Shaare Zedek lauds Israeli innovations in cardiology
Israel is #1 in the world in patents per capita in the medical field, and a significant part of it goes to cardiovascular disease .
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFProf. Michael Glikson speaks at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, November 21, 2018(photo credit: SIVAN FARAG)
Israel's breakthroughs in the world of cardiology is revolutionary, Shaare Zedek Medical Center's Director of their Integrated Heart Center, Prof. Michael Glikson, said.Out of the $400 million that is invested in the country for research and development in life sciences, over half is invested in medical devices. Of this sum 16% is spent on cardiovascular devices. Israel is #1 in the world in patents per capita in the medical field, and a significant part of it goes to cardiovascular disease . At times, the successful discoveries that are conceived in Israel are then marketed by American and other companies around the world.Speaking at The Jerusalem Post diplomatic conference on Wednesday, Prof. Glikson walked the audience through several major innovations being implemented at the hospital that were born from Israeli innovation.He spoke for example about the transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure for severe narrowing of the aortic valve . This procedure spares a patient from undergoing painful surgery and, using a catheter, brings a new valve into its place in the heart to restore normal flow. Similarly, the mitral valve can be repaired by a clip using the principle of a stapler that staples the two leaflets of the valve togetherHe also demonstrated how pacemakers have continued to decrease in size, so much so, that it's possible to implant capsule – like pacemaker (leadless pacemaker) without a pacemaker box and leads, using the groin as an entry site without leaving any surgical scar. Another tiny chip-like device for monitoring heart rhythm (implantable loop recorder) is injected under the skin and performs like an EKG machine that can remain in the patient's body for up to three years.Wearable monitoring vests, 3D Mapping algorithms, new stents for coronary and other vessel occlusions, and devices to protect the brain from blood clots that embolize from the heart are all new technologies used regularly in cardiology daily practice. Many of these technologies started as new ideas that were conceived in Israel , to be subsequently marketed worldwide.
