A joint venture between Stanford Medicine
and Rambam Medical Center
Access to relevant
unique data sets
Multidisciplinary
Teams
Patient oriented
program
Clinically integrated
prototyping
The Program
Our vision is to provide an educational driven center that scales up the local health technology ecosystem using Stanford’s Biodesign approach, to significantly improve treatment and patient well-being around the world.
Clinical Need
Driven Challenges
Value Based
Solutions
Project Based
Multi-DisciplinaryApproach
Team
Dr. Yona Vaisbuch
Founder, Program Director and Chief Clinical Officer
Sharon Gal
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Dan Marom
Chief Strategy Officer
Doron Bar-Shalom
Chief Technology Officer
Si Buchbut
Chief Operations Officer
Nicole Perlmotov
Administrative Assistant
Dr. Tahel Altman
Chief Instructor
Dr. Lior Lev Tov
Instructor | Director of Engineering
Dr. Nitai Klein
Instructor | Projects Director
Dr. Leor Perl
Mentor | Director at Rabin Medical Center Innovation Laboratory
Dr. Talma Cohen
Director of Team Dynamics
Prof. Ezri Tarazi
Mentor | Chair of the Industrial Design Program at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Shulamit Levenberg
Mentor | Dean of the Biomedical Engineering Faculty - Technion Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Miriam Erez
Mentor | Vice Dean MBA program, Chair Innovation Center at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Avigdor Gal
Mentor | Faculty of Industrial Engineering & Management at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Eitan Yaakobi
Mentor | Counselor for Excellence Program Computer Science Department at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Joachim A. Behar
Mentor | Head of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Shay S. Tzafrir
Mentor | Head of the Business Administration Department at the University of Haifa
Dr. Maayan Agmon
Mentor | Member at the Scientific Committee of Haifa Innovation labs, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, University of Haifa
Rina Assulin
Mentor | Head of Innovation in Nursing at Rambam Medical Center
Prof. Rafael Beyar
Advisory Committee Chairman | President of Rambam Medical Center’s International Associations
Dr. Adi Aron-Gilat
Advisory Committee Member | Head of Strategy at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory
Oded Tamir
Advisory Committee Member | Executive Chairman & Board member
Yoav Medan
Advisory Committee Member | Co-Founder and CTO at AmplioSpeech
Our Academic Partners
innovation can thrive:
Medical institutions
& industry affiliates
The Rambam Medical Center, housing the program and providing a rich platform for in-depth examination of clinical needs across all hospital departments, access to the wealth of medical information digitally kept and managed at the hospital over the past 20 years, as well as broad range of professionals from various aspects of the medical fields, including specialists, interns, nurses and physiotherapists.
Our Supporters
Richard Beleson
Oren Dobronsky
Miki and David Donoho
Ziv Elul
The Program
The Biodesign Israel program is designed to provide up to 36 carefully selected students and professionals from the fields of medical science, engineering and business administration advanced training and mentoring in health technology innovation. In 2020-2021, the program will focus on innovation in the fields of medical devices and digital health, taking participants step by step through Stanford’s world-renowned Biodesign Innovation Process, to provide them with the tools to successfully implement their solutions in the global markets.
Participants will be divided into mastermind teams in which they will identify needs and develop solutions through ongoing cross-pollination for the duration of the program. Each team will be thoughtfully assembled to comprise two entrepreneurs from the field of medicine, two from the field of engineering and two from the field of business administration.
The program will be led by a highly trained and experienced faculty of four doctors, who are all graduates of the Stanford University Biodesign program. They will be joined by teaching assistants from relevant academic faculties and departments as well as experts from diverse disciplines, various hospital wards, HMOs and leading authorities from the Israeli tech industry, Silicon Valley and other leading global markets.
Admission Criteria And Enrollment
We are looking for smart, motivated, creative, and entrepreneurial participants with a commitment to improving healthcare, an interest in technology and a dedication to making a real-world impact.
The program is offered free of charge to up to 36 select undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral-level students and professionals from the fields of medicine, engineering and business administration who work together in six multidisciplinary teams of six participants each. The program is recognized as academic accreditation for BA Engineering, BSc, MBA, M.Sc. Engineering students and medical interns. This is a fast-paced, demanding course and attendance is mandatory for the duration of the course (two semesters). Enrollment is by application only.
Program Schedule
Biodesign Israel’s first course begins October 2020 and will take place over two semesters (one academic year), with sessions held on Mondays and Thursdays, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Some sessions will be led by Stanford Global Faculty members and other professionals from the US and global Biodesign partners. These sessions will be held at various times that will be scheduled and announced in advance.
Curriculum
The Biodesign Methodology, With A Focus On Medical Devices Anda Digital Health
Based on the profound understanding that innovation must be designed to meet the users’ actual needs and challenges, a principle that is especially important in the medical field, the Biodesign Innovation Process involves the systematic identification and screening of needs from the ground up. This process, which Stanford has developed and refined over two decades, has been taught to thousands of participants at all levels in numerous countries around the world. Its application across a variety of fields within the medical landscape has led to exceptional results, enhancing the lives of millions around the globe.
This Biodesign Innovation Process includes three phases:
1. Identify.
This phase is first and foremost about finding important unmet health needs. By directly observing the full course of care, from diagnosis and treatment to recovery, as well as all the relevant players in the medical world, participants discover problems and opportunities. During this first-hand observation period, hundreds of needs are collected, initially with no judgment or prioritization. Then it’s time to filter the list with rigorous objectivity, taking into account everything from the different stakeholders affected by each need, to how much potential it has to improve care and/or save the system money, technological feasibility and business potential. This is an intense and iterative process, with progressively deeper dives into the needs that have the most potential. Ultimately, the trainees arrive at the two or three needs with the most promise for major impact on health and wellness.
2. Invent.
This phase begins by brainstorming hundreds of potential solutions for each of the top needs. Then, the ideas are organized and objectively compared against key criteria for satisfying the needs. During this phase, participantas create rough prototypes in a rapid “think-build-rethink” sequence, so failures emerge early and iteration can lead to better solutions. They then filter the surviving solutions by researching everything from intellectual property issues and business models to reimbursement and regulatory pathways. In the end, the process produces several lead concepts perfectly suited to meet real needs, which are feasible from a business perspective and have a good chance of actually reaching and improving patient care.
3. Implement.
This phase focuses on prototyping and testing the proposed technology in a quick and flexible way, while developing an approach to patenting, regulatory approval, reimbursement, charting market potential for the innovation and exploring sources of funding.
As mentioned, Stanford has been developing and refining this process for over two decades. An extremely broad number of participants from many countries around the world have undergone this training, at all levels of management and across a variety of medical fields. The results speak for themselves - this is an incredibly effective, systematic and proven process that is now being offered to entrepreneurs participating in the Biodesign Israel.
Any Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
As for the 2020-21 course, the application deadline, interview dates and timeline for announcing decisions will remain the same. If necessary, we will host interviews and classes using a virtual format. Please follow our website for more information as it becomes available.
Program alumni pursue a wide variety of careers that include launching health technology start-ups, driving innovation inside major health technology companies and teaching innovation inside universities. To date, many interesting technologies have been invented and fifty health technology companies have been launched by the program’s graduates.
We encourage everyone who is interested in the program to apply. We are interested in applicants from diverse backgrounds, including engineering, science, computer science, product design, business, medicine, social welfare and health science. Advanced degrees are preferred. Many candidates also have relevant work experience in the health technology industry or in related research positions. We are looking for individuals with strong leadership, problem solving, creativity, teamwork and communication skills, who aspire to become leaders in health technology innovation.
We accept applications from any individuals who have demonstrated exceptional creativity and/or innovation in their professional or academic careers. These candidates will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Biodesign Innovation program begins on October 26th, 2020.
The goal of the program is for you to learn the Stanford Biodesign Innovation process from start to finish. Accordingly, we ask that you work on needs and technologies that you and your team identify and invent together as part of the Biodesign process.
The clinical subspecialties chosen as the focus for the program in 2020-2021 are medical devices and digital health. We believe that by working on an area outside your specific field of expertise, you are more likely to question existing paradigms and recognize interesting opportunities. To jump-start the process, you will begin your training with several weeks of clinical immersion in the chosen subspecialty to observe first-hand how care is delivered in that space.
Once selected, participants will be assigned to teams by the program directors. Their goal will be to ensure each team comprises a strong mix of medical, engineering, and business acumen, as well as an effective mix of perspectives, personalities, and other aspects of diversity. Team assignments will be announced during the first weeks of the program.
Although some participants do start companies out of the course, this is just one of many different health technology career paths that our trainees take. Other alternatives include catalyzing innovation inside major health technology corporations, teaching and/or leading translational research projects for world-class universities, driving innovation initiatives within academic or private medical centers, or becoming specialists in design, investing, or other aspects of the health technology innovation ecosystem.
Yes. Non-students are also encouraged to apply and benefit from the program.
Here is a list of all our academic collaborations. If your specific faculty or institution does not appear on the list, please contact us.
The program involves academic collaboration with a range of various institutions and faculties. Our list of academic collaborations specifies the credits recognized for each course of study.
The program will take place on Mondays and Thursdays between 4 - 6 p.m. at the Rambam Health Care Campus.
Please note: some sessions will be led by lecturers from Stanford and held online at other times, based on the time difference between Israel and the US. These sessions will be scheduled and announced in advance.
You are required to commit to taking both semesters of the program and attending all the program meetings and sessions. This will demand about 8-10 weekly hours on your part, attending sessions and workshops and doing work at home.
Enrollment in Biodesign Israel is by application only. Final applicants will be invited to participate in an interview (online or in person).
Your application must include the following information:
- Basic background and your education, work and/or research experience.
- Why you are interested in medical technology innovation (in 250 words or less).
- Your bio, which will be distributed to students and class mentors if you are accepted (150 words or less).
Get to know our team of instructors and mentors here.