Abstract

Abstract:

This lecture will focus on the landscape in India in terms of medical device innovation. It will also talk about the power of interdisciplinary collaboration between doctors, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs. Further it will focus on the success achieved by collaboration between institutes/universities across continents.

India is ready and poised for the decade of innovation which has a mindset to be frugal, simple and therefore affordable. These innovations can easily be useful and cost cutting even for the first world. The latter half of the lecture will showcase areas/opportunities in medical device innovation wherein India has met with early successes.

Profile:

Professor (Dr) Balram Bhargava is an outstanding cardiologist, one of the foremost leaders in biomedical innovation, public health, medical education and medical research. He developed the indigenous Platinum Iridium coronary stent and has been instrumental in clinically evaluating Indian stents. These low cost indigenous stents have benefitted several thousand patients. He set up the Centre for Excellence for Stem Cell Studies, which has initiated treatment of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy for the first time in the world. This has benefitted a number of no-option patients who are waiting on the cardiac transplant list.

He has promoted the India-Stanford Biodesign programme, a unique interdisciplinary programme to foster innovation, design in low cost implants/devices. This fellowship on Biomedical Technology Innovation has led to over twenty patents on low cost medical devices. He is currently developing the Chest Compression Device for Sudden Cardiac Death patients; funded by the Wellcome Trust. He is providing leadership for creative disease prevention, early detection and transport system for sick cardiac patients. He has been awarded the SN Bose Centenary award by the Indian National Science Congress and National Academy of Sciences Platinum Jubilee Award, Tata Innovation Fellowship and Vasvik Award for Biomedical Technology Innovation.