High-end medical care remains unaffordable to most Indians. A joint initiative of IIT Madras and the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology, the Healthcare Technology Innovation Center hopes to develop indigenous medical technology that is affordable and accessible. HTIC signed a memorandum of understanding with National Instruments, a U.S. company that produces automated test equipment, to develop new, affordable medical devices. NI, by their three-year contract, will fund HTIC and advise them on systems design approach.
The Head of HTIC Mr. S Mohanasankar said, “NI’s design and development platforms will allow us to shorten the time from idea to prototype, and quickly move the device for field testing and validation.” So far, HTIC has come out with three devices including a mobile eye surgical unit, an eye image computing platform and a cardiovascular screening tool. Work is on in fields including patient monitoring, cardiovascular screening, surgical oncology and neonatal care.
