Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan has called for indigenisation and development of low-cost medical devices to make health care accessible to all.
He was speaking after inaugurating four major projects at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology(SCTIMST) here on Saturday.
These include the Swasthya Suraksha Block, Vision 2030: Combinational Devices Block, Regional Technical Resource Centre for Health Technical Assessment, and Data Centre. He also released the silver jubilee souvenir of the Achutha Menon Centre. Dr. Vardhan said the association between clinicians, engineers, and scientists should be institutionalised across the country for greater strides in science and technology.
Even as the country had made significant advances in health care by employing technology, challenges remained in the form of infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, non-communicable diseases, accidents, and safe motherhood. Non-communicable diseases were a public health challenge, contributing 60% of the country’s disease burden.
Benefiting the remotely placed
Production and commercialisation of indigenous medical equipment were important so that people in remotest areas benefited. The SCTIMST had shown the way in this through its business incubator for promoting start-ups in medical devices, and its Combinational Devices Block would give a fillip to the sector, Dr. Vardhan said.
M.S. Valiathan, former director of the institute, said the SCTIMST was unique in that it had a hospital that provided clinical care, provided clinical inputs for technology development, and trained specialists in various disciplines.
Minister for Cooperation Kadakampally Surendran, in his address, said the SCTIMST could play a significant role in the study of dreaded viruses and diseases.