From Dream to Reality: Craft Your Vision Into a Working Product
Eliachar Technologies Development specializes in the engineering, design and development of medical devices and products from the initial concept to the final product, while closely accompanying all stages of development, testing and validation
For three decades, Eliachar Technologies Development has been a cornerstone in the Israeli medical innovation landscape, assisting entrepreneurs, doctors, and biomedical companies in transforming initial ideas into market-ready products. As a leader in the field, the company boasts a diverse portfolio spanning urology, gynecology, cardiology, ophthalmology, vascular and heart surgery, surgical instruments, insulin pumps (and other medications), reusable and disposable products, invasive and non-invasive devices, implantable products, and more. This extensive experience has positioned Eliachar Technologies Development as the engineering partner for one of Israel's largest health organizations. Despite its significant contributions and impressive track record, the company has operated largely under the radar, with minimal exposure in the media.
Established in the 1990s by business partners Elie Eliachar, a mechanical engineer and Technion graduate, and Nir Lilach, a graduate of the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan, Italy, Eliachar Technologies Development has grown into a powerhouse of innovation. Both founders brought their expertise from their respective businesses, forming a partnership that has driven the company's success. The team consists of highly skilled engineers- approximately eight mechanical engineers and two electronic engineers.
Located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, the company's custom-designed offices include state-of-the-art facilities for engineering, assembly, prototyping, testing and validating, supporting comprehensive product development for trials on animals, cadavers, and humans. Eliachar and Lilach are deeply involved in every stage of the process, ensuring meticulous oversight and personal commitment to each project.
- What types of projects reach-out to the company?
Eliachar: "Our clients range from visionaries- entrepreneurs, doctors, and companies who reach-out with a concept or dream to develop. Typically, the original concept evolves during the development process, other times it materializes as initially conceived, while we remain dedicated throughout the development and establishment of the product. We also work with established companies that have in-house development capabilities but seek to explore additional directions or leverage their product utilizing our expertise, when their teams are either overloaded or lack a specific expertise. Our involvement can vary from developing a part of the product or a sub-system, to managing the development of the entire product."
- How did you come to specialize in the medical field?
"We were naturally drawn into the medical field and quickly fell in love with it. When we established the company, there was a tremendous demand for engineering design and development of medical devices. Numerous incubators and startups were emerging, and we found the subject both fascinating and challenging. This dynamic environment fueled our passion and expertise, solidifying our specialization in medical innovation."
- What about other fields?
"In addition to our medical projects, we have developed highly creative, engineering, and technology-intensive projects in various fields. These include mechanisms and transducers for agriculture, food preparation devices, wearable electro-mechanical cuffs for monitoring and tracking, optical analyzing devices, various devices for home and office, and electro-mechanical-pneumatic systems for assembly lines, mostly for products that we have developed. Our broad expertise allows us to tackle diverse challenges across multiple industries, delivering innovative solutions tailored to each field's specific needs."
Supporting Customers in Transitioning to Production Lines
- How does the development process actually work?
Eliachar: "Our development process begins with examining and formulating the concept, proving its feasibility, and then developing it into a full-fledged product, while being deeply involved in the entire process, truly hands-on. This includes trials on animals, cadavers, and humans, following validation processes and obtaining the necessary approvals. We visit operating rooms with the doctors, while observing and studying the procedures. Initially, this helps us understand deeply what is required, what exists, and how the physicians and medical staff work and operate. In later stages, we test, trial, and validate the devices that we have developed. Our goal is to closely accompany all stages of development and trials until we reach the right level of product satisfaction and quality.
"Over the years, we have accumulated extensive acquaintance in the medical field environment and vast medical knowledge in the physiology of the body, enabling us to consider risks, select appropriate materials, and adapt to the physicians' needs and the medical field requirements. As a starting point, we define with the client whether the product will be reusable or disposable, intended for one person or multiple users, and determine how it will be handled, packaged, cleaned, sterilized, and prepared for subsequent use. Once we achieve satisfaction with the development and testing results, we reach the Design Freeze stage, where the specific development direction is solidified.
"From this point, we accompany our clients through the entire transition to production and regulatory clearances. This includes assisting in selecting manufacturers, preparing the production files, ensuring standardization, handling packaging, sterilization, providing assembly and usage instructions, and everything needed to deliver a complete and finalized product dossier to the client.
Clients may also require complementary services, such as patent attorneys and regulatory consultants, and if needed, we direct them to suitable service providers for their selection.
Our in-house services encompass concept development, mechanical and electronic engineering design, building prototypes for the proof-of-concept (POC) stages, product improvements and final development to a working product, including ergonomics and design to full production readiness.
Additionally, we guide clients through all the necessary stages for regulatory approvals, patent registration, and animal and clinical trials. Even if there is an external supplier providing these services, we remain involved and assist as needed based on our extensive experience. We walk hand-in-hand with the client throughout the entire process because the client's success is also our success.
"Over the years, we have established connections and relationships with the industry and leading companies, relationships that greatly contribute to the development processes and product adaptation to the market," he adds and emphasizes.
Bringing a Product to OptimizationOver the years, hundreds of projects have been examined and developed in our company's offices, resulting in dozens of registered patents and a significant number of commercially successful projects. Our website showcases about 100 projects under the Medical Projects section, categorized by specific medical fields such as Ophthalmology.
Elie Eliachar explains, "Although we are not actively seeking investments, we have invested in quite a few projects over the years and have experienced both successes and failures, as typically expected."
- What are your unique advantages in the planning and development processes?
Lilach: "We have amassed vast knowledge and experience that allows us to integrate different technologies, materials, and components into products. This familiarity enables the development of optimal products that meet the requirements, dreams, and objectives of our clients. Our expertise also allows for the miniaturization and design of implantable products, leveraging our extensive knowledge, familiarity, and experience. In many of the products we have developed in recent years, we extensively use Nitinol, as our capabilities in developing and prototyping with this material are immense and varied.
"Additionally, our experience allows for the shortening and streamlining of development processes due to our deep familiarity with prototyping and manufacturing possibilities, including understanding what exists and can be purchased, thereby not requiring specific development. Our goal is to design and produce optimal products that meet target costs, are highly reliable and safe, manufacturable, and suitable for the target market. The knowledge we have accumulated is immense, and it would be challenging to find something in the field of medical engineering that we are not familiar with".
Eliachar: "It is not enough to design a product; it is necessary to achieve a well-designed product that is ergonomic, inexpensive, small, correct, and safe- an optimal product that meets the needs that it is intended to address."
Revitalizing the Market
Eliachar and Lilach view the Israeli biomedical industry with concern. They entered the industry during the establishment and flourishing of technological incubators, closely following them thrive and worked extensively with the companies that grew within them. Unfortunately, they have observed a slowdown in the amount of investment entering Israel and a decrease in activity within the biomedical and medical device industry over the past two years. The ongoing conflict does not help the situation, and they hope it is a passing wave and that the industry will recover.
Despite these concerns, the company is in good shape, currently providing development services for around 20 projects simultaneously, with 70% of the activity being for Israeli companies and the rest for European and American companies. Nir Lilach says, "We already have several clients overseas, and our success with them is significant. We are impressed that we can develop products at a much faster pace than they are accustomed to, and at significantly lower costs."
- Can you give an example of your advantage in the North American market?
Lilach: "We worked with a Cardiology company that spent three years developing a product with the help of a local design and engineering firm. The product failed, and they came to us very discouraged and on the verge of abandoning the project. In half the time- within a year and a half, we managed to bring their idea to a working prototype, and now they are in the animal trialing phase. In the U.S. the product development failed, but here in Israel, it succeeded. This success is largely thanks to the immense knowledge we have accumulated."
- And what is your vision for the future?
Lilach: "Our vision is to continue what we are doing while constantly renewing, understanding market trends, and adopting the most innovative technologies for the benefit of our clients. We aim to bring in as many projects from abroad as possible, hoping that the situation in the country will improve in the foreseeable future. We maintain close ties with investors and companies interested in supporting and helping the industry continue to grow and develop.
Eliachar: "This work is not just a job for us; it is our hobby, passion, life, family, and business- we love what we do. It is important for us to help and bring to the market not only economic success for our clients but also products that improve the quality of life and health of people in Israel and around the world. It's a mission."
In cooperation with Eliachar Technologies Development
