- Portable ventilators could make all the difference between life and death in critical cases in remote locations
- Detecting premature birth in advance could help anticipate NICU transfer, save time and a precious life
- Knowing the correct extent of spread of a tumour could help ensure that all cancerous cells are removed and do not spread through body’s vascular region
These are some of the 15 innovations that were the focus of the Medical Device Innovation Camp (MEDIC), 2019, IIT-Bombay. The real challenge was for 15 teams to come up with solutions within the 100-hour period from September 28 to October 1.
Prof. B Ravi, Founder, Biomedical Engineering and Technology (incubation) Centre (BETiC), IIT-Bombay, said, “As many as 60 participants formed 15 teams, each comprising a doctor, product designer, electronics engineer and mechanical engineer. They worked through four days and nights to evolve novel concepts to solve the selected problems and then fabricated and tested the proofs-of-concept, mentored by the BETiC team.”
Apart from Mumbai, the participants were also from such diverse cities and regions as Kolkata, Pune, Bhopal, Nashik, Jodhpur, Wardha, Kurnool, Punjab, Bhimavaram, Cochin, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Trivandrum, Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Patiala, Chandrapur, Goa and Karnataka.
The innovation journey started with defining unmet needs by doctors, developing appropriate solutions by researchers, delivering tested devices by entrepreneurs and deploying them with support from investors. There were ‘Valleys of Death’ on this difficult path, but these were overcome by committed people who came out of their comfort zones and collaborated with people with complementary skills.
This unique camp was organised by BETiC, IIT-Bombay. The centre is supported by RGSTC, Maharashtra government, and DST, New Delhi, to spur indigenous and affordable medical device innovation. Today, seven engineering and seven medical institutes across Maharashtra are part of the BETiC network, churning out medical devices and innovations.
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 the 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 10 start-up companies.” Dr Vijay recalled his long association with BETiC and how the centre was bringing doctors and engineers together for medical device innovation.
The participants presented their proofs-of-concept to a jury of eminent doctors, professors, industry professionals and investors on the final day on October 2. A concurrent exhibition was showcased with medical devices developed and commercialised by the participants of previous camps.
“We’ll also had two special events — a new product launch and investor pitches,” shared Dr Rupesh Ghyar, SEO of BETiC.
, 2019, IIT-Bombay.){kind=link}