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February 14, 2017 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
ROCHESTER, N.Y. & TEL AVIV, Israel--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- CDI-Negev ,      the Center for Digital Innovation, an Israel-based innovation center      dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs develop health-related      technologies and Strategic      Interests, LLC (SI), a Rochester-NY based consulting firm helping      stakeholders collaborate, improve care and enhance financial      performance, teamed up to help several innovative Israeli healthcare IT      start-up companies bring their solutions to the U.S.
“Strategic Interests is pleased to work with CDI-Negev to help their      members determine the most appropriate segments for their solutions,      find opportunities to demonstrate value with U.S. providers and payers,      and develop and execute segment-specific market attack plans to succeed      in the dynamic and growing U.S. healthcare marketplace” said Al Kinel,      President of SI. Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Global Distinguished Professor at NYU and Former      Consul General of Israel in New York, played a key role in linking CDI      with SI. “While the U.S. healthcare market is attractive to Israeli      start-ups, it’s difficult to avoid costly missteps while navigating the      complex environment,” stated Aharoni. “A partner such as SI can leverage      experience and long-standing relationships to help Israeli health tech      companies succeed here in the U.S. Al and I share the same desire to      help accelerate one of Israel’s most precious exports and it’s exciting      to see how he is bringing this to fruition.”
Transforming caregivers’ ability to remotely monitor patients suffering      from chronic health conditions, SI connected Datos      Health , a CDI mhealth company, with Rochester, NY-based Ridgeview      Internal Medicine Group, LLP. In Datos’ first U.S. pilot, Ridgeview’s      primary care physicians and care managers are remotely monitoring      patients suffering from hypertension. The Datos platform enables      caregivers access to clean, validated, Patient-Generated Health Data      (PGHD) for use within their electronic medical record (EMR) and existing      workflow, for improved disease management and outcomes, at a fraction of      the current cost. The U.S project follows multiple pilot programs run by      Datos monitoring diabetes and high blood pressure within long-term and      post-acute care organizations in Israel. To make the road to recovery more efficient, cost effective, and fun,      Israel-based BG Ventures developed the BioGaming Artificial Intelligence-based platform to help patients accurately      perform rehabilitation exercises using virtual trainers and games while      monitoring their progress with pinpoint precision. Founded in 2016,      BioGaming has been categorized as an FDA-approved medical device and is      demonstrating success with users in US, Israel and Latin America, where      a project at Johns Hopkins is proving current benefits and future      promise. “Process automation, in-clinic utilization and increasing adherence are      the main goals in the world of physical therapy today” said Ken Johnson,      Director, Rehabilitation Therapy Services Outreach of Johns Hopkins. “BioGaming’s platform digitizes physical therapy. By providing
automatic assessments, an in-clinic virtual trainer application and a      mobile app to easily manage and monitor patients’ process, BioGaming      achieves efficient resource allocation for physical therapy      clinics—reducing costs for clinics, providers and payers.”
“Each of our young companies has unique capabilities and needs,” stated      Ziv Ofek, Founder and CEO of CDI and Founder of dbMotion. “Working with      SI during the past 8 years, I am keenly aware of the depth and breadth      of experience that Al’s team possesses to properly support our member      companies on the road to commercial success—they are in good hands with      SI.”
Additional CDI companies looking to SI for U.S. traction in 2017
As leaders in data science and artificial intelligence (AI), Israel’s      most promising digital health startups provide real value in the      existing clinical workflow through the introduction of new and more      effective capabilities to increase accuracy and improve quality outcomes      in less time. Here are a few companies to watch in 2017:
Aidoc helps radiologists analyze imaging and clinical data more        effectively to produce highly accurate scan anomaly detection. DiACardio provides FDA-cleared tools that fully automate the evaluation of        medical imaging using a new image processing technology based on        pattern recognition and machine learning. Healthy.io uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to turn embedded        smartphone cameras into clinical grade medical devices and bring        digitized core diagnostic tests from the lab into the hands of        patients. Mediseen (A subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.)        Developed DDI+ ,        a cloud-based patient-specific decision support system for managing        patient's Drug Related Problems (DRP). Ziv Ofek’s startup, MDClone ,        introduces a new healthcare data paradigm with a big data platform        unlike anything on the market today, unleashing the power of        healthcare data for analysis with zero-risk to patient privacy. About CDI-Negev:
CDI-Negev is a leading-edge, novel, non-profit innovation center located in      Beer-Sheba, Israel— the growing 'Silicon Valley' of the Middle East. CDI      works in the areas of digital healthcare, social welfare, with a focus      on healthy aging, education and smart cities. In partnership with      Ben-Gurion University, CDI brings together start-up companies,      experienced entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers in the public sector      and investors with a personalized support system and a dedicated network      of industry thought leaders committed to overcoming barriers for global      success. Visit www.cdi-negev.com for more information. About Strategic Interests:
Strategic      Interests (SI) offers advisory and implementation services to help      healthcare stakeholders collaborate, improve care and enhance financial      performance. As trusted experts in transformation, SI combines vision,      deep technological understanding and innovative thinking to each      customized, pragmatic client engagement. Using our proven framework, our      team of results-oriented, experienced thought-leaders—each with years of      experience in various areas of healthcare including management,      clinical, analytical, technical, and marketing—delivers on the specific      needs of each project, ensuring our clients’ objectives are met and      their expectations are exceeded. Visit www.strategicinterests.com for more information. Contacts

Partnership between CDI-Negev and Strategic Interests Accelerates U.S. Market Penetration for Israeli Health IT Start-Ups

February 17, 2016
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MindMaze , a Swiss company that uses virtual reality to help stroke victims through their recovery, has raised $100 million in funding to bring its product to the United States. The Hinduja Group, a global conglomerate that has invested since the company's early stages, led the round. The company's software uses optical motion tracking, similar in form factor to the Microsoft Kinect. For stroke victims who have lost the use of the left hand but retain the use of the right, for instance, the computer will project a virtual reality depiction of the nonfunctional left hand, which is controlled by the patient's movement of the working right hand. This can trick the brain into kickstarting the functionality of the other hand. "MindMaze's next-generation human-machine interface is already proving itself in healthcare, games, and its potential for applications in transportation, defense and various types of media are now ready to be truly explored," a Hinduja Group spokesperson said in a statement. "We are excited to help MindMaze build on its achievements, while seeing that both current and future partners have their collective visions realized. "
MindMaze's technology is already approved for use with a CE Mark in Europe, where it costs around $30 a month per patient  according to CNET , which also reports that the company plans to have its software through the FDA and available in the US by the end of the year. Bloomberg said last May that, for hospital licenses, the technology costs $85,000 to purchase or a minimum of $2,500 a month to rent. Bloomberg also reported the company's plans to release a home version. There are a number of areas in healthcare where virtual reality has promise: training doctors and surgeons, immersive telemedicine visits, or new kinds of indoor fitness programs, to name a few. We wrote a little bit about this potential when Facebook acquired Oculus Rift in 2014 (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg casually mentioned telemedicine as a future application of VR at the time). Additionally, a number of companies have looked into motion-tracking technology for various healthcare use cases, and many of those companies are just now starting to get FDA clearance. Seattle, Washington-based Jintronix  got cleared in May 2015 , West Health spinoff Reflexion Health  got its clearance in November , and Israeli startup Biogaming got FDA clearance last week . Tags:

Switzerland's MindMaze gets $100M to bring virtual reality therapy for stroke patients to US

February 10, 2016
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BioGaming, an Israel-based startup, has received FDA clearance for its YuGo Microsoft Kinect-based physical therapy system. Calls to the company for comment went unanswered and its website appears to be down . Physiotherapists can use the system to create personalized gameified routines for patients which patients can then complete at home using an Xbox or a computer connected to a Kinect device. The system tracks patients' movements, automatically creating a record of the therapy. "Adherence to traditional physiotherapy approaches is painfully low, and boring routines often demotivate patients and fail to improve patient health as intended," Dudi Klein, founder and CEO of BioGaming said in a statement last November, when the company launched its product in Europe and Israel. "We're taking the proven physiotherapy routines, real-time biofeedback and personal encouragement of sessions in the hospital or clinic and bringing it home. It closes the gaps in the current physiotherapy process to boost adherence, transform the therapy cost equation for providers, and empower our customers to deliver better patient outcomes. "
Startups that use computerized motion tracking software, especially the Kinect, to facilitate physical therapy, are a small but growing niche in digital health. We rounded up some of the early players back in 2013 , and the budding industry was also the subject of our "Kinect the Docs" paid report . Of those, only a few are FDA cleared and those clearances happened relatively recently. Seattle, Washington-based Jintronix got cleared in May 2015 , and West Health spinoff Reflexion Health just got its clearance in November . "For all of the digital and mobile innovations in the healthcare space, physiotherapy has been a bit left out. If telemedicine is enabling more cost-effective, convenient and connected healthcare, then BioGaming is the equivalent for the rehabbing of orthopedic injuries," Klein said in the same statement. "But our platform takes it a step further by making therapy into a game to be won. Patients who use BioGaming tap into something extra within themselves to do better in the virtual world and get better in the real world, which is a victory for patient, provider and payer. "
As noted above, it's a little unclear right now what the status of BioGaming is. In addition to the company's website being down right now , emails to the company bounced back, and they are no longer working with the PR firm that managed their November launch. As such it's hard to say when, if ever, YuGo will be available in the United States. Tags:

FDA clears BioGaming's Microsoft Kinect-based physiotherapy software

Israel & Middle East / StartUps / World | By Jewish Business News
Israeli Startups Put the Fun in Physical Therapy
Introducing robotics, gaming and remote-access elements adds an enjoyable, motivational element to boring or difficult exercises needed for rehab. “Adherence to traditional physiotherapy approaches is painfully low, and boring routines often demotivate patients and fail to improve patient health as intended,” says Dudi Klein, founder and CEO of BioGaming , one of several Israeli companies using virtual-reality gaming and robotics technology to introduce fun into physical therapy exercises. “For all of the digital and mobile innovations in the healthcare space, physiotherapy has been a bit left out,” he adds. “If telemedicine is enabling more cost-effective, convenient and connected healthcare, then BioGaming is the equivalent for rehab. Our platform takes it a step further by making therapy into a game to be won.”
In November, the Tel Aviv-based BioGaming introduced two industry firsts to physiotherapists in the United Kingdom, Europe and Israel: the BioGaming at-home rehabilitation system and companion iOS and Android applications to facilitate communication with patients. The BioGaming home platform uses patented motion-detection algorithms to power a Microsoft Kinect 3D motion-capture camera. The camera can be connected to Microsoft Windows for computers or paired with a provided Xbox One for use with a television. Physiotherapists can rent BioGaming systems on a month-to-month basis. The app allows them to can create personalized routines for patients and upload them to the cloud for the patient. All the captured data from the Kinect camera during the sessions is transmitted back to the cloud, so physiotherapists and patients can track progress automatically. “We’re taking the proven physiotherapy routines, real-time biofeedback and personal encouragement of sessions in the hospital or clinic and bringing it home,” says Klein. BioGaming’s patent-pending solution for creating and delivering gamified exercise routines earned the company the Innovation Award at Medica, the world’s largest medical trade fair, in 2014. BioGaming is now awaiting FDA approval in the United States. More PT fun-makers
Other Israeli companies are also putting high-tech fun and convenience into physiotherapy. Motorika Medical , founded in 2004, makes and markets robotic systems for physical therapy, one for neurological and the other for orthopedic rehab. The ReoGo three-dimensional robotic system for upper-limb therapy facilitates repetitive arm movements through the use of a motorized robotic arm. The neuromuscular retraining device, primarily for patients in stroke recovery, enhances motivation through interactive games that imitate natural hand movements. The system has been clinically proved to improve recovery and treatment outcome by providing up to 10 times more repetitions per session than an average non-robotic treatment. The second Motorika product, the ReoAmbulator robotic gait-training device, combines body weight support with an advanced virtual-reality environment to help rehabilitate children and adults experiencing difficulties with walking, balance, coordination, posture or stamina. Both systems include Enhanced Learning Intelligent Technology (ELITE), an adaptive personalized therapy technology to accelerate neurological and orthopedic rehab based on patient-specific data and instant verbal, audio and visual feedback. Based in Caesarea with offices in the United States, China and Hong Kong, Motorika was founded by medical technology serial entrepreneur Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim, formerly a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at both Harvard University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Video Therapy of Yehud offers a platform enabling physiotherapists anywhere to create personalized interactive training videos and evaluate and monitor patients remotely, overcoming barriers to one-on-one therapy such as cost, distance, time and accessibility. Video Therapy was developed by Tel Aviv rehab physiotherapist Roy Shteren four years ago. “We realized a lot of patients could have a great influence on their rehab outcomes if they had the right compliance solutions to overcome barriers,” he tells ISRAEL21c. “Our vision is to change the way therapy is delivered and consumed.”
The company also builds on-site training zones for healthcare providers, using the Video Therapy platform. The first installation, in the Ramat Gan municipality, enables the treatment of seven different patients in one room with one physical therapist. In 2016, up to 10 more training zones will be built all over Israel, says Shteren. So far, some 3,500 Israeli patients and 200 therapists are using Video Therapy in rehab and medical centers, private clinics and adult daycare centers. “We also market it as a full service to partners without their own rehab clinics,” says Shteren. A Kinect application and smartphone application are in development, and Video Therapy has initiated its first pilot in the United States, with the University of Dayton in Ohio. Also in the rehab space with a gaming twist is iFeel Labs of Yavneh, maker of a game system using a wearable biosensor to help people with asthma and COPD learn how to breathe effectively and improve lung function. “Our mobile games are favorite and popular games (like Candy Crush) which have been converted to even more exciting biosense games,” according to the company, which recently was a finalist in the Medica international medical apps competition in Dusseldorf. “The app guides you when exactly to inhale and exhale. … You can only progress in the game when you are breathing properly and healthily.”

Israeli Startups Put the Fun in Physical Therapy

Monitored Home Rehabilitation and New Mobile App Shift Patient Recovery to the Home, Reducing Therapist-Patient Face Time and Improving Standard of Care
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL--(Marketwired - November 10, 2015) - BioGaming, the leading developer of virtual reality physiotherapy solutions, announced today two innovations that are firsts in the industry: physiotherapists in the United Kingdom, Europe and Israel can now prescribe the BioGaming rehabilitation system to patients for at-home use, and iOS and Android companion applications are now available to facilitate communications between physiotherapists and patients. These new offerings build on BioGaming's patent-pending solution for creating and delivering more fun and engaging gamified exercise routines that earned the company the Innovation Award at MEDICA in 2014. "Adherence to traditional physiotherapy approaches is painfully low, and boring routines often demotivate patients and fail to improve patient health as intended," said Dudi Klein, founder and CEO of BioGaming. "We're taking the proven physiotherapy routines, real-time biofeedback and personal encouragement of sessions in the hospital or clinic and bringing it home. It closes the gaps in the current physiotherapy process to boost adherence, transform the therapy cost equation for providers, and empower our customers to deliver better patient outcomes. "
The BioGaming platform for home use features BioGaming's patented motion detection algorithms that power a Microsoft Kinect 3D motion capture camera. The camera can be connected to Microsoft Windows computers, or paired with a provided Xbox One for use with a television. Physiotherapists use the BioGaming application to create personalized routines for patients which are uploaded to the cloud. This cloud connectivity is used to transmit all of the captured data from the Kinect camera, powering rich reporting capabilities for physiotherapists -- and allowing patients to track progress automatically with no logbooks. "For all of the digital and mobile innovations in the healthcare space, physiotherapy has been a bit left out. If telemedicine is enabling more cost-effective, convenient and connected healthcare, then BioGaming is the equivalent for the rehabbing of orthopedic injuries," added Klein. "But our platform takes it a step further by making therapy into a game to be won. Patients who use BioGaming tap into something extra within themselves to do better in the virtual world and get better in the real world, which is a victory for patient, provider and payer. "
BioGaming is ISO 13485 certified and has earned a CE mark for use across Europe, and is pending FDA approval in the United States. Physiotherapists can rent BioGaming systems on a month-to-month basis with no long-term commitments by visiting http://www.biogaming.com . The BioGaming at-home virtual reality physiotherapy platform and mobile application will be part of BioGaming's exhibition at MEDICA, the world's largest medical trade fair, in Dusseldorf, November 16-19, in Hall 05, Stand M19. About BioGaming
BioGaming transforms physiotherapy through our at-home virtual reality platform and gamified exercise programs that are more fun and engaging than traditional rehab exercises. The BioGaming platform uses a state-of-the-art motion analysis system along with clinically developed exercise routines to place patients inside of a virtual world where their exercises and rehabilitation are more enjoyable, boosting adherence to their prescribed program. BioGaming investors include VCs specializing in medical devices, digital health and new media, and the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Economic Ministry, Israel. For more information, please visit www.biogaming.com . Contact Information

BioGaming Virtual Reality Physiotherapy Platform Now Available for Home Use to Improve Patient Adherence and Lower Therapy Costs

Assuta 

Cellcom Israel

Israeli Defense Forces

Unattributed VC

BioGaming is developing an advanced technological solution using readily available game console (i.e. KINECT (XBOX360), Wii and PS) for the medical rehabilitation process. By gamifying the rehabilitation process, patients will be able to play and compete with other patients with similar injuries/disorders, while performing their therapist tailored training programs. BioGaming iterative processes will allow for the real time monitoring and report generation of the patient's performance allowing for modifications when and if required. BioGaming will improve current rehabilitation techniques in an enjoyable and autonomous manner.

Date	12/31/2014
Round	Unattributed VC
Amount	$3.7M
Investors	Firstime Venture Capital, TheTime, and Triventures
Valuation	$XXM
Revenue	0 FY undefined
Sources	1

First funding	Last Funding	Investor	Rounds	Type	Location
12/31/2014	12/31/2014	Triventures	1 Unattributed VC	Venture Capital	Israel
00/00/0000	00/00/0000	TheTime	Subscribe to see more	Venture Capital	Israel
00/00/0000	00/00/0000	Firstime Venture Capital	Subscribe to see more	Venture Capital	Israel

First funding	12/31/2014	00/00/0000	00/00/0000
Last Funding	12/31/2014	00/00/0000	00/00/0000
Investor	Triventures	TheTime	Firstime Venture Capital
Rounds	1 Unattributed VC	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more
Board Seats
Type	Venture Capital	Venture Capital	Venture Capital
Location	Israel	Israel	Israel

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