Chennai, May 22:
With an aim to build high quality, cost effective
medical technology products that go well with
the requirements of developing countries,
India will establish its first medical technological
park in Irugattukottai, Chennai.
According to reports, two
international business giants, Trivitron and
Aloka, have joined hands to build the technological
park. Talking to the reporters here, Trivitron
Managing Director Dr. G S K Velu said, "A
Rs.250 crore-investment is expected to be
made to establish this park, which will be
spread over an area of 23 acres."
He also added that this park
will also beautify the convenience and affordability
of medical instruments to the rural people.
However, this park will focus on domestic
market and then on emerging markets while
giving full emphasis on South Asia, West Asia
and African markets.
Dr. G S K Velu further said
that presently, most of the medical instruments
were imported as hospitals were uncertain
to use products without a brand name. When
all other related fields focusing medical
technology had grown in India, it was for
the very first time that India as a whole
will start manufacturing medical technology
products.
Furthermore, these companies
were also exploring the possibility of converting
the park into SEZ after acquiring another
piece of land in the same area.
http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=63675
Chennai hospital launches,
joint for life technology
Chennai: A leading orthopaedic
hospital here on Wednesday launched a new
'Joint for Life' technology that provides
joint replacement equipment that will last
a lifetime. It also started an awareness campaign
about its benefits.
The Madras Institute of Orthopaedics
and Traumatology (MIOT) Hospitals said this
would do away with revision surgeries otherwise
needed for implants done earlier.
'A key element in a replacement
surgery is the artificial joint that is used.
Today, the need of the hour, if I am looking
for a knee or hip replacement, is a joint
for life,' said P.V.A. Mohandas, managing
director of MIOT Hospitals.
'When patients consider the
serious decision of going for a joint implant,
we believe with today's advancement in material
science, technology and surgical expertise,
they have a right to demand a joint for life,
whatever their age may be,' the hospital said.
'The earliest implant surgeries
in India were done in the 1970's. Many of
these implants are now wearing out due to
non-durable materials used. Another reason
for early failure of the implant is improper
placement during surgery,' Mohandas explained.
'With more and more people
seeking to lead active lives even in their
70s and beyond, there has been a tremendous
increase in the demand for knee and hip replacement
surgeries.
'The need for joint replacement
is increasing among the younger population
too due to stressful lifestyles and higher
incidence of accidents,' he said.
About the hospital's new technology,
he said: 'With this, they (patients) gain
confidence of getting the best that science
and surgery offers. More importantly, they
are saved from the trauma and additional cost
associated with revision surgeries. Our endeavour
is to build this awareness among patients
across India.'
The Joint for Life concept
has been developed based on MIOT's research,
backed by its experience of over 35 years
of having conducted over 21,000 hip and knee
replacement surgeries and revision surgeries.
MIOT's Joint for Life deals
with two aspects - the choice of implant and
its precise placement.
There are over 500 types of
joints available for joint replacement. The
choice of an implant involves an assessment
of the disease, quality of the bone, age,
activity levels and medical condition of the
patient, Mohandas said.
The right implant fits smoothly
and the patient is comfortable and active
for life. The wrong implant leads to discomfort,
wear and tear and possibly, another surgery
in a few years, say medical experts.
'Once the right implant is
chosen, surgeons then place it with zero-error
precision supported by computer navigation
and experience,' Mohandas explained.
It is a 'minimally invasive
surgery with no muscle cutting', and the patient
could even start walking in one-and-a-half
hours after the surgery, he added. IANS
http://indiaedunews.net/Tamil_Nadu/Chennai_hospital_launches,_joint_for_life_technology_4137/
Chennai firm's new
technology brings down fuel cost
By Jatindra Dash, Bhubaneswar,
May 20 : It may now be possible to bring down
the cost of emulsified fuel and also reduce
India's dependence on crude imports, thanks
to a new technology developed by a Chennai
company.
"The technology we have
developed does not use any additive or surfactant,"
says Srinivasan Gopalakrishnan, managing director
and inventor of Chennai-based Hydrodrive Systems
and Controls.
"We do emulsification
through a molecular engineering process, which
has already been covered by a patent granted
in several countries including Britain, Canada,
India, the Philippines and patent pending
in China, Japan and the US," Gopalakrishnan,
56, told IANS.
An emulsified fuel, used in
internal combustion engines and for combustion
in boilers, furnaces and external combustion
equipment, is a mixture of water in fuels.
A known technology since 1900, it is considered
eco-friendly because it reduces emission.
As oil and water generally
do not mix, costly special additives or surfactants
are used for surface tension modifications
to manufacture emulsified fuels by mixing
them and to retain stability for a longer
period without oil and water getting separated.
Emulsified fuels currently
sold by five European manufacturers are costlier
than the conventional diesel fuel due to the
use of costlier surfactants or additives.
The fuel produced for use
in the internal combustion engines has minimum
10 percent to maximum 20 percent water in
diesel. Due to the higher price compared to
the conventional diesel fuel, the emulsified
fuel marketing companies are unable to push
the product and are dependent upon tax incentives.
"Our technology burns
25 percent water in 75 percent diesel as against
the maximum 20 percent water in the diesel
emulsion achieved by existing producers,"
said Gopalakrishnan, a mechanical engineer
with a management degree who set up Hydrodrive
in 1981.
He added that the manufacturing
process developed by his firm brings down
the fuel cost to much below the cost of the
conventional diesel or petrol or kerosene.
"India's Super Auto Forge
Limited which manufactures cold forged/cold
extruded steel and aluminium components for
the automotive industry has found after six
months of testing that it saves fuel.
"Similarly the technology
was tested in a tractor in the US and a vehicle
in Canada. Both were found working without
a problem. More tests are also in progress,"
he said.
"We are now commercially
offering the on-demand emulsification plant
on a 14-year licence to individual industrial
fuel users to cut down their fuel expenses,"
Gopalakrishnan said.
He added that investment on
the emulsification plant would be recoverable
within 10 to 12 months through savings made
in fuel consumption.
Gopalakrishnan said the new
technology could help reduce India's dependence
on costly crude oil imports.
"If we use emulsified
fuels with 20-25 percent water in all middle
distillates and heavy distillates, which account
for over 70 percent of the imported crude
consumption, this will result in a saving
of Rs.34,048 crore (Rs.340.48 billion or approximately
$8 billion)," he said.
(Jatindra Dash can be contacted
at jatindra.d@ians.in)
http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=62276
