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Israel’s medical magic on show

By Peter Kohn June 12, 2015, 12:00 am Edit
9-6-15. Israel medical innovation exhibtion at Parliament house , Victoria. From left: Margaret Fitzherbert, Georgie Crozier, Kristee Shepherd, Mary Wooldridge, David Southwick. Photo: Peter Haskin
9-6-15. Israel medical innovation exhibtion at Parliament house , Victoria. From left: Margaret Fitzherbert, Georgie Crozier, Kristee Shepherd, Mary Wooldridge, David Southwick. Photo: Peter Haskin

QUEENSLANDER Kristee Shepherd runs Making Strides, Australia’s first recovery centre for spinal cord injury victims, which has become the local distributor of ReWalk, Israel’s revolutionary exo-skeletal system that restores the gift of walking to disabled people.

For Shepherd, that business partnership, announced in January this year, is intensely personal – she is paraplegic and founding her company has helped others with similar disabilities.

Using ReWalk has made a significant difference to her mobility, Shepherd told The AJN at the launch of MediFUTURE, an expo of Israeli medical breakthroughs.

For three days this week, Queen’s Hall at State Parliament was the scene of the exhibition, which highlighted the brightest innovations of Israeli medical science available in Australia.

Around 20 Israeli developers showcased breakthrough technologies such as MedTech Edge’s cardiology monitoring vests, EarlySense hospital systems that detect sudden changes in patients’ vital signs, TacMed’s Emergency Bandage, used by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and Balance Medical’s CoolSense relief from pain after injections.

At the launch of MediFUTURE, an initiative of the Zionist Council of Victoria (ZCV), president Sam Tatarka said: “Israel is so much more than a story about conflict. In so many ways, the country enriches the lives of humanity throughout the world, but medical advances are a prime source of pride.”

MediFUTURE coordinator Atida Lipshatz said the exhibition covers medical firsts across the age spectrum, from monitoring babies to relieving pain in the elderly.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy described Israel’s medical achievements and its recent rehabilitation role in Nepal as “deeply valued and truly remarkable”. Liberal health spokesperson Mary Wooldridge reflected on Israel’s high investment in research and development and said the Coalition “always understood the very vital importance of innovating … particularly when it comes to innovation in medicine and health”.

Parliament’s Friends of Israel co-convenors, Labor MP Marsha Thomson and Liberal MP David Southwick were on hand for the launch. Thomson lauded “the true Israel … a state of innovation” and Southwick noted that Queen’s Hall offered a unique setting for explaining Israel’s medical advances.

Coinciding with MediFUTURE, MPs gathered in Parliament on Wednesday evening for a reception to celebrate Israel’s 67th birthday.
PETER KOHN

From left: MPs Margaret Fitzherbert, Georgie Crozier, Mary Wooldridge and David Southwick with Kristee Shepherd (centre) Photo: Peter Haskin

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