The new mantra of healthcare

AI rewrites the prescription to ‘predict and then prevent’.

 The surgeon uses controls in the console to manipulate special surgical instruments that are smaller and more flexible than the human hand.

But the biggest inroads of robots in healthcare may be in the area of surgery. Robotic Surgery also known as Robot-assisted surgery, marries advanced computer technology with the skill and  experience of  a human surgeon. It is a method of  performing surgery using very small tools attached to a robotic arm. The surgeon controls and manipulates the arm from a computer console. The huge advantage is this: An electronic eye in the  robot arm sends back a high definition 3-D image, magnified 10 times, which the  surgeon can view on the computer screen: something not possible in conventional surgery.
Insta ECG
Headed by cardiologist Charit Bhograj, Tricog found a value proposition in that ubiquitous diagnostic tool the Electro Cardio Graph or ECG. The likelihood of surviving a heart attack is over 80 per cent if action is taken within the first two hours. However, the average time between symptoms and treatment in India is over 6 hours. By simply reducing this, millions of lives can be saved every year.
While heart attacks can be detected by a quick ECG, there are two constraints: First: most primary care clinics are not equipped with ECG machines. Second: Even where such machines are available, staff do not receive sufficient training in ECG interpretation. This is where Tricog steps in — by providing, the fast and accurate diagnosis of an ECG, by combining AI  Technology with human expertise. Tricog ECG devices, strategically located at local clinics help doctors detect heart complications within minutes. The devices are cloud-connected and accessed  by trained expert doctors. Within minutes of collecting the ECG results, the diagnosis is shared with both the patient and the doctor in real-time.
Analysing visual medical data
Bangalore-based SigTuple creates AI-based solutions to automate healthcare screening. It has built intelligent screening solutions to aid diagnosis through AI-powered analysis of visual medical data. The start-up founded by Apurv Anand and Rohit Pandey in 2015, has created an AI platform, Manthana, which helps analyse visual medical data efficiently. This analyses  blood, urine, semen etc — and chest X Rays.
‘Hot’ new way to check breast cancer
Most women are aware of the importance of checking early for any signs of breast cancer. And some still keep putting off a traditional test because of the hassle.
Machines assist Man
Care giving is hard work, tedious, boring and often emotionally draining. Most of it is done by the lowest paid rung of medical workers. And there is always a shortage of such staff. Which is why the healthcare assistive robot market  is seen as the most promising application of robots in medicine —  and an estimated $1.2 billion market within five years.

Healthcare  is poised at a crucial tipping point today. Thanks to technologies like AI, Machine Learning  and — new buzzword — Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), vast amounts of clinical data can now be gobbled up, digested and interpreted within seconds. The patient’s medical history, past and present lifestyle, living environment, personal habits, present medication and genetics can be rapidly analysed to predict future ailments that could conceivably lead to a life-threatening situation. This is where predictive healthcare morphs into preventive healthcare.

This — complemented by DNA testing — is already being touted as the next big technological advancement in healthcare. All this patient-centred data will go into one electronic window called Electronic Health Record (EHR), which may soon become a global standard: Your EHR will be accessible where ever you go ensuring you receive immediate care, anytime anywhere.

Philips, a leader in healthcare technology  is touting another avatar of AI: solutions that are secure, firmly grounded in scientific research, and validated in clinical practice. They call this combination of AI solutions and domain knowledge: adaptive intelligence. The company has  launched a global startup collaboration programme focused on the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare. One of the three centres is Bangalore. The India team screened more than 150 healthcare start-ups in the Asia-Pacific region that had AI and radiology as part of their proposition and the most promising five start-ups are being coached and facilitated today from Philips Innovation Campus, Bangalore.

In other ways too, India has become a fertile ground for startup innovators who are cannily marrying AI and medicine to provide new generation healthcare solutions. Here are the promising new ventures:

Robotic surgery

The surgeon uses controls in the console to manipulate special surgical instruments that are smaller and more flexible than the human hand. The robot replicates the surgeon’s hand movements, and eliminates  human shortcomings like hand tremors. The result: surgeons are able to perform the most complex procedures with a higher degree of precision, dexterity and control than humanly possible.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, led the robotic revolution in India. The first robotic surgery (of the prostate) was performed at  AIIMS in July 2006. The first robotic device to perform surgical procedures was the da Vinci Surgical System launched in 2000 — and it remains the most widely used worldwide — there are some 60 installations in India alone. Robotic surgery  is increasingly used the for treatment of prostate, kidney and urinary bladder cancer   as well as for spine surgery. But in a country where such advanced technology tends to be concentrated in metros, can  robots  perform surgery remotely — with the surgeon miles away from the patient? This  exciting possibility became reality — a few months ago.

The CorPath  system from US-based Corindus Vascular Robotics  was used to conduct the world’s first-in-human robotic coronary surgery in India on  December 4 and 5, 2018. Five patients located at the Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, underwent  the procedure from a distance of 32 km. It was performed by  Dr. Tejas Patel, Chairman and Chief Interventional Cardiologist of the Apex Heart Institute, from inside the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar. Robotic surgery is a done thing today and the option is increasingly available in India’s leading hospitals. Now after the  successful Ahmedabad trial, the Next Wave may well  be Tele Robotics — robotics surgery from afar.

Tricog:

SigTuple:

Their USP is the speed with which this data is analysed... enabling doctors  to make a quick diagnosis in life threatening situations.  SigTuple was given the ‘Judges’ Choice’ award at the Google’s first Demo Day Asia programme held in Shanghai, late last year.

Nirmal

Now maybe, more women will take the test —with a new procedure that is simple, non-invasive and radiation free. It is called NIRAMAI (Non-Invasive Risk Assessment with Machine Intelligence), and harnesses an innovation, Thermalytix, a combo of AI with thermal imaging — eat maps — to  detect breast cancer at an early stage.

NIRAMAI which means ‘free from illness’ in Sanskrit is a Bangalore-based tech startup cofounded by Dr Geetha Manjunath, earlier a Principal Research Scientist at Hewlett Packard Laboratories for 17 years and Nidhi Mathur, former Senior Product Manager at Xerox Research.  

The breast cancer test  is based on six patents and is currently available in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mysore, Dehradun and Odisha.

Robotic health-givers

Walking robots that cart medication and supplies across hospitals are a common sight in some Japanese and American hospitals, replacing ‘runners’ and ward boys.

But what about a robot that wakes up elderly patients greet them with a human-like voice, help them out of bed and make sure they are clean  after  going to the toilet, then ensure they take their medicine? The Robot Caregiver is triggering a gold rush-like trend in end-of-life care and will soon enable many such patients to remain in their own homes. Robots with  brand names like  Paro, Tugs and  Bestic are available off the shelf, to assist the elderly.

Source URL: http://www.asianage.com/life/health/100319/the-new-mantra-of-healthcare.html (Accessed on 11 March, 2019)

Gridbots: Robotics For Effeciency and Accuracy

Team Gridbots;

Credits: YourStory

In earlier articles on robotics, we have discussed how the industry is (very predictably) going to be the future. The industry is growing at an exponential scale. However, this is not only true for western countries but startups in India too.

Multiple companies are now venturing into the foray of robotics and applying it through different perspectives. While the layman’s understanding of robotics may only be through mechanics or humanoid looking things moving around, robotics is so much more. It can be very obvious or it can be inconspicuous. In this series, we shall be discovering startups in the country that are looking at Robotics through different niches and are on their way to creating successful companies.

This time we will be looking at a company that goes by the name Gridbots.

What Is Gridbots?

Gridbots picks two subsets of robotics and works with those- Artifical Intelligence and Machine Vision. Those familiar with the robotics industry will know that machine learning and artificial intelligence are two sub-industries that are thriving under robotics. And Gridbots has found its calling in these sub-industries. But what does the company exactly do?

Gridbots as a company wants to make the advantages robotics has and make it a part of everyone’s daily life. They are in the business of identifying jobs that are currently done manually and replace them with more efficient robots.

Before we take a look at what the company does or makes, let us take a look at the start of the company and the founders.

The Beginning:

Gridbots was founded in August of 2007 by Pulkit Gaur. This was fairly before robotics had entered into mainstream startup culture or consideration.

He was a student of engineering from Jaipur, dabbling in various aspects of the field at a graduate and postgraduate level. His curiosity knew no bounds and because of his constant experiments and creations in engineering, he was awarded Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Young Creator of the Year Award in 2012.

Gaur is said to have founded this company out of pure love for the industry. He wanted to build useful products that are run by intelligence and not just instructions.

The Products

Gridbots operates in a number of various sectors. There are 5 major industries for which the company makes specialized robots:

1. Defence and Homeland
2. Space Robots
3. Nuclear Robots
4. Power Plant Robots
5. Underwater Robotics

You may see a pattern. All of these industries involve high energy or high-risk material which can endanger human working conditions. They also require a terribly accurate application- something that humans are not very capable of. Robotics becomes a gift in these high-pressure industries.

Let us take a little bit of a dive into what kind of products this company makes by taking a look at some examples. This will give us an insight into what they mean when they say “robots” and how they operate in the above industries. Some of its products include:

• 1. The Sleuth Hound

Industry: Defence and Homeland

What It Does: The Sleuth Hound is 360 pan-tilt-automatic tracking camera that can be used in the defence industry for security reasons. It can withstand harsh environments and is more durable than regular CCTV camera which makes it an optimum choice in high-risk, combat settings.

• 2. The Hexamove

Industry: Space Robotics

What It Does: The Hexamove is a positioning system. To put it simply it can help position and repair machines in space that require a high level of positioning accuracy. The job of repairing space machinery is extremely difficult as it requires the job to be done in the quickest manner but with no room for error.  The Hexamove with its 6 degrees-of-freedom movement and an accuracy of 50 microns. This makes it a robot that is doing a job that a human cannot accomplish with the same level of accuracy and efficiency.

• 3. The Nu Crawler

Industry: Nuclear Robotics

What It Does: Nuclear material is extremely dangerous when directly dealt with by humans. Extreme precautionary measures need to be taken to ensure that a person is not affected by the radiation which is why replacing them with robots is the next big solution. Which is where the Nu  Crawler comes in.  This machine can climb completely vertical and inclined surfaces and detect faults in machinery or be used for regular inspection. It can point out faults in the welding work or any other errors in the machine. This robot can access parts of a machine that just cannot be inspected manually.

• 4. The Gridbots Stinger

Industry: Power Plants

What It Does: This is a miniature robot that can perform checks and inspect space that is anywhere between 150mm to 5000mm large. It can carry payloads inside hard-to-access pipelines which can help rectify clogs, blockages, or rectify errors. The robot is also waterproof and equipped with cameras so the person in charge can assess the situation remotely if needed while the robot is on the actual site. In a hazardous power plant environment, these robots can secure human lives. There are also autonomous modes available on the robot.

Revenue and Growth:

The initial operations for Gridbots have kicked into through funding of Rs. 10 lakh from the Union Government’s Science and Technology Department.

Because of Gridbots’ inventive offering of products it now holds tenders in various Public Sector Units. The company supplies and earns its revenue from various industry deals and sales. Clients of Gridbots include the Indian Navy, ONCG and the Institute of plasma research. Small and medium enterprise sector also take a sizeable chunk of the Gridbots revenue section.

Growth and The Future:

The company is now 72 members strong and has offices in cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi and Bangalore. Since its first funding from the Union Government, the company has been on its own, operating on revenues. Gridbots has an estimated annual revenue of $2.6 million USD and the graph is only predicted to go upwards.

Source URL: https://techstory.in/robotics-gridbots-tech-story/ (Accessed on 11 Marchm 2019)

An app to aid students’ reading skills

Rural students often face problems in reading, and understanding simple text books in Hindi and English. To overcome this challenge, Google has come up with an app called Bolo, which aims at helping primary school children read and learn smoothly. The app aims to aid students improve their Hindi and English reading abilities. The beta version of Bolo is operational in an offline mode.

As per the ASER 2018, only 27.2% of class III students were able to read the text books meant for class II students, while only 50.3% of class V students were able to read the books prescribed to class III students. “Learning gaps have serious implications on the future of the child,” says Nitin Kashyap, product manager, Google. Bolo will soon be available in other regional languages too.

“Efforts are being made to bridge the learning gap, but the pace has been slow. Three major roadblocks include lack of access to quality education, limited infrastructure and barriers to learn outside the classrooms,” Nitin adds.

Using this speech-technology based app, kids can read interesting stories, learn new words and its pronunciation all by themselves. There are about 50 and 40 stories in Hindi and English, respectively. These stories are available free of cost. With the help of built-in reading buddy – Diya, the app aims to inculcate reading habit among students. Diya not only reads the text aloud when needed, but also explains the meaning of English text in Hindi. At the end of the story, children can play interesting word games and earn in-app awards.

Full report on www.educationtimes.com

Source: The Times of India dated 11 March, 2019

Technical institute to be ranked on number of startups created

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced some amendments in the existing rules for technical education in India. This is likely to rectify the curriculum, faculty roles and research programmes in technical institutes across the country.

RESEARCH FUNDS

Technical institutes affiliated to AICTE will now have to allocate separate budget for research activities. The notification states that, “We as a nation have been performing fairly well in terms of research; however, most of the contribution is from some elite institutions like IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs whereas there is lot of potential at the bottom of the pyramid. Allocation of research fund will inspire faculty and students from affiliated colleges, autonomous institutes and state universities to contribute towards research and innovation. This will improve employability potential, more job creation and strengthen the startup ecosystem,” said Anil D Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

At the moment, all the institutions are ranked on the basis of their academic performance and students’ achievement. But, with AICTE’s new rules, technical institutes might soon be ranked as per the number of startups created.

Confirming the news, Sahasrabudhe said, “MHRD innovation cell at AICTE has already initiated AARIA ranking, where focus is on innovation, entrepreneurship and startups. In future, institutes will be recognised by the number of innovative products and number of startups setup annually by an institute rather than mere placement records.”

TEACHER TRAINING

To strengthen the industry-academia synchronisation, AICTE has partnered with a number of organisations to provide industrial training to the teachers.

All the teachers appointed will also have to mandatorily undergo eight online modules of MOOCs on SWAYAM portal as per the AICTE teacher training policy, preferably within the first year of their service. “The aim behind such a programme is to create passion in the field of teaching and profession. The offline courses will also be available in National Institutes of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTRs) and few select universities,” added Sahasrabudhe.

Source: The Times of India dated 11 March, 2019

Aspirants with over 80% disability may be able to study medicine

The health ministry will test a candidate’s percentage of disability while using an assistive device, such as a hearing aid, crutches and prosthetic limb, in deciding on their admission to medical colleges.

In a move that could bring relief to thousands of aspiring doctors who are differently abled, the health ministry will test a candidate’s percentage of disability while using an assistive device, such as a hearing aid, crutches and prosthetic limb, in deciding on their admission to medical colleges.

Currently, candidates with more than 80% disability, without use of assistive device, are not eligible to study medicine. The health ministry listed 21 benchmark disabilities last year for admission to medical colleges.

“If the disability percentage is below 80 with the use of an assisted device, a candidate will be eligible to apply to study medicine. It will be applicable to UG and PG courses,” a health ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The Board of Governors-Medical Council of India (BoG-MCI) approve the proposal last month.

“Yes, we are in the process of putting out a revised notification that will expand the eligibility ambit for students with disability,” confirmed Dr VK Paul, chairperson of BoG-MCI.

With 5% seats across government colleges reserved for persons with disability mentioned under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, around 8,000 UG and 10,000 PG seats are reserved for specially abled candidates who pass NEET. From the 2019-20 session, the number of centres authorised to give disability certificates has also been increased from four to 10.

“This will bring clarity and increase the number of eligible candidates with disabilities,” says Dr Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and associate professor of physiology, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi.

The minimum degree of disability should be 40% to be eligible for availing of reservation to persons with specified disabilities.

Enabling Rules

The 21 benchmark disabilities under the new rule are: blindness, low-vision, leprosy cured persons, hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing), locomotor disability, dwarfism, intellectual disability, mental Illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, speech and language disability, thalassemia, hemophilia, sickle cell disease, multiple disabilities (including deaf-blindness), acid attack and Parkinson’s disease.

Source: Hindustan Times dated 11 March, 2019

URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/aspirants-with-over-80-disability-may-be-able-to-study-medicine/story-b6QRGIYmPMOiqnMPoAzQYP.html  (Accessed on 11 March, 2019)

Clinical trials to digitising supply chain: Students’ smart push to biz

BRIGHT MINDS AT WORK Submit tech-based solutions at Matunga management college’s event

MUMBAI: From tracking products in a supply chain to screening candidates for clinical trials accurately, college students across Mumbai have come up with technology-driven ideas to improve businesses.

The solutions were submitted at the recently held Smart India Hackathon at Prin LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WIMDR), Matunga recently. Participants said they learnt a great deal about developing solutions in such a short span.

A team of students from Shah & Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, Chembur, developed a computer programme that can speed up the process for testing medicines before their launch.

The programme uses an algorithm to match the people who are willing to volunteer for a clinical trial. It analyses factors such as a volunteer’s medical history, type of trial, number of trials and their success rate.

“People are reluctant to participate in clinical trials because of the side-effects. Our goal was to increase participation and generate better results from laboratosaid Viraj Modi, one of the students.

Teams from WIMDR and Don Bosco Institute of Technology (DBIT), Kurla, worked towards digitising supply chain managesystem. They suggested using barcodes and QR codes on products to track them by manufacturers, retailers and suppliers.

“Recently, a company wanted to recall products from a particuries,” lar batch after detecting a defect in them. But there was no mechanism to trace the products from the defective batch,” said Roshan James, a student from DBIT.

“The current system of returnment ing expired products by retailers to companies is manual and slow,” said Vipul Bhole, a student from WIMDR.

Another team from WIMDR proposed enhancement of customer experience at large retail shops. It suggested 3D hologram promotion of various products at the stores. The team also proposed installing a touch screen to provide information about various products.

Source: Hindustan Times dated 11 March, 2019

Congratulations Silicon Tribe (SFIT Team) for winning SIH 2019!