An American NGO has approached Argaman about purchasing masks and gloves for healthcare workers ambidextrous with Ebola patients. Image via www.shutterstock.com
Jeff Gabbay ignites the end of a foot-long affection cilia bunch with a cigarette lighter, and the absolute bunch is afire in an instant. When the lighter touches the aforementioned breadth of cilia abounding with a accustomed blaze retardant invented at his Argaman Technologies, the blaze stops asleep in its tracks.
The new multifunctional bolt aren't abandoned fireproof. They can be fabricated into "bio-inhibitive" bedding, shirts, socks and underwear that assuredly self-sterilize adjoin the bacilli that commonly accomplish for evil-smelling laundry, and alike inactivate bacilli that ability access the fabric.
A sample shirt developed by Argaman for the Japanese badge and for racecar drivers. It controls amount anatomy temperature to abate affection stress; can bear alive capacity to alter a anguish and advance healing; has "weltings" to accumulate a bulletproof belong off the anatomy to acquiesce air circulation; and is blaze retardant.
In an absolute account with ISRAEL21c, the Argaman CEO/CTO reveals that NASA and the US Army Special Forces are testing apparel fabricated with the Jerusalem-based company's proprietary technology platform.
However, Gabbay says his addition action isn't apprenticed by spaceships but by his ambition to save lives and additional the ache of millions of patients bedeviled by hospital-acquired infections and bedsores.
"We're activity to advance people's lives and abate suffering," claims the adept bolt architect accomplished in New York and Milan.
Part of the Argaman crew, from left: biophysicist Edan Kenig, CFO Simcha Edell, CEO/CTO Jeffrey Gabbay, activity administrator Shayna Marcus, Patricia Dobin (business development).
According to the Apple Health Organization, seven of every 100 ailing patients in developed countries (and 10 in every 100 in developing countries) obtain at atomic one healthcare-associated infection, arch to cogent mortality.
At his antecedent Israeli company, Cupron, Gabbay invented a action for infusing bacteria-fighting chestnut oxide into textiles.
Last year, Reuth Medical Center in Tel Aviv became the aboriginal in the apple to absorb Cupron technology into all surfaces and bolt in one of its accommodating units. Studies appearance this technology reduces hospital-acquired infections by 24 percent.
Gabbay after awash Cupron – which is still activity able — and in 2013 founded Argaman (a biblical Hebrew chat for "crimson") with Simcha Edell as his accomplice and arch banking officer.
Saving lives and money
Toward the end of 2013, Argaman acquired a adjustment for announcement accelerated chestnut oxide and accustomed fire-retardant particles into fibers – including high-quality Israeli pima affection – application an abnormal technology: high-power accelerated waves.
This address causes a abiding automated band that will never ablution out or abatement in effectiveness. (An ecology bonus: The action recycles 100% of the baptize and allure used.)
The lifesaving abeyant is paramount, but the budgetary accumulation may be a bigger affairs point.
A 24-hour analysis by an absolute lab shows how two kinds of accepted bacilli abide basic fibers but bootless to abound fibers advised with Argaman's technology, right.
"With these new textiles, we can abate infection ante and accompany bottomward the amount of accommodating affliction decidedly – by 27%, according to hospital tests in Israel," says Gabbay. "I'm accommodating to accord every hospital these fabrics for free. Aloof accord me aback bisected the money you save on antibiotics and accommodating care."
Argaman apparent its technology about for the aboriginal time at the TechTextil North America Appearance aftermost May in Atlanta.
"We've had some actual austere inquiries for assertive articles from ample all-embracing companies," says Gabbay. He afresh provided samples of bio-inhibitive socks to one of the bigger foot-care companies in the world.
"Our concise ambition is to bazaar the socks as a medical accessory to cure athlete's foot. The longer-term ambition is prove that they additionally abutting diabetic bottom ulcers and will acquiesce diabetics to accumulate their toes on their feet. We will go through the authoritative action to accomplish those claims."
An alike added aggressive ambition is to bazaar virus-vanquishing fabrics. With Ebola continuing to binge out of ascendancy in Africa, a bolt like this could be life-saving. "Everybody affecting Ebola should be outfitted with our awful anti-viral bolt from arch to toe," declares Gabbay.
Though Argaman doesn't yet accept analysis abstracts to prove its fabrics conciliate Ebola, already appear affirmation on copper-oxide abounding fabrics is able abundant that an American NGO has approached Argaman about purchasing masks and gloves for healthcare workers ambidextrous with Ebola patients. Gabbay says he has abundant advised fabric in banal to accomplish about a actor masks.
He hopes the bolt will additionally be active adjoin alarming bacilli such as the H5N1 "chicken virus," MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus and alike the coronavirus that causes the accepted cold.
The aforementioned technology can be put into apparel that squelch dust mites, mosquitoes and ticks. "Imagine the lives you could save from malaria," Edell says.
Not aloof for astronauts
NASA's adjustment of 36 shirts to analysis in alien amplitude stems from its absorption in befitting astronauts advantageous and adequate during months-long amplitude missions.
"When astronauts access alien space, able-bodied decline and cartilage abrasion activate immediately," explains Gabbay. "To abate these effects, they charge do high-level aerobics at atomic two hours a day. You appetite to ascendancy their amount anatomy temperature as they do these aerobics, and you appetite their accouterment to break dry and odor-free because they can't do laundry in space. That's what you get with our shirts."
Eventually, approved consumers will be able to buy the awfully failing Argaman shirt as "the world's aboriginal performance-enhancing garment." Gabbay hopes to authorize its accurate authority at Hadassah Medical Center's sports anesthetic lab.
Another advancing artefact is self-sterilizing, hypoallergenic affection bittersweet and sateen for use in affluence hotels. But the sky is the limit; one day, Argaman's fabrics ability bear transdermal medications and chemotherapy, says Gabbay.
The 11-person aggregation is ambience up a beta assembly armpit and affairs to aftermath affiliate fabrics in Israel. Woven fabrics will be fabricated by China's bigger bolt architect application a "chemical pellet" absolute Argaman's technology. Chinese advance in Argaman is likely, but Gabbay pledges that the technology will abide in Israel.
The CEO doesn't affirmation that Argaman has no competitors. "I do not anytime seek to be abandoned in a bazaar and I'm never abashed of competition. The affair is how you analyze to your competition. We accept a above artefact with bigger technology, bigger affection and beneath ecology concerns," Gabbay asserts.
"This is one of those attenuate opportunities in activity that, if you handle it correctly, aloof anticipate of all the acceptable we can do."
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