Many senior citizens enjoy using the computer and surfing the internet for intellectual stimulation, research , and leisure, and staying "connected" via email. However, there are many seniors who are intimidated by computer technology and an insufficiently friendly user interface. Various governmental and commercial entities have endeavored to help this segment of the population to overcome their reluctance to use the computer, with partial success. "Golden Computers" (Mahshvei Zahav) has introduced a new product that enables a person to take the leap to computer literacy more confidently.

The product, called the Considerate Computer, is a personal computer that has an easy-to-use menu-driven interface that enables a person to immediately access the desired software or website. The menu choices are customized as a result of a private consultation that the user has with one of the developers of Golden Computers. At that point, the senior can specify which are his fields of interest, games, email recipients are relevant for him. Then all that is left is to enjoy one's retirement!

For more information, email davrez@zahav.net.il.

The Israeli company Ituran has developed the Personal Alarm & Locator (PAL).  The device is the size of a standard pager, making it the first wearable location, tracking, and alarm device that can keep track of any person or object 24 hours a day, wherever he is.

The PAL is particularly beneficial  for monitoring people who are considered to be "at risk", such as the elderly and certain types of patients, notably those who suffer some form of dementia or forgetfulness. With the availability of the PAL application, the individual may have complete freedom of movement and still remain under supervision at all times.

Parents' nerves might also be allayed thanks to PAL. With access to the Internet, parents can enter Ituran's web-site where they will have the ability to "see" their children any time of the day or night, and have the confidence of knowing their precise whereabouts. This may be when the children are on the way to school, at a friend's home, at the cinema or involved in any other kind of activity.

http://www.ituran.com/ituranEN/index.html

(coutesy of Israel21c)  

Many hard-of-hearing people are using lip reading as well as hearing residuals, simultaneously, in order to communicate with the world that surrounds them. The main reason for that derives from the fact that the visual channel, meaning lip reading, completes their inferior hearing. Therefore, it is safe to say that many hearing-impaired individuals experience difficulties in understanding a simple phone call, due to a lack of ability to see the other person's lip movements.

Speechview, an Israeli company, has developed an innovative and unique application which enables hearing-impaired people to manage phone calls independently for the first time in their lives, using a combined channel of hearing and real-time fluent lip reading.  The Speechview technology, STA (Speech to Animation), relies on a speech recognition engine which converts human speech to animated lip movements of an animated 3D figure.  The phone exceptionality is also characterized by the ability to manage a phone call using the telephone alone or through a combination of lip reading with the assistance of the computer.

For further information, email info@svu.co.il .

www.speechview.com

 A young Israeli company called Fertiligent has devised a way to improve the effectiveness of a treatment for infertility. The technique could enable many more couples to conceive without having to resort to costly and invasive in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment but instead use a more efficient way to administer Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI).

With the Fertiligent pump device - instead of the 'one-shot' IUI, - the 'window of opportunity' for fertilization is extended by the slow release of sperm in carefully measured doses into the uterine cavity. This prevents loss of sperm by blocking the cervical cavity and mimicking the natural slow release process as performed by the cervix in healthy women. Hopefully, when the egg is ready to receive the sperm, they are in place.

(courtesy of Israel21c)

To view the full article, click here.

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Now an innovative Israeli diagnostic tool called CardioMeter can evaluate a person's cardiovascular system in minutes, and assess the risk of a cardiovascular event such as a stroke or heart attack.

For the complete story, see the article at Israel21c.

The ReWalk is a light, wearable brace support suit which comprises DC motors at the joints, rechargeable batteries, an array of sensors and a computer-based control system. "Similar to the recently-developed Segway, when the user indicates he or she wants to move in a certain direction, the sensors recognize this and the user is able to move at will," explains Goffer, the electronics engineer who developed the ReWalk. The ReWalk fits snugly on the body and is worn underneath clothing, so that it also helps the users avoid the type of visible stigma that a wheelchair user often faces. Unlike other products being developed, the novelty of ReWalk is in the unique manner in which the user is actively involved in the walk-restoration and other mobility functions, through the control processes. Utilizing sophisticated algorithms, upper-body motions are analyzed and used to trigger and maintain walk (gait) patterns and other modes of operation (such as transition from sitting to standing), leaving the hands free for self support and/or other functions.

(based on an article appearing in BioIsrael)

For the 16 million American with diabetes, the uncomfortable daily ritual of pricking a finger in order to draw a drop of blood may be coming to an end - two Israeli companies are developing different methods to monitor glucose levels in a non-invasive, painless manner.

(courtesy of Israel21c)

When using the Internet or other applications, sometimes one encounters information overload or too many stimuli.  Power Cursor, developed by L.S.I.,  is a software interface designed to assist people  overcome focusing problems experienced when using the computer. Power Cursor allows one to replace the cursor with a dynamic spotlight that brightens various actions, sets visual boundaries to the text worked on and enables tracking of typed or read text, forms fillings and digits.

http://www.lseye.com/ProdPCursor.asp

Vocally, a product developed and manufactured by G.G. Electronics of Petach-Tikvah, Israel, is  a voice-activated telephone dialer. Once the standard telephone receiver is connected to the device, there is no need to remember and dial the same numbers repeatedly. All that is required is to pick up the phone, say the name of the person you wish to call, and let Vocally do the rest.
Vocally easily connects to any phone and enables voice dialing. After a short training phase, the unit can remember and dial up to 60 names and phone numbers.  Via a voice activated interactive menu, the user can add, delete, or hear names and numbers.

www.vocally.co.il

The Andante SmartStep is a biofeedback system for the leg that may be incorporated into the rehabilitation of orthopedic patients who have suffered lower limb injuries. SmartStep incorporates a unique pressure-sensing insole that records the actual amount of weight applied under the foot and computer software that documents patient information, assesses and evaluates patients and their progress. The system provides therapists with the ability to pre-set therapy sessions based on the patient's individual abilities, which reflect the goals set by the physician and clinician. Individualized training programs are entered into the control unit, which closely monitors dynamic gait parameters and permits the patient to advance at their own pace.

http://www.icn.co.il/pages/andante.htm 

An Israeli team has recently designed and produced a new device for monitoring cardiovascular disease. The new device offers professional accuracy in an extremely compact form. The Biolapis heart monitor is a handheld computer device for screening cardiovascular disease, which achieves sensitivity currently available only in high-end imaging equipment, while maintaining the accessibility of a blood pressure monitor.  It offers general practitioners, clinicians, and cardiologists an affordable method to reliably diagnose and monitor cardiovascular risks. The test protocol is easy to conduct, does not require any other equipment, and can be done at point of care, using a non-invasive finger sensor. With a simple test that takes five minutes, a doctor can get immediate accurate information on the danger of cardiovascular complications.

http://www.gaash.co.il/tsr/txt.htm

http://www.gaash.co.il/tsr/txt.htm

Wizcom Technologies Ltd. produces a reading pen specially designed to aid reading disabled and dyslexic individuals. This handheld scanning device allows users to scan printed words and hear the text and definitions read aloud to them. Additionally, the definitions are shown on a LCD screen. Available in English and Dutch.

www.readingpen.net/Home/Index.htm#WizAbout>

Unbounded Access, a Jerusalem-based leader in Web-accessibility solutions, has introduced SWAP™, a next-generation turnkey technology enabling Website owners to quickly, efficiently and affordably ensure that their Websites are accessible to the disabled community. SWAP™ creates alternative renderings of sites, which enable people with different disabilities – impaired motor skills, weak visual acuity, hearing impaired, cognitive and learning disabilities – to smoothly and easily access the content. SWAP™ is wizard-driven, requiring no prior knowledge of disabled-access issues, and it is easily and seamlessly adaptable to both existing and planned sites.

With SWAP™, sites maintain the same look and feel while empowering a huge and motivated group – the disabled and the elderly – on the Internet.
 
 
For more information: www.ubaccess.com. 

Commodio has created an innovative solution for those who have difficulty handling a computer mouse. The Q Pointer program works by simple voice commands. The user simply tells the cursor where to go on the screen and what operations do. It can even perform drag-and-drop functions through the same voice command system. This program is designed to function exactly like a hand-controlled mouse and is therefore compatible with almost any computer application.

This adaptive innovation is very useful for people who have difficulty in handling the mouse because of coordination deficits, orthopedic handicaps and other physical problems.

e-mail avivit@commodio.com

www.commodio.com  

The VTPlayer is a combination of hardware and software, with special emphasis on the tactile, designed especialy for the blind and low-vision users. The hardware component is a silver-colored mouse-like device with an optical sensor, four buttons and two tactile pads where the user’s fingers rest. On each of these two pads, are 16 pin-like micro-pods that rise and fall gently delivering a tactile sense of images, animation and text to the user’s fingertips. To further enhance this virtual-like experience, special accompanying sound effects are built into the software.

The software are all designed for the Windows environment, and all come with a sound track and inbuilt features that engage the cognitive as well as the psychological. Several software titles have been released already; and more will be released shortly. The VTPlayer is built for the enjoyment of blind and low-vision computer users as well as for their family and friends.

www.virtouch.com