Pokhran scientist Dr Kakodkar inaugurates MEDIC at IIT Bombay

From September 28 to October 2, 2018 these participants will form inter-disciplinary teams and demonstrate solutions to an eminent panel of senior doctors as jury

The annual event- Medical Device Innovation Camp (MEDIC), an initiative by BETiC – Biomedical Engineering and Technology incubation Centre at IIT Bombay, kick-started recently at the IIT Bombay campus.

This year, MEDIC has brought together 60 participants from across India including doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, managers and teachers to brainstorm and develop novel solutions for 15 unmet clinical needs curated from different hospitals.

From September 28 to October 2, 2018 these participants will form inter-disciplinary teams, brainstorm ideas, develop proof-of-concept, and demonstrate the solutions to an eminent panel of senior doctors as jury.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, scientist and former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India said in his inaugural address, “Individual research alone rarely nurtures an innovation environment. However, the MEDIC formula of group research is extremely important. It is only through this, that you can translate fundamental research into application domain.”

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said at the inaugural, “There are times when the individual’s energy can get eroded. However, we must make sure that the energy of a system such as this, to foster innovation to solve problems, never gets eroded.”

Prof B Ravi, Head of BETiC, IIT Bombay, the architect of MEDIC added, “Participants of the Medical Device Innovation Camp start off with four uncertainties – they do not know the place, do not know the problem, do not know who they will work with, and do not know the tools they will use. Yet over the next four days and nights, it all magically comes together, and they will present brilliant proof-of-concepts for unmet clinical needs. Winners of past camps have gone on to fully develop their ideas into medical products, file patents and license the technology to their own startup companies or to the industry.”

Prof AK Suresh (Deputy Director of IIT-B) said, “An innovative approach to device development is absolutely of essence, and the ability to do this on scale, so that the fruits can be reaped by a large section of the society in quick time is equally important.”

Dr Manish Agarwal (Orthopedic Surgeon, Hinduja Hospital, co-PI of OrthoCAD project) also spoke at the inaugural, highlighting the need for an innovation ecosystem in the country.