Anna University to develop medical devices under national scheme
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai: 23.05.2018
An indigenous unit to manufacture automated medical devices will soon be set up in Anna University under the University for Potential for Excellence (UPE) scheme.
Vice-chancellor M K Surappa said the University Grants Commission (UGC) advisory committee, which on Monday inspected the progress made in utilising the grant released under the scheme, had given its nod for the second phase of funding.
The university has already spent nearly ₹23 crore towards this and is expecting another ₹50 crore from the UGC in subsequent phases. “Of the17 varsities selected for funding, only Anna University was shortlisted and has come up with a model which others can follow,” Surappa told TOI.
The unit, which is to come up at the Guindy and Chromepet campuses, will be involved in limited manufacture of bactibiogramoscopes – medical devices designed by Anna University researchers from multiple streams including medical electronics, mechanical and production technology. They are capable of identifying the type of bacteria causing illnesses like urinary tract infections and diarrhoea and suggesting the right antibiotic to be prescribed within eight hours.
Conventional laboratory methods take 48 hours to produce results, until which doctors usually prescribe commonly used antibiotics to control the infection. There is no guarantee that this is the right drug and rampant use of antibiotics without rationale has resulted in the spread of Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) strains, said professor S Muttan.
“Infections due to MDR are the cause for increasing cases of nosocomial (hospitalacquired) infections. Our device would eliminate these shortcomings,” he added. The cost of a test would also come down from ₹600-1,000 to ₹100 once the device is out in the market, said researchers. Semi-automated versions of the device are currently being validated by a NABL-accredited microbiological lab in Coimbatore and an automated version will be developed soon.
GETTING READY
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai: 23.05.2018
An indigenous unit to manufacture automated medical devices will soon be set up in Anna University under the University for Potential for Excellence (UPE) scheme.
Vice-chancellor M K Surappa said the University Grants Commission (UGC) advisory committee, which on Monday inspected the progress made in utilising the grant released under the scheme, had given its nod for the second phase of funding.
The university has already spent nearly ₹23 crore towards this and is expecting another ₹50 crore from the UGC in subsequent phases. “Of the17 varsities selected for funding, only Anna University was shortlisted and has come up with a model which others can follow,” Surappa told TOI.
The unit, which is to come up at the Guindy and Chromepet campuses, will be involved in limited manufacture of bactibiogramoscopes – medical devices designed by Anna University researchers from multiple streams including medical electronics, mechanical and production technology. They are capable of identifying the type of bacteria causing illnesses like urinary tract infections and diarrhoea and suggesting the right antibiotic to be prescribed within eight hours.
Conventional laboratory methods take 48 hours to produce results, until which doctors usually prescribe commonly used antibiotics to control the infection. There is no guarantee that this is the right drug and rampant use of antibiotics without rationale has resulted in the spread of Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) strains, said professor S Muttan.
“Infections due to MDR are the cause for increasing cases of nosocomial (hospitalacquired) infections. Our device would eliminate these shortcomings,” he added. The cost of a test would also come down from ₹600-1,000 to ₹100 once the device is out in the market, said researchers. Semi-automated versions of the device are currently being validated by a NABL-accredited microbiological lab in Coimbatore and an automated version will be developed soon.
GETTING READY
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