Members of firefighters wear protective face masks, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as they disinfect the streets, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in Tehran, Iran March 18, 2020. Picture taken March 18, 2020. Photo: WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS.

CTech – In light of the global demand for technologies and solutions for the fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19), Tel Aviv-based non-profit organization Startup Nation Central (SNC) has created a comprehensive directory of more than 70 relevant Israeli medical technology startups that can assist with combating Covid-19. The companies in the new directory are providing a variety of technologies to reduce the burden on healthcare systems and reduce infection rates. The directory is divided into five sub-sectors: remote monitoring, diagnostics and decision support, protection and prevention, social and mental aspects, and treatment.

“Israeli innovation can and will help the world cope with the corona crisis. Israelis have extensive experience in times of emergency and thinking outside the box can be leveraged for assistance during this difficult time,” said Eugene Kandel, CEO of Startup Nation Central and former Chairman of Israel’s National Economic Council. “Various technologies developed in Israel are relevant for many aspects in the global fight against the coronavirus — there are solutions for the rapid and smart diagnosis of the virus that will reduce the enormous burden on hospitals, help prioritize critical tasks, and protect the health of medical staff.”

The largest concentration of companies falls under the remote monitoring category, which includes companies that enable conducting diagnoses of patients and suspected patients remotely while minimizing the exposure of medical staff, and prioritizing the treatment of patients in accordance with the severity of their illness. The second-largest subsector is diagnostics and decision support for medical staff. This includes companies that enable patient identification and diagnosis based on multiple parameters such as voice samples, the listing of various symptoms, and other data points that automatically evaluate symptomatic patients.

The protection and prevention subsector includes a company that has developed a technology to create fabrics that protect the wearer from viral infections. The social and mental aspects of treating the disease subsector includes a company that offers solutions for the elderly population struggling with solitude, especially during this challenging period. The last subsector, treatment of patients, includes companies that offer treatments using proteins found in human plasma.

The updated list of companies can be found under the tag #coronavirus on the Startup Nation Central website. The directory includes a description of the relevant companies currently operating in Israel that can help in fighting coronavirus, a description of the technology they offer, the product’s development phase, and information about the company’s capital raising.

Startup Nation Central is a non-profit organization with the goal of strengthening the Israeli high-tech industry by exposing its capabilities and encourage international business cooperation with the technological ecosystem in Israel. The organization’s activities are solely funded by philanthropy, according to its website.