ISIC will collaborate with premier institutions to develop this laboratory and ensure products complying with international standards
In a bid to augment the development of world-class medical technology in India and ensure indigenous implants meet the global standards, the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), New Delhi will set up a laboratory to test their quality.
“Implants developed in India often do not match up to the international standards. There is no comprehensive implant testing laboratory in India now. The implants developed in India do not go through the rigorous quality checks and we are largely dependent on imports for quality implants most of which are designed for Caucasian population and may not suit the Indian body types. We will collaborate with premier institutions such as IITs to develop this laboratory and ensure products complying with international standard. I thank the faculty members and engineers from India and abroad to help us set up this first-of-its kind laboratory in India,” said Dr H S Chhabra, Medical Director, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi at the inauguration of the 3rd International Conference on Clinical Orthopaedics and Spine Biomechanics.
Medical fraternity converged at the inauguration of the three-day event, organised by the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), New Delhi,today emphasised on the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technological advancement for customised products and better services, and hoped that the increasing importance of healthcare in election campaigns and overall political discourse will provide the necessary impetus.
“The sustainable development goals (SDGs) have a social aspect and healthcare is at the heart of social development. If we look around the world, health has become an important issue in the election – elections in the US, the UK, Turkey, Japan and India have seen focus on healthcare programmes. This creates a great momentum for the development of the healthcare services and bringing more people with disability to the mainstream,” said Dr AK Mukherjee, Director General, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi.
“Artificial Intelligence has become the new electricity. Our healthcare development is centred around technical development. Along with AI, technological development will play a very critical role in evolving evidence-based understanding. We got a national healthcare policy after 14 years and the NITI Aayog is developing a programme on healthcare that is AI-based to a great extent. Biotech is another area that holds a lot of promise but developing its experimental side will need a lot of investment – by 2030, an estimated $ 6 trillion will be used for healthcare programmes, mainly due to the rapid spread of non-communicable diseases,” adds Dr Mukherjee.
The three-day conference, organised as collaboration between the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and the University of Toledo, will be held till April 28, 2019.
“A lot has changed in past 40-50 years in India – I have never heard of AI in healthcare. I am very happy to see so many youngsters here today and would like them to contribute to this pioneering research,” says Dr HPS Ahluwalia, Chairman, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.
Hailing the efforts if ISIC in setting up a biomechanics laboratory at the premises, Dr Patrick Kluger, a spine surgeon from Germany said, “Biomechanics laboratories and clinics remain disconnected, mostly. It is important that both biomechanics and clinics are available in one place for a better implementation of the new developments.”
Doctors and researchers from leading medical and research institutions such as Sir GangaRam Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur and Ropar, among others, presented their views at the conference. It will also hold workshops as parallel sessions with demonstrations on various orthopaedic and spinal problems.