The incessant booms of falling shrapnel, exploding Iron Dome interceptors, the words spoken on TV, on the phone with family, written online between friends – all about the missing, the injured, the murdered, the kidnapped. Civilians become soldiers overnight, others attending funerals and protests en masse, as streets transform into murals of socio-political slogans and portraits of unwitting victims.

Images and videos have seared into the collective memory: mutilated bodies stained with blood; raw terror etched on the faces of fleeing concertgoers across a vast field; Shani Louk's lifeless body lynched on the streets of Gaza; Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose arm was maimed by an RPG, or the white pick-up truck filled with armed Hamas terrorists driving through the streets of Sderot on what was supposed to be a quiet Saturday morning. The examples are endless, and the horror of the massacres and pogroms at the Nova Music Festival and over 20 towns and villages of Israel's South reverberates far beyond its borders. 

In its savage cruelty, in its deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, in its perverse celebration of violence broadcasted for the world to see, the October 7 attack was a declaration of war by Hamas and its sponsors, not just on Israel, but on the very values that underpin civilized society.

The audio-visual trauma is a major part of the weaponry in this war: The taunting hostage videos and discrediting social media posts – these are not mere byproducts of the attack, but central to its aim of sowing fear, helplessness, and long-lasting trauma. Hamas, a ruthless terrorist organization driven by a Nazi-like ideology passed down from Europe to the Middle East at the end of World War II, is built on hatred and savagery. It understands that in today's hyper-connected world, psychological warfare can be as potent as any bomb. Hamas sought to use their atrocities to turn vast sections of the world against Israel through a propaganda campaign. This campaign aimed to justify their actions and has been nurtured for decades.

The debilitating soundtrack and visuals have fueled an algorithm-dictated echo chamber of trauma online and in real life, hour by hour, day after day. In the last 12 months, even the most mundane sights and sounds took on a sinister new meaning, it became clear that no Israeli is immune to this new breed of terror. The color yellow immediately sparks a connection to the 'Bring Them Home' campaign, a haunting reminder of the hostages' plight, and many street noises echo an eerie resemblance to rocket sirens and gunshots, causing people to regularly freeze in panic for a split second before realizing the true origin of the sound.

The trauma inflicted on Israel's psyche is a microcosm of the wounds inflicted on the collective conscience of the Jewish people throughout history. Confronting this threat requires more than military might. It will require moral clarity, psychological resilience, and calling out the double standards that legitimize some victims while ignoring others, the hypocrisy that condemns Israel's self-defense while excusing the provocations that necessitate it.

As Prof. Ofrit Shapira Berman, a historian of Israeli trauma, explains, "October 7th is Israel's biggest trauma yet, not only because of its objective magnitude, but also because it echoes our past traumas – the Holocaust and the Yom Kippur war, in terms of the government's betrayal and failure. The fact that October 7th is experienced by many as a byproduct of the government's actions has broken the trust of many citizens in the government and the state."

A nation forged in trauma

For Israelis, national trauma is a familiar, unwelcome companion. The very inception of the modern State of Israel is inextricably bound with the devastation of the Holocaust, which saw six million Jews systematically murdered. Rising from those ashes, each subsequent war and attack has resulted in Israel's enduring accumulative post-traumatic stress – the War of Independence, Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, the Lebanon Wars, the Intifadas, Operation Protective Edge, weekly knife attacks and car rammings – seven decades of indelible dents on the collective psyche.

"The events of October 7 result in an estimated 300,000 additional patients who require treatment by a trained professional," notes Prof. Shapira Berman.

This legacy has shaped a society where even schoolchildren practice rocket drills. In the 1990s, they were taught to don gas masks in preparation for biochemical warfare and, today, how to take cover in shelters from incoming missiles. Memorializing the fallen is woven into the very fabric of the Israeli public space. In a sense, it is this shared history of trauma, more than anything else, that binds Israelis together across religious, ethnic, and political divides.

The sheer scale and brutality of the October 7 attack and its aftermath reactions have ushered in a new level of national trauma into Israel's battered consciousness, be it the slaughter of innocent families, the shattering of the idea that the home is a safe haven, the agony over the fate of the hostages, and the global campaigns to delegitimize and gaslight the Israeli narrative by major organizations like the United Nations, and individuals alike. Beyond the initial attack itself, the hate and antisemitism running rampant anywhere from major news networks to the campuses of the biggest universities have shocked Israelis to their core, struggling to understand how their suffering is being ignored or, worse, manipulated and vilified.

Audio-visual trauma: No escape from the horrors

Experts say the constant multimedia conversation can cause a state of hypervigilance, anxiety, flashbacks, and difficulty functioning for many, causing some to slip into dissociative states.

"We are seeing a shared reality where all Israelis are victims," explains Dr. Rony Berger, a clinical psychologist specializing in community resilience. "This leads most Israelis to experience symptoms of acute stress, even if they were not directly impacted." Dr. Berger notes that "Even those not directly exposed to the attacks were deeply traumatized by the constant barrage of disturbing images and stories on TV." 

Dr. Berger highlights the unique challenges posed by the unfiltered videos of the attacks circulating online: "From an evolutionary point of view, we know that the worst flashbacks or sensations are either smell or voice because, in prehistoric eras, these were the cues for danger. Audio-visual pictures that we see on TV could be really traumatizing. I've known a lot of people who were not directly exposed but were extremely affected just by the sights they've seen on TV."

For those near the southern and northern borders, and indeed across most of Israel with the proliferation of threats on multiple fronts, the whole country is impacted by the terrorizing fear of attacks from land, sea, and air as well as online. Mental health professionals are treating a nation reeling from audio-visual trauma on an unprecedented scale. With one in three Israelis exhibiting PTSD symptoms, new treatment approaches are being pioneered, like virtual reality therapy, to help patients process traumatic memories more safely.

The psychological toll spares no one

The war's psychological impact has cut across all sectors of Israeli society. Soldiers and reservists grapple with the horrors witnessed on the battlefield. Families of the murdered and injured face a lifetime of grief and challenges. Survivors of the attacks relive the terror in flashbacks and nightmares. Even young children are not spared, with a generation growing up to explosions and horrifying footage, their innocence forever marred.

Psychotherapist Dr. Shlomit Bresler, who has treated dozens of bereaved families and injured victims, describes the long road ahead. "For many, the grief and trauma is still very raw. First, we focus on stabilization and establishing a sense of safety. The real processing often can only begin once they feel secure that the threat has subsided. With the war still raging, that is a long way off for most."

Dr. Bresler emphasizes the collective nature of the trauma: "We are living in a mass-trauma situation. The entire population is under trauma and various types, but this started before October 7th. October 7th simply reopened a wound and infected it worse. The healing process can only come from deeper sociological and political changes."

"The families of hostages are suffering the most, their lives completely upended, consumed by anguish and despair with each passing day," Dr. Berger reflects. Each day without news chips away at their resilience, the unknown becoming a unique form of torture.

Yehezkel Caine, President of the Herzog Medical Center, Israel's leading mental health institution, describes the situation as a "psychological and emotional catastrophe." He warns of a "coming tsunami of mental health problems" as people return to the remains of their communities, confront the death and destruction, and soldiers return with physical and emotional scars.

"Already our main clinics are overflowing," Caine reports. He emphasizes the shortage of trained therapists proficient in trauma as a major challenge, necessitating extensive training programs and support for the mental health professionals themselves to prevent secondary trauma and burnout.

Caine notes significant differences in the psychological impact and treatment needs between civilian victims, soldiers, and first responders. "The civilian sector is way behind, both due to a lack of trained therapists, little government support and a lack of infrastructure, due to years of neglect of the mental health sector," he explains. The military sector is comparatively better organized, while first responders typically receive services through their units.

Collaboration and long-term needs

Looking ahead, Caine emphasizes the critical need for investment in mental health infrastructure and resources to address the long-term impacts of this unprecedented national trauma. "Manpower, manpower, and manpower!" he stresses, highlighting the years of training required to produce qualified psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers. "If one can see a positive aspect to the events, it is the sudden recognition by everyone of the problem and, to a certain extent, the destigmatization of mental health," Caine notes. "This is, of course, a good thing. Unfortunately, there is no magic wand that we can wave to produce good quality therapists. It takes at least 5 years to produce a psychiatrist from a qualified doctor. A clinical psychologist can take a similar period. Clinical social workers also require extensive training."

Caine also underscores the lack of physical facilities, with Herzog Medical Center's new clinic building already overflowing just two years after opening. The hospital is embarking on an ambitious $90M project to build a new Mental Health Center, but completion is not expected until 2028.

The road ahead

For a society so deeply shaped by its history of existential threats, regaining a sense of safety and security on both the individual and collective level will be a long and difficult process.

"We need a 'mental Iron Dome' to protect Israelis from this bombardment on our psyche," asserts Prof. Mooli Lahad, Israel's leading expert on coping and resilience. "That means embedding mental health professionals in schools, workplaces, community centers, building a societal infrastructure of psychological support and resilience."

Lahad's BASIC Ph model outlines six coping and resilience styles: Belief, Affect, Social, Imagination, Cognitive, and Physical. "The more of these we are able to utilize, the more resilience we are able to harness to regain a sense of control in an otherwise terrifying situation," he explains.

Prof. Lahad provides some concrete examples of what a "mental Iron Dome" could entail: "It is possible through the resilience centers and through the government services such as community welfare and education. This model is based on the 'cascade' model: we train master trainers who commit themselves to training others. If we manage to train 40 trainers who each commit to training 25 trainees twice, we get around 1000 trained therapists."

He also suggests leveraging technology: "One other method that we developed is an app where the therapist meets the client online but uses the same method of treatment called SEE FAR CBT, making it accessible to those who can't leave home for various reasons."

"The recent pre-war civic conflict surfaced what sociologists warned us about – the growing rift in Israeli society," Prof. Lahad reflects. "This, combined with the feeling that the state is changing course, the global loss of trust in authorities, the social media 'poison' of fake news, the colossal failure of the IDF, the ongoing inability of the government to resolve the conflict and bring an end to the attacks, and the burning issue of the hostages, is causing attrition in the morale and mental health of Israelis."

As Israel marks one year since the October 7 attack, the nation remains haunted by the sounds and images of that horrific day and the war that followed. The collective and personal scars run deep, with mental health professionals warning of a looming crisis as hundreds of thousands grapple with trauma.

"The cruelty of the savage infiltrators has ignited a dormant Jewish post-Holocaust fear of annihilation and disappointment that the state did not manage to fulfill the basic belief of 'never again,'" Prof. Lahad concludes. "It is, therefore, a long road to recovery. Because of the mistrust in authorities, we believe the recovery will have to be bottom-up – back to the local communities, back to human relationships."

Prof. Ofrit Shapira Berman offers a powerful call to action: "I cannot be hopeless about our future as a nation and a society. The Holocaust gave us a nation of our own. October 7th has to have a similar impact on our lives. It is clear that no other nation or people has such a powerful ability to transform suffering and trauma into strength and success, but with that said, ultimately, healing will require placing the spiritual dimension of life at the center because emerging from this crisis will take a sustained, society-wide effort, working together, from the grassroots community level up to the highest echelons of leadership."

NATAL's frontline response

NATAL (Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center) has been at the forefront of addressing the psychological fallout of the October 7 attacks. The organization operates dedicated helplines for civilians and veterans, funded by the Ministry of Defense. Immediately following October 7, these helplines saw an unprecedented call surge, with over 23,000 in the first month alone. To date, NATAL's helplines have received over 53,000 calls, with dramatic spikes during escalations like the Iran missile threats.

To meet the increased demand and complexity of needs, NATAL has significantly expanded its workforce, developing innovative therapeutic approaches like neurofeedback therapy and tailored interventions for specific populations like reservists and soldiers' families. NATAL's Career Development Unit is providing specialized support for young adults transitioning from military reserves back to work.

NATAL's 24/7 Helpline provides psychological support to those affected by war and terror-related trauma. Call *3362 for assistance.

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A new initiative aims to provide special mentoring for Slovenian startup companies looking to gain a foothold in Israel.

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Last week, the Slovenian Embassy in Israel, together with public business development organization Spirit Slovenia and the Slovene Enterprise Fund, announced the launch of a new accelerator in Israel, to be managed by Arieli Capital's ETC.

The program seeks to connect selected Slovenian startups with Israeli high-tech companies, leading industry organizations, international corporations, investors, and academic institutions.

The accelerator program, which is funded by the Slovenian government, is scheduled to run in Tel Aviv from Feb. 13-April 11, and an open call for Slovenian startups is already underway, with applications accepted until mid-January, 2022.

Slovenian startups from a variety of sectors, including healthcare, fintech, foodtech, and more, are expected to take part.

"We are excited to launch the Slovenia-Israel accelerator, which will reinforce the economic and social collaboration between the growing ecosystems of both countries. The accelerator offers Slovenian startups a unique opportunity to work in the heart of one of the world's primary high-tech hubs, the startup nation of Israel," said Or Haviv, partner and head of global innovation at Arieli Capital.

"We are confident that this strategic partnership will help to advance the Slovenian startups to the forefront of the global high-tech scene," he added.

Haviv said that many countries were increasingly interested in becoming part of Israel's startup scene. "Israel became a compelling example of a tech ecosystem producing world leading innovation. Many countries would like to learn how to build a similar model," he stressed.

Slovenian Ambassador to Israel Andreja Purkart Martinez said, "Israel and Slovenia share a lot in common."

According to Martinez, "The Slovenian economy is growing fast thanks to excellent human capital, government backed investments and cutting edge research and academic institutions. We are certain that collaborating with Israel will help Slovenia's entrepreneurial and startup industry thrive and help our talented startups expand to international markets."

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Six companies that operate under the auspices of the ARC Innovation Center at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer raised a combined total of over $110 million in 2021, the center reported Wednesday.

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The ARC (Accelerate Redesign Collaborate) Innovation Center, led by Professor Eyal Zimlichman, who serves as chief innovation and transformation officer at Sheba, seeks to introduce new technologies to the hospital and community ecosystem.

All six companies are based on technology invented and developed out of Sheba, and the center focuses on digital health technologies such as precision medicine, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, telemedicine and mobile health.

"The ARC Innovation Center has been focusing on ground-breaking, innovative technologies with a prime directive to redesign healthcare. Our commercialization efforts enable us to expand the reach of these technologies and create global impact on a wide scale," Zimlichman explained.

The six Sheba companies that secured investments in 2021 are:

Aidoc, a provider of artificial intelligence solutions that support and enhance physicians' diagnostic power ($66 million). Aidoc's solutions use AI to analyze medical images directly after acquisition and notify radiologists directly in their workflows of cases with suspected findings. Aidoc has seven FDA-cleared solutions and has won numerous awards including the prestigious UCSF 'Best New Health Application of AI' award and TIME's 50 most genius companies.

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BELKIN Laser, a clinical-stage medical device company developing a disruptive automated one-second laser treatment for glaucoma ($13.75 million). Developed by Prof. Michael Belkin, the camera-guided system enables precise contact-free procedure through a sophisticated image processing algorithm that automatically defines the treatment location and tracks the movement of the eye.

Starget Pharma, a start-up biopharmaceutical company that develops products for the diagnosis and targeted treatment of cancer through radioactive radiation ($10 million). Starget develops unique molecules that serve as a vector for selectively transferring imaging materials and treatment to the tumor tissue. Starget's leading research product is a somatostatin-like peptide based on a technology that developed by Sheba Hospital and Tel Aviv University that is licensed exclusively to the company.

Append Medical, developer of the next generation transcatheter Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) closure system ($7.6 million). The Append Medical procedure is designed to prevent blood clot leakage by achieving complete LAA closure, avoid device-related thromboembolism by leaving minimal foreign material at the closure site, while being a simple procedure with fewer LAA pre-procedure measurements. The Append Medical solution is in pre-clinical in-vivo trials phase and is intended to become a differentiated solution in the LAA closure market, which is estimated to reach $25 billion within several years.

Innovalve Bio Medical, an early-stage medical-device company developing catheter-based heart valve therapies ($7.2 million). The company grew out of inventions and patents developed by Sheba experts Professor Ehud Raanani, director of Sheba's Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center, and Dr. Boris Orlev, head of the Sheba's Mitral Valve Surgery Unit. Innovalve has developed an artificial mitral valve that can be replaced using a minimally invasive catheter to help treat patients with heart disease. The company has achieved successful results in experiments on animals and has received US-FDA approval for a US clinical trial, as well as approval in other territories.

TechsoMed, a miotech company that is developing BioTrace, the world's first real-time monitoring and control systems for ablation procedure ($7 million). The technology is applicable to multiple fields such as oncology (tumor ablation), cardiology (heart arrhythmia) and pain management (radiofrequency neurotomy) technology. The breakthrough technology brings disruptive improvement to thermal ablation through real time AI and image analysis by interfacing with a standard ultrasound device.

Dr. Sylvie Luria, CEO of Sheba's Technology Transfer Company, which handles ARC's commercialization efforts, said, "The quality of innovation at Sheba has earned the trust of healthcare innovators and industry alike. Moreover, the funding of six companies this year is a testament to investor confidence in Sheba-developed innovations, which aim to solve complex clinical challenges and make healthcare systems more efficient."

"Reaching $1 billion in investments in ARC technologies over a decade is a milestone, but the impact of these investments in improved healthcare delivery and patient outcomes is exponentially greater," Luria noted.

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Doctors at Israel's Maccabi national health fund have recently begun working with an Artificial Intelligence-based predictive algorithm that advises doctors in the process of deciding on personalized antibiotic treatment for patients.

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The new algorithm was developed by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology together with KSM (Kahn-Sagol-Maccabi), the Maccabi Research and Innovation Center.

Maccabi chose to focus its first diagnoses on urinary tract infection – the most common bacterial infection among women. Around 30% of females suffer from the infection at least once during their lifetime, and up to 10% experience recurrent infections. Until now, in most cases, general treatment has been administered based on clinical guidelines and medical judgment. Sometimes, the bacteria prove to be antibiotic-resistant, resulting in the need to change the treatment plan.

Since the new algorithm was introduced, Maccabi doctors have treated tens of thousands of cases, and there has been a drop of around 35% in the need to switch antibiotics following the development of bacterial resistance to the drug prescribed.

This is significant because accuracy in the choice of antibiotics is far greater thanks to the new technology. In light of the success of this new development in the treatment of UTI, Maccabi has begun working on the development of additional detection systems that will help to contend with other infectious diseases that require personalized treatment with antibiotics.

The automated system works by recommending the most suitable antibiotic treatment for the patient to the doctor, based on clinical guidelines and other criteria such as age, gender, pregnancy status, residence in an assisted living facility, and personal history of UTI and antibiotics administered.

The unique algorithm was developed by Prof. Roy Kishony and Dr. Idan Yelin of the Technion Faculty of Biology, in cooperation with KSM, headed by Dr. Tal Patalon, and was introduced and implemented among Maccabi's doctors by the health fund's Medical Informatics team and Chief Physician's Department.

"The algorithm we developed together with Maccabi's experts is a major milestone in personalized medicine on the way to AI-based antibiotic treatments, which are personally tailored to the patient according to the prediction of treatment response and mitigate the development of resistant bacteria," said Kishony.

Dr. Shira Greenfield, Director of Medical Informatics at Maccabi, said: "The significance of administering personalized antibiotic treatment is that it lowers the risk of antibiotic resistance developing – a global problem which all healthcare entities are working to solve."

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A law aimed at boosting Iran's population came went into effect on Tuesday, announced by President Ebrahim Raisi, even after concerns were raised that it would limit women's access to reproductive healthcare.

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The "Youthful Population and Protection of the Family" legislation was approved by Iran's parliament in October 2021.

This law renders reproductive screening optional, imposes restrictions on abortion, and limits access to contraception while providing added benefits to families with more children.

It also tasks public broadcasters with producing content that encourages women to have more children and denounces celibacy or abortion.

About 46.6% of Iran's population of 83 million is under 30-years-old, according to the latest data published in 2019 by the national statistics office.

The population under 30 has dropped since 2010 at a negative rate of 3.24%.

According to the World Bank, Iran's population growth rate sharply declined from over 4% in the early 1980s to 1.29% in 2020.

United Nations officials as well as women's rights activists, among other rights groups, criticized the law.

"The consequences of this law will be crippling for women and girls' right to health," UN officials said on Tuesday.

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They added that it "represents an alarming and regressive U-turn by a government that had been praised for progress on the right to health."

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the law "further violates women's rights to sexual and reproductive health and puts women's health and lives at risk."

It called on Iran to "immediately repeal the provisions that restrict human rights."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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The US magazine Newsweek published its annual World's Best Specialized Hospitals list this week, listing what it deems to be the world's best providers of specialty care in a number of vital fields. The list features three Israeli medical centers.

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The magazine ranks the top 250 hospitals for cardiology and oncology, the top 150 for cardiac surgery and pediatrics and the top 125 for endocrinology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, neurology, neurosurgery and pulmonology.

According to this year's rankings, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer is No. 42 in the world when it comes to cardiology care. The Heart Institute at Hadassah Ein Karem Medical Center was ranked No. 173 for cardiology, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center's cardiology care was ranked No. 204.

Hadassah's oncology care also came in for praise, with the hospital's Sharett Institute of Oncology, located on Mount Scopus, ranking 211 in the oncology section.

Sheba's neurosurgery and gastroenterology departments also performed well, coming at No. 40 and 44 in each category.

Sourasky's Orthopedics Department was ranked No. 123 in that category.

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On Sept. 11, 2001, Lila Nordstrom was taking an architecture class on the 10th floor of Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan, overlooking the World Trade Center.

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"Suddenly we heard a huge explosion, and we looked out the window, and there was a fireball on top of the World Trade Center," she recalled 20 years later.

Quickly, she made her way to the back door exit.

"We weren't really given any instructions beyond 'run north.' And so I walked down the stairs. I stepped into the mass of people who were walking uptown. And then the second tower started to fall immediately. And so everyone started to run, and I wound up in kind of a stampede."

"People started to develop like chronic coughs, and nosebleeds, and things. The school nurse's line was so long that you couldn't get in."She quickly noticed something was not right.

Years later, she understood the full health impact of 9/11 as some fellow students got cancer and her own asthma worsened, she said. Many first responders and those in the area who survived the initial destruction of the World Trade Center later developed diseases that have been linked to the toxic dust that was stirred up.

In 2006, Nordstrom started StuyHealth, an advocacy focused on helping young adults get access to the same healthcare that first responders received.

"I got involved in this issue because I couldn't afford asthma medication that's incredibly common and very affordable in other countries," said Nordstrom, now 37.

"I think that my whole experience after 9/11 would have been different if I had already had easy and affordable access to healthcare."

Initially designed to help civilian victims of 9/11, it later broadened its outreach to all disaster victims.

"I think a lot of the time in the 9/11 community, there's this sense that we're some kind of like exceptional victim because 9/11 was an exceptional moment," Nordstrom said. "But disaster victims are all the same everywhere."

Nordstrom's memoir, Some Kids Left Behind, in which she describes her 20-year battle to get healthcare for 9/11 survivors, came out at the end of August.

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Startup accelerator 8200 EISP, established by veterans of the IDF's elite 8200 intelligence unit, is planning an event for Monday, June 21,  to celebrate its 11th anniversary and showcase the many accomplishments the company has achieved since its inception, including fundraising in excess of $1 billion.

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"The long-term investments from previous years have borne fruit in recent months, with extraordinary successes, including the exits by Zeekit and Rise.ai and notable fundraisers by TailorMed and Explorium, bringing the total fundraised amount over $1 billion," said CEO of 8200 EISP Yarden Abarbanel.

She also pointed out the latest worrisome decline in the number of new startups, which makes the accelerator's work that much more critical.

"This decrease calls for even more encouragement, mentoring and assistance to entrepreneurs who are just starting out, so that we can continue to achieve new high-tech records in the years to come and preserve the growth engine of Israel's economy and employment," she said.

The company's program this year was attended by several prominent entrepreneurs, including Ohad Bobrov and Gil Hirsch, who came to share their experience in the field.

As part of the event, entrepreneurs will present new startups operating in a variety of fields − cybertechnology, web and app development, management, medicine, artificial intelligence and more.

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A dozen hospitals and healthcare providers across Spain have adopted Israeli workwear management company Polytex Technologies' automated workwear solution, the company announced this week.

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Doctors and nurses will now be able to dispense and collect their uniforms hands-free using a fully automated machine.

The technology was implemented to protect healthcare workers, which has become even more critical with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as fight contamination, protect workers' health, cut costs, and maximize efficiency.

Polytex's system itself is sealed, keeping garments in a clean environment that is opened only by laundry professionals during collection and restocking. The system is available on a 24/7 basis and often installed at multiple locations enabling staff to receive and return garments in seconds, thereby avoiding unnecessary crowding.

Polytex's technology has also been adopted in hospitals across Israel, the United States, Europe, and Asia.

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As the world begins to make its way out of the COVID pandemic, which saw record investment in digital health startups, Israeli startup ventures – especially ones that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology – operating in the American healthcare space find themselves on the edge of a new and important era.

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One example is Aidoc, which in April signed a partnership deal with the US-based Radiology Partners, which operates in one out of every 10 US hospitals. Aidoc's FDA-approved AI-based solutions help radiologists improve efficiencies that lead to a reduction of inpatient length-of-stay and time in the emergency department, which results in better care and lower costs for the patient, payer and health system.

Aidoc was founded by three partners, all alumni of the IDF's elite Talpiot program: CEO Elad Walach, CTO Michael Braginsky, and VP of R&D Guy Reiner, all of whom worked with AI and machine learning during their military service.

According to Walach, "There is enormous value to the American healthcare system's growing adoption of AI. We've reached an era in which AI tools can double doctors' critical skills, allowing improved treatment for patients and reduced healthcare costs in general. In the past four years, we've developed the most extensive AI platform on the market. The new partnership with Radiology Partners will accelerate the adoption of the technology in the American market and set a new standard of radiology treatment."

Startup DayTwo was founded based on a groundbreaking study by Weizmann Institute researchers Eran Segal and Eran Elinav, who discovered that identical foods eaten by different people cause different blood sugar responses. This discovery led to a development that is able to predict a person's individual response to sugar in the blood and offer tailor-made dietary recommendations that can help them avoid dangerous blood sugar spikes.

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This innovation drew special attention from American healthcare officials, when a trend began to emerge in which approximately one-third of COVID fatalities in the US turned out to be people who suffered from problems with blood sugar levels.

Adi Lev, Vice President of R&D at DayTwo, said, "We see that our algorithm, written by our developers in Tel Aviv, is leading to significant improvements in the health of our patients, by balancing blood sugar levels, stopping the development of diabetes, and reducing the amount of medication they take, as well as through other parameters.

DayTwo has developed a smartphone app that allows users to plug in the data about planned meals and receive a personalized forecast of possible blood sugar spikes.

"The proven clinical impact is first of all great for business, but also for the developers at the R&D center. For example, this week we heard about a woman who was using the DayTwo program in Michigan who was able to cancel a gastric bypass surgery. We feel like we're creating a product with meaning. This is underscored during COVID, when we know that diabetes is a preexisting condition with high correlation to how seriously the virus affects people," Lev said.

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