Holon Tech Institute Lab Develops Assistive Medical Devices with Hospitals to Improve Patient Care
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The Holon Institute of Technology’s MADE lab collaborates with hospitals to develop assistive medical devices, such as sensor-equipped utensils for monitoring Essential Tremor patients, aiming to improve treatment and patient quality of life. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach bridges the gap between clinical needs and technological solutions, currently testing innovations in clinical trials at Sheba Medical Center.
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- Holon Institute of Technology’s MADE lab develops assistive medical technologies with hospitals and health institutions.
- The lab integrates engineering, design, AI, and medical sciences to create practical patient solutions.
- STREAM project creates sensor-embedded utensils for remote monitoring of Essential Tremor patients.
- STREAM is undergoing clinical trials at Sheba Medical Center to improve treatment accuracy.
- Academic lab model allows creative freedom and flexible funding for early-stage medical innovations.
- Expanding research grants and healthcare collaborations will support further assistive technology development.
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.
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