Gavriel Iddan. Photo: YouTube Screenshot

Gavriel Iddan

Electro-optical engineer 

Every Israeli Independence Day, distinguished Israelis who made global contributions light a torch at the national ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

The 2015 honorees included Gavriel Iddan, an electro-optical engineer who developed the Pill Cam – a miniaturized ingestible and disposable camera that gives doctors a view of the colon.

As an Israeli military scientist, Iddan spent years working on missile technology as the head of the electro-optical design section of the Rafael Armament Development Authority at the Ministry of Defense. He had worked on the seeker, or the “eye” of the missile, which captures the targets and guides it, and believed that the same technology could be applied to the medical field.

His invention, used around the world, replaces the more intrusive and painful methods of diagnosing digestive problems.