Company Name:
Noony - Toys With a Human Touch
Object:
Production of artificial eyes, for toys and humans, that react to sound.
The company has developed technology which facilitates the production of artificial eyes that open and shut in response to sound waves directed at them. A working prototype exists, and an international patent has been filed for the technology.
The product has high market potential. Besides its application in toy manufacture, the technology can be used in making artificial human eyes.
The company is under the wing of the Arad Technological Incubator. It is looking for a strategic investor to assist in research and development and marketing. The investment sought is $300,000.
Contact:
Noony Avital
Telephone: 972 9 774 6445
Fax: 972 771 8924
Company Name:
Schedulogic
Object:
Development of personnel placement software
Schedulogic has developed a program which allocates employees to shifts and tasks. It takes into account employees’ skills and professions, the hours they work, their availability, and the needs of the organisation. The program is intended for large and medium-size organisations that work shifts, such as hospitals and factories.
The program works in a Windows environment, and is based on artificial intelligence. The product is ready for marketing.
The company is under the wing of the Arad Technological Incubator.
Contact:
Oren Lavon
Telephone: 972 7 648 2027
Fax: 972 7 649 8379
Company Name:
Multi Lingua Ltd.
Object:
Development of interactive language learning system
Multi Lingua is developing a language learning system called Speak-Easy. Its unique features are that it focuses on spoken language, and is based on animation and interactive learning. According to the developers, these features shorten the time taken to learn a language and improve retention levels. The system is suitable for use with video, CD-ROM, data-over-cable, and Internet. It can be adapted for various languages. A patent for the interactive device has been filed in the USA.
Multi Lingua expects the world market for technological language products to reach $900 million by the year 2000. The initial market will be business people, diplomats, and vacationers who wish to learn a new language quickly at home. Speak-Easy’s developers have academic backgrounds in languages, and extensive experience in language teaching.
A pilot version is expected to be complete by mid-1997. The company seeks an investment of $150,000-$500,000 for completing a prototype of the interactive device. It also seeks strategic partnerships with publishers and distributors of language products, and with cable companies.
Contact:
Ruth Groiss
Telephone/fax: 02 671 9798
Company Name:
ADM Advanced Dialysis Methods
Object:
Development of device for faster dialysis
ADM’s product is a device for improving the dialysis rate, and hence the overall quality of life, for kidney patients. It provides better solute clearance and fluid drainage in peritoneal dialysis by applying vibrations to the abdominal wall. The device is portable and simple to operate. In clinical trials, it was found to cause no inconvenience to patients. The device may be combined with a cycler for exchanging dialysate fluid. Patents have been filed.
The potential market is the 100,000 patients worldwide who use peritoneal dialysis. Its value is expected to be over $1 billion by 1999. ADM is discussing cooperation with the three dialysis equipment companies which dominate the market.
ADM seeks investment of $250,000-$500,000 for development version for use in clinical trials in patients’ homes. A strategic partner is sought for participation in clinical trials, and for marketing the device.
Contact:
Yehuda Zicherman
Telephone: 03-618 2994; Fax: 03-619 1520
Company Name:
E & C Medical Intelligence
Object:
Full, real-time documentation and analysis of the labor and delivery process.
E & C Medical Intelligence has developed DDMS (Delivery Documentation and Management System) which addresses the information needs of obstetricians by complying with two major requirements: (a) rapid and
comprehensive real-time documentation of the medical process and
(b) support and control of the delivery process. By using an
extensive clinical knowledge base, including well-defined
obstetrical protocols and guidelines, the system continuously
records and analyzes each specific clinical situation in real time.
The medical staff is selectively presented with only the relevant
items for both data input and retrieval throughout the delivery
process.
The electronic patient medical record market is experiencing a
phenomenal growth rate. The estimated US market is over $10 billion
in 1996). The company says it’s potential market is the total number
of delivery departments worldwide.
Initial marketing is planned for the U.S. and Europe
followed by other markets worldwide.
E&C is seeking investment of $750,000 - $1,000,000 for financing the
development of the system, Beta-site testing and initial marketing
activities. The company is also seeking to enter into strategic
partnerships with leading companies in the field of medical
monitoring and clinical information systems.
Contact: Dr. Eyal Ephrat
HiTEC Center at Har Hotzvim
Tel: 972 2 586 9040
Fax: 972 2 581 2386
Company Name:
Jerusalem Medical Imaging
Object:
Development of dermal analyst and diagnostic image analysis for locating and monitoring skin diseases.
The HiTEC itechnology start-up center at Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim science-based technology park recently set up an early stage venture capital fund.
The center was established and is operated by an association of twenty sponsoring members including industrial companies AVX, Clal Industries, Digital, ECI, Hertz, Intel, Intercosma, Persys, Rafa, Sigma, Silicon Graphics, Spegas and Teva; and financial institutions Israel Discount Bank and Lehman Brothers. HiTEC's goal is to assist native Israeli and new immigrant entrepreneurs to develop, manufacture and market innovative products and technologies. HiTEC received support from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, although it was not established by the OCS.
The new fund, which grants loans of up to $70,000 per project, was established jointly by HiTEC and an investor group which can assist in raising up to $250-500,000 per project.
Jerusalem Medical Imaging is among the HiTEC projects now seeking investment. It’s product, Dermal Analyst, is designed for use by dermatologists and plastic surgeons in both hospitals and private clinics. The system integrates a high resolution digital camera and PC, and is used as a clinical tool for monitoring, analyzing and archiving skin lesions for skin diseases such as Melanoma. Physicians can track significant changes in any particular lesion by comparing images of the same lesion over time. Images are saved in a personal patient file on optical disk.
Two versions of the system will be offered: high-end for hospitals and research centers and low end for clinics and private practices. The company estimates the potential market for the high-end version is approximately 6,600 US hospitals, but says the market for the low-end version is much larger; there are currently 8,300 dermatologists and 5,200 plastic surgeons practicing in
US hospitals and in private clinics. Other potential markets include the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.
JMI says a marketable version is expected in the second half of 1997. The company requires a $1 million investment to continue development and set up marketing operations.
Contact: Amir Hess, Tel: 972 2 643 6198, Fax: 972 2 6385.
Company Name:
Easy-Park
Object:
A solution to parking regulation based on a smart card which enables regulation and management of the parking system on a national basis.
Many companies have tried in the past few years to find technical solutions to the problem, which is worsening the world over, of regulating parking. For instance, coin-operated parking meters require expensive infrastructure and are vulnerable to vandalism, while purchasing the cardboard parking cards involves no small amount of effort. Easy-Park offers a solution based on a smart card which enables regulation and management of the parking system on a national basis.
The system is based on the principle of a no-contact smart card. A microprocessor is integrated into the card which can receive, transmit, analyze and process information. The parking card is based on technology developed by OTI, Easy-Park’s parent company.
According to this method, the country is divided into regions according to municipal codes and parking zones. Each car owner will be equipped with an electronic card that can be loaded at special points using a special instrument. When the card is reloaded, the car owner’s checking account or credit card would be charged.
The loading points would be located at gas stations, both to make the process easier for drivers and to protect the instruments from vandalism. When drivers find empty parking spaces, they punch in the municipal and parking zone codes. The card sits on a special instrument inside the car’s front window. A traffic officer can inspect the cards with or without special instruments in order to ascertain if the car is parked legally.
Upon returning, the driver punches the ‘Off’ button and the card charges the exact amount of time the car was parked. The card’s memory stores the parking place, price and time. The card’s own processor can analyze the information the card owner enters and determine the cost for the parking time in any city and parking zone for any period of time. The card also stores information about the free parking zones for the residents of each city.
The Easy-Park system enables municipalities to receive the payment for parking at low cost as well as up-to-date information on the parking situation.
According to company chair Oded Bashan, the system will be ready for operation in about one year and will be marketed first in Western Europe, with special emphasis on small countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. Easy-Park won a "Local Government Economic Company" tender to operate a national electronic parking card system, after comprehensive field testing. The system currently being constructed is based largely on parameters set by the company.
Contact: Eldad Caspi, General Manager
Moshe Mishal, Product Manager
tel.: 06-693-8884 fax: 06-693-8887
Company Name:
ETS
Object:
Develop a program to create customized Internet search engines according to user’s needs.
ETS (Electronic Thought Systems) of Ramat Gan has developed technology to create search engines for data collection and retrieval according to parameters set by the client.
ETS General Manager Eran Lavie says: "The system is capable of connecting existing data bases and various needs of businesses, professionals and others. For instance, if notice is received of locusts in northern China, chemical merchants can extract data on chemical components for pesticides and purchase them; demand for them will increase in the future".
Technology developed by ETS enables different search engines to be configured according to the specific needs of the customer. A travel agent who wants information on flights and prices needs an engine that can extract data on the cheapest and fastest flights between the specified locations.
When a search engine is too general, another search engine has to be developed to work as a filter. For instance, if an organization needs all reviews published this year of Steven Spielberg’s films, the engine will first scan all Internet newspapers that have movie reviews. In the second stage, it will build parameters according to Spielberg’s movies, or their names, or the name of the producer himself.
The technology is meant to serve research institutes and businesses seeking current information. ETS believes that the potential market is very large. However, even though the product is universal in nature, it is targeted for use by experts. They will have to define the necessary parameters for the search engines in order to allow other workers in the organization to access information they need.
ETS announced that it will not sell the technology. Rather, it intends to build the specific engines itself. Some will be built with general parameters, for instance in the field of manpower which is needed by every organization. More specific engines will be matched to special targets such as various research institutes, and will be adapted to each one with the help of its workers.
Contact: Eran Lavie tel.: 03-571-7127 03-571-0768
Company Name:
OptiTest
Object:
Develop software to identify incipient eye diseases and impaired vision.
OptiTest is planning to help people suffering from eye disease and poor vision. Today, it’s necessary to visit an eye specialist or undergo testing at a hospital eye clinic to locate or identify eye problems. Optitest has developed a program called OptiCenter which can run on any PC with a 486 processor or better. The program can identify eye defects or the development of eye disease at the level of the local clinic.
The examination is reminiscent of a computer game. The patient wears a special pair of eyeglasses developed by the company and looks at targets displayed on the computer screen. The patient is asked questions concerning the targets, and answers using the mouse or keyboard.
The program analyzes the answers and at the end of the examination issues a printed report noting potential eye defects detected. The program is modular and contains components for checking most known eye defects.
Since the nature of the examination is a function of the patient’s age, the examining doctor informs the computer of the patient’s age. After that, the system works only with the patient, freeing the doctor to work elsewhere.
The target market for OptiCenter includes hospital ambulatory clinics; remote ambulatory medical centers; and private clinics. The system identifies incipient defects, but not actual diseases. Therefore, no medical procedure is recommended. Rather, the initial results are handled by general practitioners, and nurses. In addition, Optitest is considering marketing to schools and businesses; another possibility is to market it for mobile use.
OptiTest is planning to market the system in the second half of 1997. Different versions will be offered, ranging in price from $3,000 to $7,000.
Contact: Technology Center Ofakim, Kibbutz Galuyot Street, POBox 633, Ofakim 80300 ISRAEL
The Arena Guide to Israeli Early Stage Companies and Start-ups