Make In India’ in focus, AIIMS to set up centre for medical devices with Osaka University
AIIMS and Osaka University have been working on the project for two years. In the last two years, several AIIMS faculty members visited Osaka University in Japan for training purposes.
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AIIMS administration has sought a budget of Rs 300 crore from the Union Health Ministry. (File Photo)With the central government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative at the heart of the project, the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has collaborated with Osaka University in Japan to set up a centre in Haryana’s Jhajjar where medical devices will be developed.
The National Centre for Medical Device Development, Validation and Skill Training is expected to provide a platform for Indian surgeons, physicians, and biomedical engineers to conceptualise, design, develop, and test medical device prototypes, said officials. It will give a boost to the preparation of designs and technologies as per the requirements of the doctors, and testing on animals and human cadavers.
Dr Hemanga K Bhattacharjee, Professor of Surgical Disciplines at AIIMS, said the move is significant because nearly 70% of the devices and equipment are imported from developed countries despite the ‘Make in India’ policy in place.
AIIMS and Osaka University have been working on the project for two years. In the last two years, several AIIMS faculty members visited Osaka University in Japan for training purposes. Now the AIIMS administration has sought a budget of Rs 300 crore from the Union Health Ministry. “The land has been finalised and the government has also given an in-principal approval for the budget,” said Dr Bhattacharjee.
On Monday, a delegation of doctors led by Dr Bhattacharjee, along with specialists from other departments, scientists and technical officers from AIIMS, held a meeting with the Japanese delegation to learn more about cutting-edge technological research and hands-on experience on prototype conceptualisation, computer-assisted designing, 3D printing for rapid prototype and subsequent manufacturing experience. “Now we have the Japanese delegation here to discuss and teach us how the centre will be established. All the AIIMS faculty members will be a part of this programme,” said Dr Bhattacharjee.
The Japanese delegation led by Dr Kiyokazu Nakajima, Professor in the Department of Next Generation Endoscopic Intervention at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, on Monday held discussions on technical aspects and proposals for creating the state-of-the-art, publicly-funded research centre for medical device development, validation and skill training. The Japanese doctors also visited the proposed site for the centre at AIIMS Delhi’s Jhajjar campus.
Dr Bhattacharjee underlined, “We have had an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Osaka University for 10 years for research but now we are taking it forward and will move towards the infrastructure and development of medical devices under the Make in India scheme.”
He further added, “We need to create an ecosystem where surgeons, engineers, and doctors can decide what they need and what are their unmet clinical needs and this platform will help them sit together and design and create technology. We want to establish a single-window solution for the same. This will not only help in developing the solutions for various technologies but also create an ecosystem for research and development.”
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