insights

by Abigail Klein Leichman 

While it’s not so simple to find cancerous cells before they have multiplied enough to be noticeable, it might not be long before healthcare workers can start stocking an American-Israeli bio-tech company’s diagnostic kit that can detect increased risk for breast cancer. Earlier this summer, a subsidiary of Ramat Gan-based Micromedic Technologies submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval to begin testing the kit’s effectiveness in clinical use. Already, clinical studies at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem show that the kit achieves a nearly perfect rate of detection sensitivity. http://www.israel21c.org/201012078564/health/fighting-cancer-with-early-detection

David Shamah 

Rather than make do with the partial solutions available today, Ze’ev Zalevsky, professor of engineering at Bar Ilan University and inventor of a unique system to help improve the eyesight of those suffering from presbyopia, suggests a monofocal lens which can focus light from between 13 inches away up to the horizon. The lens is engraved with special patterns which shifts the phase of light waves, enabling clear focus on objects both near and far. His company, Petah Tikvah-based Xceed Imaging has a dozen employees, and has been in business since he helped found it in 2007. The company was started with private funding, and now has a development agreement with Bar-Ilan University. Zalevsky hopes that the first lenses based on his interferometric solution will hit the market within six months to a year. http://www.israel21c.org/201012058523/technology/a-revolution-in-glasses-is-underway

by Brian Blum 

Ben-Shaul of the Film and Television Department at Tel Aviv University has created the world’s first, fully interactive feature film where the viewer gets to decide at various points, in real time, how the action will progress. “It’s nothing short of revolutionary,” he tells ISRAEL21c. “It has the possibility of turning every one of us into potential film directors.” Ben-Shaul is not a technologist – he teaches classes in cinema studies at Tel Aviv University so to create his interactive movie, he partnered with Guy Avneyon who built a sophisticated patent-pending movie editor and standalone player. The technology is still under construction, as is the company. Turbulence (also the name of Ben-Shaul’s interactive film) is just now being incorporated and seeking angel investment. For Ben-Shaul, that’s less important. His focus is the process of thinking through the making of an interactive movie. Turbulence isn’t the only software company making interactive movies. Israeli alternative rock sensation Yoni Bloch owns a company called Interlude, which is moving in the same direction. Earlier this year, Interlude produced a music video by pop singer Andy Grammar that includes seamless interactivity. YouTube also has its own very simple interactive functionality. http://www.israel21c.org/201011288556/technology/a-tech-revolution-that-lets-you-choose-the-movies-plot

by SHARON WROBEL

Computer giant Microsoft announced this week that within 10 days of a November 4 launch date, it has sold 1 million units worldwide of its cutting-edge, hands-free Kinect gaming device. But less known is that at the heart of the successful release is PrimeSense, a five-year-old Tel Aviv-based start-up company, responsible for the revolutionary 3D motion-sensing camera inside the Kinect. And, in no small part thanks to PrimeSense, the game console is on track to hit 5 million in sales by the end of the year. Behind PrimeSense’s technology are sensors that enable control of appliances without external devices. In a broader vision of the technology, the idea is that a person sitting on a living room sofa and facing a TV is able to command the screen with a flick of the wrist. In effect, this means that the mouse, touch pad and remote control will become obsolete, as Prime- Sense’s system tracks the user’s hand motions in the air and reacts. PrimeSense, which is headquartered in Tel Aviv, has raised nearly $30 million from venture capital firms Gemini Capital, Genesis Venture Capital and Canaan Partners. Within five years of its founding, Prime- Sense has expanded its workforce to 130 with offices in North America, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/InternetAndTechnology/Article.aspx?id=195968