Till a Hundred and Twenty! How Israel is Exporting Longer, Healthier Lives

I’m a self-identified Apple Fanboy. So like any good fanboy, I had to be an early adopter for one of its most recent new gadgets — the Apple Watch. The smartwatch was billed as many things, including a new app platform and messaging accessory. But where the watch has really taken off is its serving as a health and fitness tracker.

I love this aspect of the watch. I can track my activity, monitor my heartbeat, and use it during workouts. I even used the watch to track my performance during this year’s Tel Aviv Marathon. Apple has quickly understood that health and fitness is far and beyond the most popular use for its watch, and Apple has expanded on its functionality with swim tracking being the most significant new addition.

The health benefits of the Apple Watch have not gone unnoticed by other players in the industry. Recently, health giant Aetna said it will subsidize the cost of the Apple Watch for some of its customers, in order to help encourage more healthy and active lifestyles.

All of this serves to demonstrate the massive interest that exists in health and medical technology. Israel and its dynamic startup and tech industries haven’t shied away from this field of innovation. Israel is home to a lively and rapidly growing crop of medtech startups and companies that are already playing a leading role in the industry.

Courtesy IEICI

In order to help these startups take their innovations to the next level, the Israel Export Institute (IEICI), a non-profit committed to promoting Israeli trade, is helping a number of local medtech startups bring their technology into the world. Specifically, the IEICI is bringing “more than 60 Medical Device and HealthCare IT Technology companies” to the upcoming MEDICA conference in Düsseldorf this November.

The roster of participants includes companies such as QinFlow Ltd., Motorika, Medasense Biometrics Ltd., Integrity Applications,  HealthWatch, GlucoMe, EarlySense, Core Scientific Creations, and CNOGA Medical Ltd..

“The Israel Pavilion is well-known for showcasing some of the most impressive medical and health technologies, and this year Israel certainly does not disappoint,” Tomer Epstein, Manager of Medical Device and HIT within the IEICI said in a statement. “The government of Israel works hard to promote the crème de la crème of Israeli health tech companies whose solutions will change our well being in more ways than one.”

The med-tech space is shaping up to be one of the next great frontiers for the Startup Nation. Beyond the potential for more economic growth and exposure for Israel’s economy, this industry could yield benefits for humanity that other tech developments simply aren’t capable of. The possibilities are thrilling, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.