The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has established the ICMR-DHR Center of Excellence for Biomedical Device and Diagnostics Innovation and Commercialisation to cater the technological needs of rural India with a focus on healthcare delivery to the last-mile population. In line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, doctors, and students from multiple departments will join hands under a single umbrella to inculcate research in the domain of healthcare innovation.
The key objectives include detecting biomarkers using microfluidic and semiconductor nanobiosensors to detect various non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as chronic kidney disorder, post diabetic complications, liver or pancreatic malfunctions, cardiac illnesses, and urinary tract infections. Further, it aims to develop frugal point-of-care diagnostic devices for the collection, storage, security and analysis of the data specific to rural India.
Also read| IIT Guwahati Launches School of Health Sciences and Technology
The initiative has been led by the departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, biosciences and bioengineering, electronics and electrical engineering, and design and mathematics, among others.
Elaborating on the critical work underway ICMR Mission Secretariat at IIT Guwahati, Prof TG Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “The translational innovations proposed in the centre are expected to cater the societal needs related to the diagnostics and healthcare delivery, especially in the rural India.”
Read| IIT Guwahati Researchers Create Alternatives For AC That Runs Without Electricity
Elaborating on the functioning of this Centre, Prof Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Head, Jyoti and Bhupat Mehta School of Health Sciences and Technology, IIT Guwahati, said, “Cutting-edge scientific inventions are the foundation of all modern-day technologies, which helps in improving the quality of life of a human being in a significant way. However, the benefits of such inventions and innovations are yet to reach the rural population of India. In next few decades, especially keeping the post-pandemic scenario in the perspective, the focus of healthcare innovation would be to develop frugal technologies to cater the needs of the last mile population.”
Read all the Latest News and Breaking News here