- Portable ventilators could make all the difference between life and death in critical cases in remote locations.
- Detecting premature births in advance could help anticipate NICU transfer, save time and a precious life.
- Knowing the correct extent of spread of a tumour could help to ensure that all cancerous cells are removed and not spread through vascular region of body.
These are some of the 15 innovations that will be the focus of Medical Device Innovation Camp (MEDIC 2019) currently underway at IIT Bombay. The real challenge is for 15 teams to come up with solutions within the 100 hour period from 28th September to 1st October.
Prof. B. Ravi, founder of BETiC shares “ 60 participants have formed 15 teams, each comprising a doctor, product designer, electronics engineer and mechanical engineer. They will work through four days and nights to evolve novel concepts to solve the selected problems, then fabricate and test the proof-of-concepts, mentored by BETiC team,” he said.
In addition to Mumbai, participants have come from Kolkata, Pune, Bhopal, Nashik, Jodhpur, Wardha, Kurnool, Punjab, Bhimavaram, Cochin, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Trivandrum, Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Patiala, Chandrapur, Goa and Karnataka.
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The innovation journey starts from defining unmet needs by doctors, developing appropriate solutions by researchers, delivering tested devices by entrepreneurs and deploying them with support from investors. There are ‘valleys of death’ in this difficult path, but these can be overcome by committed people who come out of comfort zones and collaborate with people with complementary skills.
The unique Camp is organized by the Biomedical Engineering and Technology (incubation) Center (BETiC) of IIT Bombay. The Centre is supported by RGSTC, Maharashtra Government and DST, New Delhi to spur indigenous affordable medical device innovation. Today, seven engineering and seven medical institutes across Maharashtra are part of the BETiC network, churning out medical devices and innovators.
Prof. Milind Atrey, Dean of Research and Development, IIT Bombay inaugurated the Camp along with Dr. Vijay Shetty, Orthopaedic Surgeon at Hiranandani Hospital and Vice President of Indian Association of Sports Medicine. Prof. Milind said, “Since its inception in 2014, BETiC has created a string of success stories by developing, patent filing, industrial licensing and incubating ten startup companies.” Dr. Vijay recalled his long association with BETiC and how the centre is bringing doctors and engineers together for medical device innovation.
The participants will present their proof-of-concepts to an eminent jury of doctors, professors, industry professionals and investors on the finale of 2nd October. A concurrent exhibition will showcase medical devices developed and commercialised by participants of previous Camps.
“We will also have two special events - a new product launch and investor pitches”, shared Dr. Rupesh Ghyar, SEO of BETiC.
MED TECH CHALLENGES BEING TAKEN UP AT MEDIC 2019
1. Intracranial pressure ( ICP ) Measurement - ICP indicates the prognosis and treatment in patients with brain injury. Currently pressure sensor/catheter is placed into brain ventricle, which is invasive.
2. Smart Surgery Head Light - OT lights are continually adjusted by surgeon or assistant for desired illumination and focus, wasting precious PT time.
3. Orbital Prosthesis - Rehabilitation of patient with orbital defect (exenteration) is difficult due to non-mobility ( no blinking ) of orbital prosthesis leading to visual imbalance in appearance.
4. Nasal Bleeding - In case of epistaxis or acute haemorrhage from nostril, applied pressure may not succeed, and lead to re-bleeding. It requires surgical expertise and skill.
5. Portable Ventilator - Patients facing emergency conditions of acute respiratory disorder or failure to provide assistive breathing support require ventilators.
6. Splints for Burns - Splints for neck, chest and upper extremities causes pressure over the raw area in burn patients. This causes reluctance reading use of splints in such patients.
7. Sleep Apnea - Interrupted breathing during sleeping needs to be overcome by mini CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device wearable in nose or neck region.
8. Lung Volume Measurement - Lung volume (original, reduced) enables diagnose of airway diseases. There is need to estimate original lung volume from X-ray, CT/MRI, BMI, and other parameters.
9. Continuous blood Glucose Monitoring - Blood glucose level surges are missed by intermittent measurement, causing complications. Unmonitored surges of glucose level need to be captured.
10. Preterm Delivery - Suboptimal obstetric care and delayed transfer of neonate to NICU needs to be prevented by diagnosing preterm labour in absence of trained clinicians.
11. Anti Bacterial Microbiology - Measuring zone inhibition of disc diffusion while testing antibiotic sensitivity as per cut-offs for organisms which can be linked or transferred to HMIS.
12. Tumor Margin Guiding - Tumor margin needs to be traced for correct resection of melanoma, to ensure all cancerous cells are removed and not spread through vascular region of body.
13. Below-Knee Stump Measurement - Device to measure the geometry of stump of patient with below-knee amputation, for fabricating matching socket of prosthesis.
14. PVD Detection - Reduced blood supply to skin can be used an early diagnostic procedure for forthcoming diseases, such as peripheral vascular disease ( PVD).
15. Clubfoot Deformity Measurement - Uniformly measure and classify angular deformity of weight bearing in clubfoot children at OPD /remote places without expert clinicians.
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