Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Founded in 1924, the Technion is one of Israel’s, and the world’s, top colleges that focus on technology. The blogger delegation spent the morning getting acquainted with some very cool technology that is being developed at the college.

Virtual Reality Therapy

Our first demonstration showcased some of the virtual reality research taking place at the institute. The professor and student giving the demonstration gave us an example of their work with the Bubbles Game. They had been working with a child who was injured in a suicide terrorist bombing.

The child was too young to be able to tell them what he was feeling regarding pain. The Technion team developed this game in a virtual reality environment that required the boy to reach out and pop virtual bubbles floating in the air. Based on the sensors placed on specific areas of the boy’s body, as well as sensors on the floor, the team was able to determine where the boy’s weight was shifting and what muscles were being used based on how he stretched to pop the bubbles. The game can then be adjusted to have the bubbles move in the direction that strengthened the muscles that needed strengthening. Think of it as a virtual reality therapy session. It was quite amazing.

Water Filtration

If anyone knows anything about the Middle East, they know that it’s hot, and there isn’t that much water to go around. I don’t know much about water filtration or desalinization, but from what I gathered from the demonstrations I was given, the Technion is one of the world leaders in this science. Man, that stuff was complicated.

Helping People Walk

The last demonstration we received was more of a Powerpoint presentation (not as exciting but still very interesting). A professor discussed how they’re helping patients with diseases that affect mobility walk more gracefully.

Do you remember that scene in “Awakenings” where one of the patients was able to walk on the floor when it was tiled, but not when it was all the same color? Apparently this phenomena is real and doctors aren’t 100% sure why it works. Some theories revolve around the idea that the patient can see the next square as a goal and helps the patient move, in a straight line, to the next square thereby improving their gait and helping them walk.

This professor, along with his team, developed a small device that patients can wear on their head that replicate the tiled floor wherever they walk. The results were astounding (he showed us videos). The patients’ walks were significantly improved instantly. Pretty cool stuff.

Here are the rest of the pictures from Day 3.