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THOUGHTS / MARCH 3, 2020

Inside Israel's Coronavirus War Room

The research and insight below was published during the heart of the pandemic, in April 2020. We keep it available online as we believe it showcases lessons for the U.S. healthcare system from Israel's coordinated response, which integrated expertise from the defense, intelligence and healthcare sectors.
 

Overview


Four weeks into its latest “war on terror,” Israel has created a cross-functional, intelligence-led War Room for addressing COVID-19 that integrates Defense, Intelligence, Healthcare, and other sectors.

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Mandate

 

The initiative, concentrated at top-10 global hospital system Sheba Medical Center, has identified six specific priorities, and is leveraging military-like precision and speed to execute.

 

Why It’s Important

 

Israel has a three-week lead over other countries, and has already identified, vetted, tested and certified solutions that should be considered in the U.S.

 

Our Objective

 

AGP’s unique place in the US-Israel ecosystem, coupled with our relationships inside the Israeli Defense and Healthcare industry, has given us insight into this critical initiative. We share this information with the sole purpose of helping Israel, the U.S. and the rest of the world address this pandemic. AGP has no investment nor economic stake in any of the businesses mentioned here.

 

INSIDE ISRAEL’S EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS

 

The State of Israel has recruited the entire Defense, Intelligence, Innovation, and Healthcare sectors to provide immediate solutions to the COVID-19 crisis. The effort is breathtaking in its speed and multidisciplinary approach, and is part of the reason why Israel has been ranked Number 1 in the Coronavirus Health Safety Countries Ranking.

 

Here are the key components of the cross-functional initiative, with specific recommendations to follow:

 

Who is involved?

 

Led by one of Israel’s top hospitals, Sheba Medical Center, the initiative includes a core team of nearly 200 people from a variety of agencies, including governmental, nonprofit, and private sector entities. Among the organizations involved:

  • Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel;

  • Israel’s Weapons Development and Technology Infrastructure Administration (known as Mafat);

  • $3.7 billion defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (which built the radars for Iron Dome);

  • Israeli Defense Forces’ reconnaissance and intelligence unit Sayeret Maktal (also known as Unit 269);

  • Sheba Medical Center, a Newsweek “Top 10 Hospitals in the World,” and other Israeli hospital systems.

 

Where is it located?

 

The COVID-19 activity is concentrated in Sheba Medical Center’s campus in Tel Hashomer, Israel. The largest hospital in the Middle East, Sheba has long been known as a system focused on advanced and emerging technologies, with its “ARC innovation hub” focused on telemedicine, precision medicine, AI, and more; Newsweek just ranked Sheba as the ninth best hospital in the world. 

 

What is the focus?

 

Top priorities at the cross-functional COVID-19 war room:

  • Acquiring equipment globally (e.g., respirators);

  • Identifying global production capacity;

  • Testing new technologies and solutions;

  • Shortening their time to market (e.g., certifying them);

  • Repurposing existing defense and intelligence IP;

  • Implementing and training on solutions above.

 

Summary and Solutions.

 

Due to the efforts above, Israel has a three-week lead over most Western countries, and has already identified, vetted, tested and certified solutions that should be considered in the U.S. and other markets. 

 

We are providing information on three of those solutions. Again, our goal is to help the U.S. and the rest of the world address this pandemic; AGP has no investment nor economic stake in any of the businesses mentioned here:

BIOBEAT: REMOTE OXYGEN SATURATION, BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR

Overview
 

Wearable device that measures a total of 14 vital signs, including blood 
pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, cardiac output, and others.

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Technology

 

Proprietary, patented photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor. Includes a disposable patch and cloud-based platform for management and oversight by healthcare providers.

 

Deployments

 

Thirteen of the largest hospitals in Israel (including Sheba). Many of Israel’s Coronavirus patients are wearing Bio-beat monitoring devices; can be used in-hospital or in-home.

 

Compliance

 

FDA clearance for cuffless, non-invasive blood pressure; blood oxygen saturation; pulse rate.

 

Contact

 

Romi Littmanromi@bio-beat.cloud

DATOS HEALTH: REMOTE MONITORING OF CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS

Overview
 

Automated, hospital-grade care platform for reducing hospital overload through the remote monitoring of home-hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Technology

Cloud-based remote-care

platform for detecting, analyzing

and predicting changes in patient

conditions. Integrates with EMRs, and company has completed hospital deployments in under four days.

Deployments

 

Sheba Hospital, Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, NY

 

Compliance

 

Company claims full FDA, HIPAA, QMS and SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) compliance.

 

Contact

 

Ruthie Weitz-Leopoldruthie.wl@datos-health.com

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TYTO CARE: IN-HOME MEDICAL EXAMS, AD HOC OR WITH PROVIDERS

Overview
 

Handheld examination kit with otoscope, stethoscope, tongue depressor, infrared thermometer, and mobile app for monitoring  heart, lungs, throat, ears, skin, heart rate, and more.

Technology

Data platform enables sharing of data and ML algorithms; integrates with EHR, other platforms. Supports live and asynchronous telehealth (professional intervention).

 

Deployments

 

Across Israel, plus more than 75 U.S. health providers and plans, including Novant Health (NC) and Oschsner (LA).

 

Compliance:

 

FDA clearance for digital stethoscope; HIPAA compliant.

 

Contact

 

Amnon Gavishamnong@tytocare.com

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HOW WE CAN HELP YOU TAP ISRAELI SOLUTIONS

Aviv Growth Partners invests in Israeli founders and accelerates their commercialization in the U.S. Because of our deep relationships with the Israeli Defense and Healthcare industries, we are happy to help U.S. healthcare providers and payers gratis during the current pandemic:

Introductions to listed companies

 

As you can imagine, the companies mentioned in this document are being inundated by payers and providers. But they know and trust us; if you can’t reach them yourselves, let us know if we can help.

Identifying other Israeli technologies

We’re not scouts, and we don’t charge for sourcing. But we are located in Israel and have deep networks; we are eager to help U.S. payers and providers in any way necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please contact us at any time if we can be of assistance. Good luck, and let us know if we can help!

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