Holon Tech Institute Lab Develops Assistive Medical Devices with Hospitals to Improve Patient Care
Medical staff in hospitals and community care often identify patient needs and propose technological solutions to enhance treatment quality and streamline workflows, but lack the resources to develop these innovations. To bridge this gap, the Medical Assistive Design & Engineering (MADE) lab was established at the Faculty of Medical Technologies at the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT). This interdisciplinary makerspace brings together researchers and students from engineering, design, artificial intelligence, data science, medical technologies, and health sciences to collaboratively develop assistive technologies in partnership with hospitals, health funds, and rehabilitation centers.
The lab emphasizes that successful medical innovation requires combining diverse expertise to create practical, user-friendly solutions that patients will actually use. Many medical products fail not due to poor technology but because they do not integrate well into daily life or meet real patient needs. MADE’s unique approach blends design paradigms with product development methodologies to overcome these challenges.
A notable project from the lab is STREAM, developed with the Movement Disorders Institute at Sheba Medical Center. STREAM addresses the need for remote monitoring of hand tremors in patients with Essential Tremor, a condition that impairs daily activities like eating and brushing teeth and reduces quality of life. The lab created sensor-embedded utensils and a toothbrush that patients use at home, transmitting data securely to their care teams. Currently undergoing clinical trials at Sheba, this system aims to improve treatment accuracy and timely intervention.
The academic model offers creative freedom, multidisciplinary research, and financial flexibility, enabling projects that the commercial market may not yet support. Early prototypes can be developed without massive investment, facilitating subsequent funding. Expanding research grants and strengthening collaborations with healthcare institutions will allow continued development of assistive technologies that can significantly improve and even save lives.
Yael Avni, head of the MADE lab at HIT, leads these efforts to integrate academia and clinical practice for medical innovation.
