Mechanical Stimulation of Cardiac Cells Could Make Better Pacemakers

Discovered importance of mechanical communication could drive development of new therapies for cardiovascular diseases

In a breakthrough that could change the future of pacemakers, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers have used mechanical stimulation to “train” cardiac cells to beat at a given rate.

The team’s findings, published this week in Nature Physics, also demonstrate for the first time that direct physical contact with the cardiac cells is not required to synchronize their beating.

As long as the cardiac cells are in the tissue being mechanically stimulated, they are trained by the stimulation, with long-lasting effects that persist even after it is stopped.

“Cell-cell communication is essential for growth, development and function,” explains, Assistant Professor Shelly Tzlil, of the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

“We have shown that cells are able to communicate with each other mechanically by responding to deformations created by their neighbors. The range of mechanical communication is greater than that of electrical and chemical interactions. Another significant discovery is that the duration of cell pacing is greater when the stimulus is mechanical, indicating that mechanical communication induces long-term alterations

The stimulation was applied by an artificial “mechanical cell,” consisting of a tiny probe (with a 0.0025 cm tip diameter) that generated (via cyclical indenting and pulling) periodic deformations in the underlying substrate (cardiac tissue). The deformations mimicked those generated by a beating cardiac cell that was also in the tissue. After a brief 10-minute training period, the cardiac cell synchronized its beating rate with the mechanical cell. Furthermore, the cardiac cell maintained the induced beating rate for more than one hour after mechanical stimulation was stopped.

“In this study, we show that an isolated cardiac cell can be trained to beat at a given frequency by mechanically stimulating the underlying substrate,” says Tzlil. “Mechanical communication plays an important role in cardiac physiology, and is essential for converting electrical pacing into synchronized beating. Impaired mechanical communication will lead to arrhythmias even when electrical conduction is working properly.  The medical implication is that adding mechanical elements to electrical pacemakers will significantly improve their efficiency.”

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Synchronized beating of mechanically-coupled cardiac cells: time-lapse imaging of a pair of beating cardiac cells on a 3.8kPa substrate. Phase contrast (left) and calcium imaging (right). The scale bar is 20 microns.

Pair of cells: Mechanical deformations generated in the substrate by synchronized beating of mechanically coupled cardiac cells: Time-lapse imaging of the deformation field generated by a pair of beating cardiac cells on a 3.8kPa substrate. Mechanical deformations are detected by following movements of fluorescent beads embedded in the gel.

 

Innovative imaging technology developed at Technion’s Dept. of Biomedical Engineering captures fine, high quality optical images of retinal structures in vivo. The system, which can be easily integrated into any existing two-photon microscope without requiring adaptive corrections, could potentially be transformative for retina research.

The recent innovation, described in a new publication in Nature Publishing‘s journal Light: Science & Applications, enables non-invasive two-photon imaging of mouse retinas in vivo, and could therefore potentially transform eye research and our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie retinal physiology. The study describes an optical system based on add-on optics that can be easily integrated into essentially any existing two-photon microscope, and includes an electronically tunable lens for motionless scanning of the depth dimension. The system’s simplicity effectively opens up a new range of potential applications for two-photon excitation microscopy – an advanced fluorescence imaging technique already installed today in numerous laboratories. This new imaging technology was developed at the Neural Interface Engineering Laboratory in the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering by doctoral student Adi Schejter Bar-Noam, the laboratory head, Prof. Shy Shoham, and research associate Dr. Nairouz Farah.

Two-photon microscopy provides fluorescence imaging with sub-cellular resolution, contributing to the understanding of cells and multicellular structures in biological tissues. The key advantage of this approach is its ability to penetrate relatively deeply into tissues, creating three-dimensional images consisting of a series of two-dimensional cross-sections; this is what turned it in the last two decades into a principal tool in studies focusing on the structure and operation of the brain and nervous system. However, to date, it was not harnessed for in vivo retinal imaging due to focusing constraints arising from the combination of common two-photon imaging lenses and the optics of the mouse eye.

Now, thanks to this novel imaging technology, it is possible to visualize entire regions in the retina, including blood vessels, nerve cells and more – at high resolutions and non-invasively. Since the system uses near-infrared (NIR) light-based two-photon excitation, the microscopic examination does not strongly impact the behavior of the imaged retina and allows it to “see” almost normally during imaging. The researchers used this in order to directly measure in vivo natural neural responses to flashes of light for the first time.

“Our motivation in developing this new technology was for research purposes – to improve the methods available to us as scientists,” explains Schejter Bar-Noam who developed the system. “Perhaps in the future, the new system will accommodate the development of translational vision applications, although our current study was limited to researching the retina and its neurons. The system provides an advanced in vivo microscopic image of the living retina without causing it any damage; we confirmed that prolonged use of the system did not cause any damage to the examined retina.”

“The broader context of our work is Optogenetics,” adds Prof. Shy Shoham, “a scientific area that has flourished over the past decade and allows us to study neurons over time using fluorescent proteins, or to use light-sensitive proteins to activate cells. The new system allows us to make use of the two-photon microscope in both aspects, that is, in the imaging of retinal neurons or for cellular activation by light. Indeed, the extended design process demonstrated its effectiveness for imaging nerve cells and blood vessel.”

The research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), and by a generous donation by the Cohen-CTS fund.

Researchers Find Link Between Processed Foods and Autoimmune Diseases

NEW YORK and HAIFA, ISRAEL (January,3^rd 2016) – In today’s hustle and bustle world, processed foods are common time-savers. But that convenience factor may come with a bigger price than previously known, says an international team of researchers. In findings published recently in Autoimmune Reviews, researchers from Israel and Germany present evidence that processed foods weaken the intestine’s resistance to bacteria, toxins and other hostile nutritional and not nutritional elements, which in turn increases the likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases.

The study was led by Professor Aaron Lerner, of the Technion Faculty of Medicine and Carmel Medical Center, Haifa and Dr. Torsten Matthias of the Aesku-Kipp Institute (Germany).

The research team examined the effects of processed food on the intestines, and on the development of autoimmune diseases – conditions in which the body attacks and damages its own tissues.  More than 100 such diseases have been identified, including type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune hepatitis, and Crohn’s disease.

“In recent decades there has been a decrease in incidence of infectious diseases, but at the same time there has been an increase in the incidence of allergic diseases, cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Prof. Lerner. “Since the weight of genetic changes is insignificant in such a short period, the scientific community is searching for the causes at the environmental level.”

In their study, the researchers focused on the dizzying increase in the use of industrial food additives aimed at improving qualities such as taste, smell, texture and shelf life, and found “…a significant circumstantial connection between the increased use of processed foods and the increase in the incidence of autoimmune diseases.”

Many autoimmune diseases stem from damage to the functioning of the tight-junctions that protect the intestinal mucosa. When functioning normally, tight-junctions serve as a barrier against bacteria, toxins, allergens and carcinogens, protecting the immune system from them. Damage to the tight-junctions (also known as “leaky gut”) leads to the development of autoimmune diseases.

The researchers found that at least seven common food additives weaken the tight-junctions: glucose (sugars), sodium (salt), fat solvents (emulsifiers), organic acids, gluten, microbial transglutaminase (a special enzyme that serves as food protein “glue”) and nanometric particles.

“Control and enforcement agencies such as the FDA stringently supervise the pharmaceutical industry, but the food additive market remains unsupervised enough,” said Prof. Lerner. “We hope this study and similar studies increase awareness about the dangers inherent in industrial food additives, and raise awareness about the need for control over them.”

The researchers also advise patients with autoimmune diseases, and those who have a family background of such diseases, to consider avoiding processed foods when possible.

Source

In 2016, 47 years after walking on the moon, astronaut Buzz Aldrin will be present at Technion to participate in the events of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program. Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently joined the International Space University as Chancellor.

The prestigious ISU course, held for the first time in the Middle East, will also be attended by Rona Ramon and Israel’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Space, Ofir Akunis. Various events open to the public will be held, including a rocket launching competition, discussions on the latest innovations in space and a panel discussion on the Columbia disaster.

Each year, the ISU selects a location around the world to host the annual summer session of its Space Studies Program (SSP). Recent sessions have taken place, amongst others, at the NASA Ames Research Center, Beijing, Melbourne (Florida), and at ETS and HEC in Montreal, Quebec. This year, for the first time, the university has chosen an Israeli institution, and the 2016 summer session (the program’s 29th session) will be held at the Technion between July 12 and September 1, 2016. It will be coordinated by the Asher Space Research Institute, headed by Prof. Pini Gurfil.

“Space is becoming more and more international,” explains John Connolly, senior engineer at NASA and director of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program (SSP). “Missions are bigger and more complex, like the international space station, and require cooperation among agencies and among countries. That’s why the Space University operates in a different location around the world each year, and we are happy to be coming to the Technion this year.”

Around 100 participants will take part in the Space Studies Program to be held this summer at the Technion, along with around 150 space experts from academia and industry, astronauts and directors of space agencies from around the world.

ISU participants are carefully selected, based on the concept that they will be the space leaders of the future. Indeed, many graduates of the International Space University’s program already hold senior positions in the global aerospace industry. The Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space is offering about 10 fellowships of up to 25,000 NIS for individuals who are interested in participating at ISU this coming summer.

“ISU has a long-standing relationship with Israel in general and Technion in particular,” said ISU President Prof. Walter Peeters, “and many participants of Israel were able, thanks in part to the Ilan Ramon Fund, to attend ISU programs previously. It is therefore a genuine pleasure for ISU to further enhance this relationship and convene the SSP16 session in Haifa. It is evident that there will be considerable interest from other countries to discover more closely the amazing hi-tech achievements and cultural richness of the host site.”

“The Technion is proud to host the 29th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) in Haifa,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. “The Technion is one of the first universities to launch a satellite and has an active space program. We will ensure that the 29th program will be an exciting event that will allow the participants to experience first-hand Technion scientific achievements, and the beauty and culture of Israel.”

ISU’s prestigious summer courses last two months and will offer participants a unique and comprehensive professional development experience covering all aspects of space programs and enterprises, such as space sciences; space engineering; space policy, economics and law; space management; space applications; and human performance in space. This program targets young and seasoned professionals from all disciplines as well as young university graduates. The group projects allow participants to focus on their field as a team, and produce high quality presentations and reports within a few weeks.

The International Space University

The University, founded in 1987 in Massachusetts, US and now headquartered in Strasbourg, France, is the world’s premier international space education institution. It is supported by major

space agencies and aerospace organizations from around the world. The graduate level programs offered by the ISU are dedicated to promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation in space activities. ISU offers Master of Science in Space Studies and Master of Science in Space Management programs at its central campus in Strasbourg. Since the summer of 1988, the ISU has also conducted nine-week courses at various host institutions around the globe. These courses are delivered by over 100 ISU faculty members in cooperation with experts from around the world. Since its establishment 25 years ago, the ISU has awarded advanced degrees to more than 3,700 students from over 100 countries.

More about the SSP

Israeli Ministry fellowships

Being rude to medical teams impairs their professional performance and causes actual harm to patients. This is evident from a study conducted at the Technion and Bnai Zion Medical Center.

Rudeness affects people negatively, even when it comes in small doses. Scorn, contempt and insensitivity not only sadden the individual, but also impair his performance in the aspects of memory, concentration, attention to detail, problem solving and performing various cognitive tasks.

Unfortunately, medical teams are frequently the object of rudeness on the part of patients and their families, as well as their superiors. A new study conducted by Prof. Arik Riskin of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Bnei Zion Medical Center examines the implications of these incidents.

The study, which was published recently in the journal “Pediatrics”, reveals that rudeness, even when moderate, dramatically impairs the medical staff’s performance. This impairment, whose severity increases in stressful situations, is evident in the quality of treatment, the level of diagnostics and the technical skills of the staff.

Twenty-four medical teams from four neonatal intensive care units participated in the study. They were invited to a training workshop on the subject of team reflexivity as a tool for improving quality of care. The workshop examined a scenario involving the treatment of a premature infant whose condition suddenly deteriorated due to necrotizing enterocolitis. This scenario required the participants to identify and diagnose the deterioration and administer treatment, including CPR. It was explained to them that an expert from the United States would be watching them remotely (via camera) and would occasionally comment and advise them by phone.

During the simulation, half of the teams received comments from a neutral expert who spoke in general terms about the importance of training and practice using simulations.  The rest of the teams were severely criticized by rude specialist who didn’t even comment on the specific situation and on their performance, and only vigorously criticized the “poor quality of medicine” in Israel. The simulations were recorded on video and presented to judges who evaluated the teams’ performance in accordance with defined criteria: diagnostic capabilities, performance of actions and procedures, and behaviors pertaining to sharing information and asking for help. The judges obviously did not know the identity of the participants (whose faces were blurred) or the nature of the expert that they were exposed to – whether he was polite or rude.

The analysis of the results revealed clear conclusions. “The teams that were exposed to rudeness displayed lower capabilities in all performance metrics,” says Prof. Riskin. “This study demonstrates that rudeness impairs patient safety, all the more so in neonatal intensive care units and intensive care departments, where the slightest error could cause tremendous damage.”

Prof. Riskin conducted the study under the guidance of Prof. Peter Bamberger from the Tel Aviv University School of Management and in collaboration with Prof. Amir Erez from the University Of Florida Warrington College Of Business Administration.

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The conceptual modeling language Object-Process Methodology (OPM), developed by Technion Professor Dov Dori, has been adopted and published by ISO as ISO 19450.

Many scientific and technological advancements start as a sketch on a napkin. In the past, inventors continued developing this sketch to get a full-fledged design. Nowadays, engineering design of complex systems, products, and services takes place in the digital sphere and integrates a variety of hardware, software, humans, and regulations. Therefore, there is a growing need for a comprehensive, holistic conceptual design, whose objective is to specify the exact architecture – the structure and behavior of the system – such that it would deliver the expected benefit. To achieve this goal, a growing number of organizations are adopting a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach as an initial lifecycle stage, during which a conceptual model of the system, product, or service is created in a formal graphical language.

Over the past two decades, Prof. Dov Dori of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion has been developing Object-Process Methodology (OPM) as a language and method for conceptual modeling of complex systems of any kind, be it artificial or natural. An OPM model expresses both graphically and textually the architecture of the system: Interconnected diagrams at varying levels of detail, from a bird’s eye view to any desired number of “nuts and bolts” views, specify any conceptual and logical aspect of the system. Each graphic expression is translated on the fly to a corresponding textual specification in a plain subset of English. Thanks to its simplicity, OPM serves as a common language for all the system’s stakeholders, who can take part in creating the model from the very early requirements engineering phase. At any stage, the model can be visually simulated to examine the system’s operation and verify that it behaves as expected on its way to becoming an actual product or service.

OPM has been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, and on December 7, 2015 it was published as a normative ISO 19450 document at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:pas:19450:ed-1:v1:en. Approval of this standard, which is the first of its kind to be adopted by ISO, marked the end of a six-year effort by a working group under the auspices of ISO Technical Committee TC184/Sub-Committee SC5, led by Mr. Richard Martin, with active participation of Prof. Dov Dori, Mr. David Shorter, and Dr. Alex Blekhman, whose PhD dissertation under Prof. Dori’s guidance was an offspring this endeavour. The work to prepare ISO 19450 included yearly meetings at various locations around the world, including Tokyo, Paris, Tampa (FL), and Haifa, at the Technion. Even before its official publication, OPM is already being used in newly developed ISO standards, serving as a basis for the new generation of standards, which will be model-based, rather than text-based, enabling their systematic review for completeness and integrity.

A basic premise underlying OPM is that one can build a model of any system in any domain and at any level of complexity with the most minimal set of building blocks: stateful objects (objects with states) and processes that create or consume objects, or change their states. Over the last decade, Technion students at the Enterprise Systems Modeling Laboratory developed OPCAT (Object-Process CASE Tool)—a software package that is available freely from the Lab’s website http://esml.iem.technion.ac.il/ and translates the user’s graphic input into simple English in real time. This enables quick model development jointly by the customer and the system architects and engineers, and reliable verification of the model as it is being created.

Professors Orna Grumberg and Assaf Schuster of the Faculty of Computer Science have been recognized as Fellows by the ACM – the world’s largest computing machinery association

The ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), the largest and most important computing society, has announced the addition of 42 scientists from around the world to its ranks as new fellows, including Professors Orna Grumberg and Assaf Schuster of the Technion Faculty of Computer Science. The Fellows Program of the global computing society was founded in order to recognize outstanding contributions by leaders in the computing world.

Prof. Orna Grumberg conducts research on theory and verification of computer hardware and software (Computer Aided Verification – CAV), for automatic testing of complex systems. She is one of the three authors of Model Checking – a book considered the bible of Computer Aided Verification. She has been a member of the European Academy of Sciences since October 2013.

Prof. Assaf Schuster researches parallel, decentralized, cloud-based computing and scalability of calculations. Professor Schuster said, “My significant focus is Big Data processing, particularly of data streams in real time, even if they arrive in a geographically dispersed fashion. Examples of such systems can be found in sensor networks, monitoring large/decentralized computer networks, and detection and prevention of computer network vulnerabilities.

“This is an impressive achievement, and our pride is twofold when two faculty members are named ACM Fellows. We admire them and wish them much success in their future endeavors,” said Professor Irad Yavneh, Dean of the Technion Faculty of Computer Science.

Professors Schuster and Grumberg are two out of three Israelis who were recognized this year by the ACM. The third Israeli, Prof. Mooly Sagiv of Tel Aviv University, is a graduate of the Technion Faculty of Computer Science, where he also earned his doctorate.

ACM Website

A great honor for the Technion Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning: Two students at the Faculty have won first and second place in the David Azrieli Prize competition for projects by architecture students.

Liz Leibowitz won first place (NIS 60,000) for her work, Musha Musha: A new look at Tel Aviv’s “Hatikva” Neighborhood and a proposal to encourage private initiatives by the neighborhood’s residents. Noa Gantz won second place (NIS 25,000) for her work, Minus 400: Rethinking the meeting between man and the environment at the Dead Sea. Third place (NIS 15,000) went to Amit Chelouche of Bezalel for his work, Total Stage.

The award ceremony was held earlier this week at Tel Aviv Museum of Art, with the participation of leading figures in the world of architecture. This year, the Azrieli Foundation in Israel, headed by Chairman Danna Azrieli, rebranded the award in memory of David Azrieli and increased the value of prizes to NIS 100,000. Fifteen projects by students at schools of architecture throughout Israel participated in the competition.

The event was attended by a special guest, who also served on the panel of judges: Odile Decq, one of the most prominent architects in France. Decq planned and designed major projects around the world, including the new wing at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, a unique restaurant in the historic building of the Opera Garnier in Paris, and a series of projects in China and North Africa. Decq was highly impressed by the thought, initiative and creativity expressed in the work of the young architects.

The David Azrieli Prize is the highlight of the work of all students of architecture in Israel, and provides an incentive for their excellence.

Danna Azrieli, Chairman of the Israel Azrieli Foundation and the Azrieli Group, said: “This is the 12th year that we have awarded the Azrieli Prize for projects by architecture students, which aims to recognize and strengthen creativity, originality and quality of architecture among architecture students in Israel. This award reflects the values that accompanied my father over the years: commitment to promote quality education, striving to develop the field of architecture, and love of Israel. I congratulate the winners and I have no doubt that the work, wisdom and creativity shared by all the students will shape the future of architecture in Israel.”

“Excellence in education is the main goal of the Technion Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning,” said Faculty Dean Prof. Yehuda Kalay. “The Faculty is committed to train skilled and responsible architects, urban planners, landscape architects and industrial designers, who will be at the forefront of the processes and changes in Israeli society in particular, and humanity in general.

“The David Azrieli Prize is the highlight of the work of all students of architecture in Israel, and provides an incentive for their excellence. We are proud of the accomplishments of Liz Leibowitz and Noa Gantz, and congratulate their teachers – Gabi Schwarz, Fatina Abreek-Zubiedat and Ronen Ben Arieh (Liz Leibowitz’s advisors), and Shmaya Serfaty and Yonatan Natanian (Noa Gantz’s advisors).”

So said John Connolly, senior engineer at NASA and director of the Space Studies Program of the International Space University (ISU), which will come to the Technion this summer

When John Connolly lectures to children and young people he asks the audience, “Who was the first man on the moon?” – and the answer comes immediately: Neil Armstrong. When he asks who the second man on the moon was, the crowd falls silent, until Connolly discloses the first name “Buzz” and the young audience calls out in unison: “Lightyear!”

John Connolly, a senior figure in the aerospace industry, is rather pleased with the representation of space science in film and in art in general. He often advises movie producers, including the producers of the new movie, The Martian, and is well-versed in science fiction. “Ultimately, the way culture reflects reality in the field of space helps instill an awareness of the importance of NASA and other space agencies,” he says. “Movies, TV series and books assimilate space in the public consciousness, reflect the tremendous curiosity that drives us and present the challenges that we face in space.”

Of course, the popularity of space in movies also has its disadvantages. “Sometimes these movies do not place sufficient emphasis on the difficulty and the challenge. Sometimes people say to me: ‘Why invest so much in sending people to Mars? I recently saw a movie where it had already been done.’ Nevertheless, movies show the human side, especially the curiosity and the coping, and that is of great value.”

Connolly spent last week at the Technion in his capacity as director of the Space Studies Program of the International Space University (ISU), which has chosen the Technion as the site of its prestigious summer semester this year. He was accompanied by all the academic managers of the ISU, in order to plan the schedule of the program and visit the classrooms, dorms and all the other relevant sites.

Around 150 space experts will participate in the Space Studies Program (SSP) to be held this summer at the Technion, along with nearly 150 participants from academia and industry, astronauts and directors of space agencies from around the world. “We do not call them students because these are people with experience whose average age is 32,” says Connolly. The participants are carefully selected, based on the concept that they will be the space leaders of the future. Indeed, graduates of the International Space University’s program already hold senior positions throughout the global aerospace industry.

“Space is becoming more and more international,” Connolly explains. “Missions are bigger and more complex, like the International Space Station, for example, and require cooperation among agencies and among countries. That’s why the International Space University operates in a different place in the world each year – last year at Ohio University and this year (2016) in Israel, at the Technion.”

The intensive program that will take place at the Technion this summer will also include events open to the general public, including a robotics competition, rocket launches, space-related movie productions and a professional panel discussion about the Columbia space shuttle disaster. “We very much hope to bring Buzz Aldrin to the Technion. He was recently appointed Chancellor of ISU,” he says.

The program that will take place this summer at the Technion will mark the end of Connolly’s tenure as the head of the Space Studies Program at ISU, and he will return to NASA, which loaned him to run the SSP and the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program (SH-SSP) of the International Space University for a limited period.

Connolly came to NASA in 1987 as a young engineer after graduating from college, after working for a short time as a “plain old rocket scientist,” and since then he has gradually advanced within the organization. “As a boy I would often launch improvised rockets, draw spaceships and follow the Apollo missions, and an invitation to work at NASA was obviously an offer that I couldn’t refuse. It’s a great honor to make your dream come true and even get paid a salary. NASA people are paid the same salary as other government workers in the US, so you’ll never get rich, but I never considered giving up my job here. “

His current position at NASA is human space exploration engineer, which means the engineer responsible for planning robotic flights to Mars and the Moon, which are supposed to prepare the ground for future manned delegations. The non-manned delegations are supposed to test the environmental conditions (radiation, temperature, dust, etc.) and land the necessary equipment for the astronauts who will arrive in the future.

“There’s a lot more work to be done in this area, and that’s wonderful,” he says. “Humanity wants to go to Mars, and I’m glad to be part of this step. Maybe in the more distant future there will even be a permanent settlement on Mars – not because there’s no room on the planet Earth, but because man is a curious creature by nature. If you put a one-year-old baby on the floor, he’ll crawl to the low cabinets and will try to open them – because he’s curious. The same holds true for adults: mankind wants to find out what’s on the other side of the mountain, the other side of the sea, the other side of the ocean. And that’s the whole story with voyages into space – space is the next ocean that we want to cross in order to discover what’s just beyond our reach.”  

Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion and the SniffPhone rapid medical diagnostics project have been selected for the 2015 Nominet Trust 100 list. In previous years, this list, which covers the most important digital developments from a social perspective, included Google, Bitcoin, Addex and Coursera.

Prof. Hossam Haick and the SniffPhone project – innovative technology for rapid and noninvasive medical diagnostics led by Prof. Haick – have been selected for the Nominet Trust 100 list, which includes the 100 digital developments that had the greatest effect on society in 2015. This list honors individuals and organizations for digital technologies that contribute to society.

The SniffPhone system is currently being developed by a team led by Prof. Haick, a faculty member of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion. This is a smartphone-linked technology aimed at rapid diagnosis of cancer and other diseases based on the subject’s exhaled breath. This system, which will be simple to operate and not prevent the user from functioning normally, will be equipped with minute sensor arrays that will “read” the exhaled breath. The data will be sent by the mobile phone to a data processing system which will interpret the data and determine whether the subject has the disease. If the answer is positive, it will provide the attending physician with further details using an advanced digital system.

Prof. Haick is a full professor at the Technion and an expert in the field of nanotechnology and noninvasive disease diagnosis. He has received numerous prestigious awards and grants, including the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the European Research Council grant and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, Prof. Haick heads the three European consortia (LCAOS, Volgacore and SniffPhone), each comprising around ten universities and companies.

Prof. Haick has received numerous awards and honors, including MIT’s List of the World’s Top 35 Young Scientists, the Knight of the Order of Academic Palms (conferred by the French Government), the Hershel Rich Award (Technion), the Humboldt Award (Germany), the Tenne Prize for Excellence in the Science of Nanotechnology, the Harvey Prize for Applied Science and around 52 other awards and honors. He was selected for the following lists: 50 Sharpest Minds in Israel, Four Saluted Israeli Scientists, Ten Most Promising Young Israeli Scientists and more. He also received the highest teaching award granted by the Technion – the Yanai Prize for Academic Excellence. In 2014, on the initiative of the President of the Technion and with the pedagogical assistance of Assistant Prof. Miri Barak, Prof. Haick led a massive open online course (MOOC) on nanotechnology and nano-sensors, for which over 70,000 people registered.

Prof Haick is a member of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at Technion (RBNI).

The Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering is now named for Prof. Andrew Viterbi and his late wife, Erna
Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm, is the inventor of the Viterbi Algorithm, which is used in most smartphones today and in data terminals, digital satellite broadcast receivers, and deep space telemetry.

The Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering (EE) has been named for Prof. Andrew Viterbi and his late wife, Erna. The plaque bearing the new name of the Faculty was unveiled December 8 at a festive ceremony held at the Technion with the participation of Prof. Viterbi, his son Alan and daughter-in-law Caryn, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, the Technion management and EE alumni.

Andrew Viterbiis the inventor of the Viterbi algorithm – a mathematical formula underlying the operation of many of today’s mobile devices. The Viterbi algorithm enables quick and accurate decoding of many simultaneous signals and helps neutralize signal interference. The mathematical formula is used in all four international standards for digital mobile phones, as well as in data terminals, digital satellite broadcast receivers and deep space telemetry. The algorithm is also used in DNA analysis and identification software.

Prof. Andrew Viterbi, one of the most influential figures in the digital world and co-founder of Qualcomm, has made a significant and outstanding donation of $50 million to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, with the aim of establishing the Technion’s status as a leading institution in the field of electrical engineering and computer engineering in Israel and around the world.Prof. Viterbi’s donation will enable the Technion to recruit and retain first-rate faculty, as well as outstanding graduate students in the fields of electrical and computer engineering, and to upgrade its teaching and research infrastructure.

“We are deeply grateful to Andrew Viterbi,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. “His and his beloved late wife Erna’s longstanding involvement with the Technion and his understanding of the vital impact of electrical engineering on the State of Israel will help the Technion recruit the best and brightest students and faculty members. Prof. Andrew Viterbi is, first and foremost, a family man, and this is reflected throughout his lifetime, since he was a little boy who fled with his family from the terror of the fascist regime in Italy, through his career as a renowned professor to his being an inventor and a technology leader. Prof. Viterbi is part of the Technion family and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering family. Hannukah is a family holiday, and no time could be more suitable for celebrating the naming of the faculty after him and his late wife, Erna.”

“Viterbi and communications – these are synonyms.You can’t mention one without mentioning the other.”So said Distinguished Professor Emeritus Jacob Ziv who, together with Prof. Avraham Lempel, developed the Lempel-Ziv data compression algorithm, which played a key role in making the Internet a global communications medium.“Prof. Viterbi is a true pioneer in the fields of electrical engineering and computer engineering.The Viterbi algorithm underlies many of the technologies currently being developed in the fields of communications and information.We are very proud that the Faculty of Electrical Engineering will bear his name.”

“The Viterbi family’s donation guarantees that we will be able to continue to be a center of academic excellence and fulfill our role of advancing the State of Israel’s security and prosperity,” said Prof. Ariel Orda, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. “Professor Viterbi gave us another gift, which is impossible to estimate in mere figures, but whose value is far greater. It is a rare combination for a Faculty to be affiliated with the name of a scientific and technological giant while teaching his scientific contributions in advanced courses of its curriculum.”

Prof. Viterbi’s ties with the Technion developed as long ago as 1967, when he delivered a series of lectures here during his sabbatical from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. These roots have developed and deepened since then, and therefore Prof. Viterbi’s name is well known to engineering students at the Technion. In 2000, he was named a Technion Distinguished Visiting Professor of Electrical Engineering.

Together with his late wife, Erna Finci Viterbi, Prof. Viterbi has a long history of support for the Technion and the State of Israel. He has been named a Guardian of the Technion, a designation reserved for those who have reached the highest level of support of the Technion. The Viterbis’ gifts to the Technion have included the Andrew J. and Erna F. Viterbi Chair in Information Systems/Computer Science, held by Prof. Oded Shmueli; the Andrew and Erna Finci Viterbi Center for Advanced Studies in Computer Technology at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering; and the Andrew and Erna Finci Viterbi Fellowship Program.

At the festive ceremony held at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie awarded Prof. Andrew Viterbi the Technion Medal – the highest award granted by the Technion for lifetime achievement. The Medal was awarded to Prof. Viterbi for his “decades-long devotion to the Technion as a Distinguished Visiting Professorimparting his pioneering insights; in gratitude for his support of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and the recruitment of new faculty; and with appreciation for his transformational gift to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, that will secure and enhance the Technion’s leadership position in electrical and computer engineering in Israel and globally, and will ensure that the high-tech innovation that is vital to Israel’s economy and defense continues for generations to come.”

“I am extremely proud to have my name associated with the Technion, one of the world’s leading science and technology institutions,” said Dr. Viterbi at the ceremony. “Technion Electrical Engineering graduates are in large part responsible for creating and sustaining Israel’s high-tech industry, which has been essential for Israel’s economic success. To meet the challenges facing us, we must promote the intensive recruitment of new faculty and enter into the emerging research fields.”

The Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering, which is included in the list of the world’s top ten faculties of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has played a crucial role in the development of Israel’s hi-tech industry and in turning Israel into a start-up nation.In early 1970s, the Faculty driving force was essential in creating the infrastructure and knowledge in microelectronics and developments that played a key role in the economic growth of the high-tech industry and the security of the State of Israel.In the following decades, the Faculty paved the way for a series of disciplines, including computer engineering, telecommunications, microelectronics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology and quantum technology.

Over the past twenty years, Technion alumni have been responsible for the establishment and management of more than 1,600 companies that have led to the creation of one hundred thousand jobs; around 35% of these companies were founded by alumni of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

“It is impossible to imagine Israel’s transformation into a world leader in science, technology and innovation without the Technion, and in particular the researchers, students and alumni of its Faculty of Electrical Engineering,” wrote Minister of Education Naftali Bennett in a special letter sent today to Prof. Viterbi. “Your gift will ensure that the newly-named Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering will continue to be a center of world class research and education, providing Israel with future generations of engineers and scientists at the forefront of our dynamic, high-tech economy.”

The ceremony was also attended by alumni of the Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering.Many of them are now senior members of Israel’s high-tech industry: the founders of the Rad-Bynet Group, Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel, Apple Israel CEO Aharon Aharon, Qualcomm Israel CEO Aric Mimran, former Qualcomm CEO Eyal Bar-David, and many others.

For more information: https://viterbi.net.technion.ac.il/en/

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Technion researchers have developed an innovative method for detecting DNA sequences with high sensitivity. The study is highlighted on the cover of the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Technion researchers have developed an innovative technology that enables detection of DNA sequences at a sensitivity over 1,000 times higher than that of existing methods. The principles of the study could enable the development of a wide range of simple and relatively inexpensive medical diagnostic systems, for example in order to identify known mutations in DNA. The study is highlighted on the back cover article of the leading journal Advanced Functional Materials.

The research is a multidisciplinary collaborative effort of the research groups of Associate Professor Ester Segal (Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering) and Assistant Professor Moran Bercovici (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering). Doctoral student Rita Vilensky, who conducted the study under their guidance, built a lab-on-a-chip device combining (1) a biosensor for optical detection of DNA molecules; and (2) a system of microchannels enabling the concentration of DNA by applying electric currents on the chip.

Professor Segal’s laboratory is developing optical biosensors based on silicon chips with nano-scale pores. The resulting perforated chip has a typical optical characteristic in the visible spectrum,” explains Professor Segal. “We bind to it one of the complementary strands comprising the DNA molecule that we want to identify. When we expose the chip to many sequences we can specifically identify the recognition reaction between the complementary DNA sequences.”

“Specific capture of DNA molecules within the silicon nanostructure causes a change in the spectrum of light reflected from the chip and enables us to easily identify and quantify these molecules, thereby ‘catching’ the sequence and knowing how much of it we have.”

According to Professor Segal, one of the main limitations of this process is the sensitivity of the sensors, which is sometimes insufficient, especially for medical diagnostics applications.  At this point, Professor Bercovici, who is developing microfluidic-based methods for increasing concentrations of biological molecules, joined the study. “By using the appropriate chemistry and applying electric fields, we can concentrate the DNA molecules in tiny volumes and transport them to the sensor,” explains Professor Bercovici. “This way we ‘‘trick’ the sensor, presenting it with DNA concentrations that are 10,000 times higher than the natural concentrations in the sample.”

Through precise design of the silicon’s structure and controlled growth of insulating oxide layers, the researchers were able to apply high electric voltages on the chip while preserving its unique nanostructure. “Combining the technologies has enabled us to improve the sensor’s sensitivity by a factor of between 1,000 and 10,000 compared with existing devices.”

The study was supported by the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute.