THE TOP 64 INNOVATIONS DEVELOPED IN ISRAEL
To celebrate Israel’s 64th birthday, ISRAEL21c brings you the country’s top 64 innovations — developments that are transforming and enriching lives across the planet.
Nicky Blackburn
By Nicky Blackburn
April 22, 2012, Updated January 3
When Israel was founded 64 years ago, it was a barren country with no natural resources, little water, and more than half of its land mass desert. The only thing the new country had going for it was the natural creativity of its people.
More than six decades later, the Israelis have turned their country into an oasis of technology and innovation. With the most startups per capita worldwide, and the third highest number of patents per head, Israel has become one of the leading players in the world of high-tech innovation, attracting international giants to its shores.
From health breakthroughs to technology, agriculture, the environment and the arts, the country’s innovations are transforming and enriching lives everywhere. Israel today is playing a significant role in some of the most important challenges facing our planet.
Not bad for a country the size of New Jersey.
1. PillCam: Given Imaging
Founded by Dr. Gavriel Meron in 1998, Yokneam-based Given Imaging revolutionized the world of gastrointestinal diagnosis by developing a miniature camera in a pill, called the PillCam, to visualize and detect disorders of the GI tract.
The PillCam is now the gold standard for intestinal visualization and is sold in more than 60 countries around the world.
2. ExAblate: InSightec
The 13-year-old Haifa company has developed a futuristic technology called ExAblate, a non-invasive, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery system that thermally ablates, or destroys, tumors inside the body. The device has huge potential to address a wide variety of medical problems, including many diseases that currently have no treatment.