SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Coimbatore - Hospitals and Healthcare

231K views 789 replies 70 participants last post by  cbe"fan"atic 
#1 · (Edited)
Please post all hospital and healthcare related updates in the city here. Also include any addition of features or upgrades to existing health-care facilities here.

Please co-operate to make it a dedicated one-stop source of information for healthcare needs, so that we can avoid digging thru pages of information in general discussions thread for quick and easy reference.

Following URL has the neatly organized list of all healthcare centers in the city (Like Hospitals, blood banks, Ambulance services, Fitness centers, etc.,)

List of Healthcare centers
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source


The Health Care Industry in Coimbatore has witnessed a tremendous growth in the last decade. With the increasing demand for best treatment and best facilities, the Coimbatore hospitals have established themselves. Surprisingly, Coimbatore has the sophisticated large hospitals offering the world class quality treatments equivalent to the best hospitals around the world.

The number of Coimbatore hospitals delivering health care to the masses is increasing everyday. Coimbatore's charity trusts have ensured that the district has a unique place in health care industry. They have championed the cause of health and medical care in Coimbatore.

Coimbatore is also well-known for its exclusive super-speciality hospitals. The Lakshmi group started the Kuppusamy Naidu Hospital. It is one of the five centres in the country for the detection of cancer and education on cancer. The PSG Hospitals with highly scientific clinical services; The KG Hospital with the state-of-the-art facilities; The Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH) with specialised procedures such as stenting, fallopian tube recanalisation, chemoembolisation and laparoscopic and thoracoscopic; Ganga Hospital for trauma, orthopaedic and micro-vascular surgery; Gem Hospital for laparoscopy; Rao Hospital for assisted reproduction and endoscopy; The Eye Foundation and Sankara Eye Clinic for ophthalmology - which offer world-class treatment at affordable rates; Vikram Hospital for ENT and so on.

Other than this, Ayurvedic hospitals, Homeopathy Clinics, Naturopathy hospitals, Siddha Hospitals, and Acupuncture treatments are also emerging with innovative ideas to treat the people with their ancestral knowledge.

To have more information on Coimbatore Hospitals, see Health Care
 
See less See more
#2 ·
KG hospitals and Appolo join hands to open clinic for Liver diseases

Source

COIMBATORE: The city based KG Hospital has joined hands with Apollo Hospitals to start liver clinic for offering multidisciplinary evaluation of patients affected by liver diseases. The clinic is an effort streamline and optimize the care for patients with liver disease, said Anand Khakhar, senior consultant, centre for liver diseases and transplantation, Apollo Hospitals.

The clinic would be an one stop solution for patients with liver diseases and hepato- biliary pancreatic disorders. All their requirements related to medical care will be available under one roof, he said.

"Now the patients have to travel to Chennai or other cities for check up and transplantation of liver. However the clinic would reduce the difficulties and patients would be able to undergo the check up and treatment here. Only for transplantation they would be brought to the hospital in Chennai," he said. The doctors from the Apollo Hospitals will visit the clinic and technical expertise would also be shared with the doctors, he said.
 
#4 ·
Nova Medical plans new center in Coimbatore

http://www.businessworld.in/busines...ontent/Small-Town-Big-Business.html?hopping=1


Nova is planning a centre at Coimbatore, less than two hours drive from Erode. Nova represents a new breed of emerging healthcare firms leveraging the booming prosperity of India’s 250-plus small towns and nearby villages. People in these places no longer need to travel to faraway cities to access quality healthcare. It is at their doorsteps, and at lower costs.

Nova has set up six centres in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai in the past four years, and plans to start 10 new ones: in Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Kanpur, Coimbatore, Mangalore and Kochi within the next two years, says Dr Mahesh Reddy, founder and executive director.
 
#5 ·
Exclusive centre for Esophageal diseases

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/exclusive-centre-for-esophageal-diseases/779564.html

With incidence of esophageal diseases on the rise, particularly in South India, an exclusive International Centre for Diseases of esophagus (ICDE) has been launched in a city hospital. The centre, set up at the GEM Hospital Research Centre, was the the first of its kind in the country and would offer fellowship programme in esophagus under affiliation to Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University, its Chairman Dr C Palanivelu said.
 
#6 ·
‘Health City at KMCH taking shape'

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article2338353.ece

Cutting edge technology imparts accuracy in diagnosis

A new block with state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities, including cancer treatment, is in place at Kovai Medical Center and Hospital on the city's eastern border and this is the first step towards the creation of the Health City planned by the organisation, according to its Chairman Nalla G. Palanisamy.

This project, including a medical college, was announced more than a year ago by the hospital.

Dr. Palanisamy told presspersons on Monday that equipment with cutting edge technology such as one for magnetic resonance imaging, another for mammography and a positron emission tomography - computed tomography (PET-CT) scan (in the cancer wing) were some of the latest acquisitions made as part of the project.

Head of Interventional Radiology at the hospital Mathew Cherian said the mammogram produced real time images. It reduced time for diagnosis, eliminated discomfort for the patient and was accurate in detecting abnormality in the breast.

A doctor explained that the equipment calculated the optimum pressure needed on the breast to be scanned.

The equipment itself stopped the compression when the optimum level was reached. This eliminated the pain due to compression the patients underwent in the absence of such a technology.

The pin-pointing of the area of abnormality enabled the doctors to carry out the biopsy (to check for malignancy) immediately and with certainty on the affected area. Otherwise, four to six locations would have to be chosen for the lifting of cells for test.

“It is enough now to put a fine needle into the breast to get the samples. Cutting edge technology cuts out the need to cut (incisions),” said Dr. Cherian. D. Raghavan, Executive Vice-President of Siemens Healthcare and Head-Imaging and Therapy, Siemens South Asia Cluster, said the company had installed these equipment so that the people of Coimbatore could benefit from latest technology in health care. “Also, you need the right team that is dedicated to using technology for good results in health care. It is this critical last mile that many fail to travel,” he said.

Technology was developing fast, but the pace of learning and adapting to it was slow. Technology must be accessible and affordable to the people and they too should be aware of its availability.

On the PET scan in the cancer wing at KMCH, the hospital's Chief Consultant and Head of Nuclear Medicine Ajit Shinto said the equipment helped in tailoring therapy according to the stage of the disease. “Half the burden of cancer treatment is staging the disease properly.”
 
#8 ·
CMCH awaits for implementation of proposals

Source

The 102-year-old Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) though patronised by contributions from philanthropists for its small-time needs, is awaiting Government's attention for clearance of proposals and implementation of already sanctioned proposals for infrastructure development.

In the entire State, Coimbatore is acclaimed to be an ideal destination for health care and super speciality medical care. But, it is only for those who can afford to pay huge bills. Most of the local population that lives within the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and the middle income groups pin their hopes only on CMCH.

Founded on July 14, 1909 by the then Governor Arthur Lawley, CMCH was first established closer to Town Hall, since that area was the hub of a growing city. The hospital had a humble beginning, opening a small ward to combat plague. The hospital celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1959 and completed its centenary year in 2009, overshadowed by the World Classical Tamil Conference held in the city, hospital sources said.

The hospital, located in a 19.4 acre campus, had made efforts to expand alongside the medical college but gave up owing to non-availability of land. The students, studying in the college situated outside the city still visit the hospital daily by the college bus. Later, efforts to acquire the Government Arts College for extending the hospital premises also went in vain owing to resistance from the arts college.

Hospital sources said under these circumstances, the Government decided to go in for vertical growth of the infrastructure making use of the available land. A proposal for constructing a tower block at an outlay of Rs 58 crore was announced by the Government and the stone was also laid, sources added. However, works are yet to commence. The proposed tower block will have casualty ward, administrative block, mortuary, canteen, trauma care, cardiac ward, orthopaedics ward, burns ward, kidney transplantation centre and accommodation for dialysis unit and residential facility for male and female house surgeons.

In addition, the work for constructing nurses' quarters near the Medical Records Department is also awaiting commencement, the sources said. Similarly, the hospital also awaits commencement of work for construction of a labour ward for maternity and gynaecology departments at Rs 10 crore by the Tamil Nadu Health System Project under a World Bank aid, sources disclosed.

Even as the wait for Government assistance seems to be unending, the local population have always contributed their mite to the hospital as and when possible. The hospital has wards donated by Mahaveers, a local silk merchant, a paediatric surgery theatre and ward sponsored by the Rotary and an ophthalmology ward donated by the Lions Club. In addition, a number of organisations contribute for the daily needs of the hospital including nutritious food for the patients. Thozhar, a trust lends a helping hand to the hospital in ensuring a decent cremation for the unclaimed bodies.

Everyone including the patients and doctors anxiously wait for the commencement and completion of the projects meant for a better infrastructure at the CMCH.
 
#9 ·
Siemens raises healthcare quality in Coimbatore

Siemens raises healthcare quality in Coimbatore

Coimbatore, Sept 5 (IBNS) The Indian healthcare market is one of the prominent contributors to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) having attracted large number of players both domestic as well as international, during the past few years, as per latest data.

The sector offers massive growth potential and a chance to capitalise on its expansion, especially as the country sees a rise in the incidence of lifestyle-related diseases. By 2020, the Indian healthcare industry is estimated to be worth $275.6 billion.

This presents a great opportunity for international companies like Siemens that has one of the most advanced laboratory diagnostics, imaging systems and healthcare information technology in the world.

Recently, Siemens’ Healthcare division in India has installed five state-of-the-art medical technologies at Kovai Medical Centre & Hospital (KMCH) in Coimbatore, thereby raising quality and efficiency of healthcare availability in the city.

D Ragavan, Executive Vice President, Siemens Healthcare and Head-Imaging & Therapy, Siemens South Asia Cluster, said: “Siemens is known for bringing innovative solutions to provide quality healthcare in India. KMCH is another such example where Siemens is helping the institute to advance human health.

"With these hi-end technologies, KMCH can now provide cutting-edge healthcare facilities cost-effectively. We are delighted that with this installation, latest technologies are now within the reach of patients in and around Coimbatore.”

The newly installed products and technologies include-- first-of-its-kind Artis Zee Biplane Cathlab, MAGNETOM Skyra 3T MRI scanner – the first such scanner in Tamil Nadu, Biograph 6 PET/CT scanner – first PET/CT scanner in Coimbatore, Symbia T SPECT-CT scanner and MAMMOMAT Inspiration mammography system – first such system in Coimbatore and second in India.

These technologies permit highly accurate and early diagnosis of all kinds of ailments, thus aiding clear-cut treatment, said the company on Monday.

According to the company, these systems allow doctors an excellent inside view into the body of their patients and will ensure top notch healthcare to the citizens of Coimbatore and surrounding areas.

With these hi-end technologies Siemens had for the first time established its presence in Tamil Nadu, the company said.

http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/93231811-siemens-raises-healthcare-quality-coimbatore
 
#10 ·
Brain surgery for epilepsy not controlled by drugs

Looks like an achievement. Didn't get what it is. Perhaps Shyam or doccbe can throw more light in laymen terms :)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/article2431705.ece
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Epilepsy is not a curse and not a barrier to success. So far, medication was the only known modality of treatment in this part of the country. But there is the option of surgery also now, doctors at K.G. Hospital here have said.

The hospital said on Tuesday that surgery had been performed on two patients recently. They were suffering from seizures for a long time as medication did not help control epilepsy.

The first patient, a 17-year-old girl was having fits from the age of three, which had prevented her from completing her school education. She used to get five to six episodes of fits every day and she used to fall and get injured. Her detailed evaluation showed that the seizures were arising from the right side of the brain.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed grossly destroyed right portion.

With the help of the above investigations, experts at the hospital concluded that the right brain was practically non-functional and was only throwing seizures.

She was hence subjected to right hemispherotomy, a procedure that effects disconnection of the right half of the brain from the other. The patient was relieved of seizures, Chairman of the hospital Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam and Epileptologist Rajesh Shankar Iyer said.

The second patient, a 41-year-old woman, had been having fits for the past 11 years. Her husband deserted her and their two children. She suffered multiple burns in her hands due to fits while working in the kitchen. She was found to have fits originating from the right temporal lobe.

An MRI showed right mesial temporal sclerosis (loss of neuron cells in hippocampus, a major component of the brain). “She was subjected to right anterior temporal lobectomy (removal of a lobe), along with amydalohippocampectomy (removal of two structures in the inner side of the temporal lobe in the brain) and she is doing well after surgery,” the doctors claimed.

They explained that epilepsy was a condition of the nervous system affecting around five to ten persons per 1,000 people. It can affect individuals at any age. It was mainly categorised as generalised epilepsy and partial epilepsy. Around 30 per cent of people with partial epilepsy continued to have repeated seizures despite proper medications. Repeated seizures interfered with education, employment and could result in marital disharmonies. Also, anti-fits medications were not without side-effects.

People who continued to get fits despite optimum dose of medications were referred to as suffering from medically refractory epilepsy. They should be subjected to detailed pre-surgical evaluation with Video EEG studies and MRI. This would help identify the ideal surgical candidates who were likely to become seizure-free after surgery. A good majority of them could be successfully withdrawn from medications following surgery, thereby sparing them of the side-effects of prolonged medication.

“Very few centres in the country are doing this surgery. These are in Thiruvananthapuram, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore,” Dr. Iyer said.
 
#11 ·
Coimbatore, Sept 7 (PTI) A three-day International Workshop and conference on hernia would be held here from Sept 22. More than 700 surgeons, including international faculties, were expected to participate in the conference, during which 30 live operations would be conducted for the benefit of the delegates, Dr C Palanivelu, Director, GEM Hospital and Research Centre Pvt Ltd, the organisers, told reporters here today. +Endohernia-2001,+ will also have a one-day training course on Minimally Invasive Hernia Surgery and the participating doctors would get credit hours, he said. As part of the conference, the hospital is conducting a free Hernia Medical camp on Sept 11 and deserving patients from lower socio-economic back ground would be provided free treatment, Palanivelu said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/conference-on-hernia-in-kovai/814629.html
 
#12 ·
46th Annual Conference of Association of Plastic Surgeons of India inaugurated

Branding Indian plastic surgery with quality and integrity as the core values is the need of the hour, president of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI), S. Raja Sabapathy, said here on Thursday. Addressing the inaugural of the 46th annual conference of the association, he said that the task in hand was to work for the growth of the field and also ensure greater visibility across the country for plastic surgery. “It is our experience that service to patients brings incredible outcome. Therefore, an opportunity to serve must be considered as an opportunity to excel.”

“Indian patients are great value buyers. It is our experience (at Ganga Hospital here where he heads the plastic surgery department) in hand reconstruction. Most of the accident victims are poor and from the unorganised sector. But, they seek quality treatment,” Dr. Raja Sabapathy explained.

“High skills and maximum efforts must be the key words because low efforts can leave us at the mercy of market forces. We should not lose our core strengths. There is a thin line between advertisement and information and we need to handle this carefully.” The first step towards popularising plastic surgery as a service to society was in declaring July 15 the National Plastic Surgery Day and calling upon surgeons across the country to perform free surgeries on that day.

Association secretary Atul K. Shah said that taking a cue from the association in India, a world-level body of surgeons had plans to declare July 15 as International Plastic Surgery Day. The Union Health Ministry was planning more programmes in the area of plastic surgery education, but a lot of ground needed to be covered in meeting the demand for more surgeons. The availability ratio was 1,300 plastic surgeons for 30 million people.

Inaugurating the conference, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N. Ram called for humanising medicine. “It is the most altruistic of all professions despite some instances of corruption and hyper-commercialisation.”

The greatest paradox of a rapidly growing economy in India was the lack of access to quality healthcare for the poor. “We lack in a social arrangement required for reversing deprivation in food and nutrition and healthcare. Efforts by the government to improve the situation have always been below the minimum requirement.” The benefits of economic growth had not translated into healthcare benefits.

Mr. Ram said too much dependence on technology had brought about a disconnect between the physician and the patient. There was an opinion that doctors did not touch the patients now; only the older generation physicians still did this. “Medicine cannot live by science alone.”

Mr. Ram also emphasised orientation for journalists in understanding medical science.

Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, said the benefits of the knowledge explosion era should be harnessed for the good of society.

Mr. Ram presented the Plastic Surgeon for the Year 2011 to Sam C. Bose and Mr. Vanavarayar awarded the honorary membership of the APSI to pioneer in microsurgery Robert D. Acland.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/article2436892.ece?homepage=true
 
#13 ·
Coimbatore is witnessing lot of national conference in healthcare sector. Few years back when Ganga Hospital took the initiative in bringing a International conference on Orthopedics It was dropped due to the non availability of 5 star hotel or less number of quality hotels. Hope this type of conferences are held on a regular basis which will not only improve CBE brand image but also the Healthcare and Hospitality sector.
 
#14 ·
Cross posting from TN healthcare thread. Thanks Shyam

http://www.thehindu.com/health/article2462602.ece

Coimbatore spine surgeon delivers Hunterian Oration



The president of the Association of Spine Surgeons of India and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery at Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, S. Rajasekaran, was chosen by the Royal College of Surgeons of England to deliver the Hunterian Oration for 2011.

Dr. Rajasekaran delivered the oration on Friday at Dublin in Ireland during the combined congress of the British and Irish Orthopaedic associations. John Getty, chairman of the Royal College, conducted the proceedings and awarded a medal to Dr. Rajasekaran.

The spine surgeon said that the Hunterian Committee of the Royal College elects one person every year from around the world, among all surgical specialties, as the Hunterian Professor. The chosen person is invited to present his or her work as an oration.

The Hunterian Professorship is considered one of the proudest traditional honours of the college bestowed on surgeons of eminence who had richly contributed to the field of surgery by original research or innovations.

The award was named after Sir John Hunter, the founder of scientific surgery. His approach (‘True learning is only possible against the background of research') to the study of physiology and surgery resulted in a new scientific attitude towards surgery.

Sir John Hunter died in 1793 and, in his honour, the Royal College of Surgeons of England instituted the Hunterian Professorship. A surgeon was selected for the professorship and the oration every year since 1810.

Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, delivered the Hunterian Oration in 1919. He was later awarded the Nobel Prize.

Dr. Rajasekaran is the second orthopaedic surgeon in India chosen for the professorship and oration after 55 years. B. Mukhopadhyay delivered the oration in orthopaedics in 1956.

The work that fetched Dr. Rajasekaran the honour was “Growth modulation and buckling collapse of pediatric spine and its clinical implications.”

In a press release, he said this work had been done over a period of 15 years and was a classic example of successful “bench to bed-side research”. The research involved identifying the clinical sequence of events of massive spinal deformities.

More than two million children around the world suffered from this problem annually and this could lead to the onset of paralysis of limbs and early death due to cardio-respiratory failure, he said.

Dr. Rajasekaran's research involved methods of early identification of children who were at risk of such problems. The second stage of research involved studying the biomechanical forces across the growth plate of vertebra by the creation of a finite element model of a paediatric spine. The findings opened up the possibility of new methods of treatment of spinal deformities based on the principles of growth modulation. This research won the Tamil Nadu Government Scientist Award in 2000, the Silver Jubilee Award of the Medical Council of India in 2002, the Sofamer Danek Award of International Society for Study of Lumbar Spine, Canada, in 2002 and the Macnab LaRocca Award of the society in 2005.
 
#15 ·
Minister gets a rude shock at CMCH visit

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-shock-at-CMCH-visit/articleshow/10035702.cms

COIMBATORE: State health minister Dr VS Vijay got a rude shock on Sunday morning when he came to know that Coimbatore Medical College Hospital did not have proper ventilator facility and also was heavily lacking in medical supply and health care equipments.

The minister strongly reprimanded the hospital authorities, medical superintendent A Mathivanan and rest of the medical staff after they were unable to put forth proper reply to the minister when he asked about the poor medical supplies and healthcare facilities extended to the patients.

The inspection was conducted after the minister received complaints against the hospital administration from the public. The minister even equated the functioning of the hospital to confusion-ridden slapstick comedy sequences in Kollywood films.

"All faulty equipments should be given for immediate repair so that they could be properly utilised for treating patients," said Vijay.

The abysmal plight of patients and the lack of proper medical supplies and equipment at the government hospital catering to Coimbatore and nearby Salem, Tirupur, Erode districts of Western Tamil Nadu were highlighted in a detailed TOI report on September 7.

The minister was in for a shock when the hospital staff and doctors could not give him a clear cut reply on the state of ventilators installed at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

The nurses and the medical attendants contradicted themselves on the total number of ventilators and then medical superintendent A Mathivanan had to intervene and apprise the minister that there were two operational ventilators instead of the required six units in the hospital.

Initially, the staff members told him four ventilators were in working condition which came down to the actual figure of two when the minister persistently repeated his query to the hospital authorities. At the moment six ventilators at the hospital are not in working condition and four other units were sent for repair.

"It is really unfortunate that such a prominent medical health care centre does not have proper ventilator facilities required to save precious lives. The state government is ready to extend all required facilities to the hospital," the minister added.

Instructions were given to operate the open cardiac surgery and kidney transplant surgery units at the hospital at the earliest.

The necessary equipments for carrying out these medical procedures are being supplied but there is severe shortage of medical staff that requires immediate attention from the government.

"There are vacancies in the paramedical staff wing and it has been assured that it will be filled at the earliest," said a senior official at the hospital.

The x-ray unit and the outpatient section of anti-rabies section were also inspected by the minister. The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital caters to as many as 5,500 outpatients and 1,300 inpatients on a daily basis. There are about 180 doctors, 305 staff nurses and 58 sanitary workers on the hospital payrolls. The minister also inspected the proposed site for the construction of the new hospital complex at an estimate of Rs 50 crore.

"We have told the minister and government representatives that all efforts will be taken to offer best quality treatment to the public," said P Sivaprakasam, Resident Medical Officer, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
 
#17 ·
Radiosurgery to remove lesion in brain



Kovai Medical Center and Hospital here said on Saturday that its cancer wing recently used a high-dose radiation beam to treat a lesion in the brain of a 32-year-old woman. Hospital Chairman Nalla G. Palaniswami told presspersons that this path-breaking procedure helped in avoiding an open surgery of the brain.

Using the navigation technique, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) delivered the beam precisely at that spot on the tonsured skull of the patients beneath which was the deeply-seated lesion.

The lesion is an abnormal formation of tissue in the brain. Called arteriovenous malformation, this can be life-threatening. It is an abnormal formation where the artery meets the vein. There can be sudden and profuse bleeding that can cause death. Or, it can cause paralysis of a limb or loss of sensation on one side of the face.

But, the skull was not opened and the patient was awake during the procedure that was handled by a team of experts such as neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, interventional radiologist, neurologist and medical physicists.

Neurosurgeon K. Madheswaran said open surgery could be done for brain tumour. But, there were accessible and inaccessible parts in the brain. While an entry could be made in certain areas, the exit after the surgery could cause damage in the brain – a neurological deficit that would leave the patient with a paralysed limb or impaired speech. The SRS is a safe alternative as it ruled out the risks that could come with the open surgery.

Interventional Radiologist Pankaj Mehta said an angiogram was done to spot the exact location of the lesion and mark it out from other vital portions of the brain so that precision was not a casualty in the treatment.

Explaining the procedure with a video clipping Director of the Comprehensive Care Centre at the hospital V. Kannan said that first the neurosurgeon's opinion was sought to ascertain whether the lesion was in the inaccessible part of the brain.

After imaging tests to locate the lesion, a specialised helmet was fixed on the head to immobilise it. “Though the patient was awake, we had to immobilise the head as much as anaesthesia could. Otherwise, the delivery of the beam would not have been precisely on the problem spot,” he said. This procedure could treat in 15-20 minutes the tumours deep inside the brain that were once considered untreatable.

src: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/article2482669.ece
 
#18 ·
Research is their claim to fame

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/education/student’s-corner/research-their-claim-fame-524



Three students from Coimbatore have helped in developing an infant ventilator, which
has put India on the world map on September 30, 2011.

This development ensures the country does not depend on imported respiratory equipment for infants.

The infant ventilator was part of a project by PSG College of Technology in association with the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), which released the Inventa, the first indigenous critical care ventilator, in Bangalore. This was a milestone in ventilator technology in India.

The three selected for the project were K. Ashok Kumar from the mechanical department of P.S.G College of Technology, D. Karthick from instrumentation and control engineering and a student of Coimbatore Institute of Technology and H. Jameesha from the electronics department of P.S.G College of Arts and Science.

The three relentlessly put in 10 hours a day for months to make their dream a reality.

A question that intrigued us was why would they need a mechanical student for a medical project. K. Ashok Kumar, who was the project associate explained, “We were selected for the project to fabricate a frequency blender, which mixes the air with pure oxygen depending on the severity of the patient’s breathing disorder. It then sends it through the ventilator fitted with safety valves because the infant is not able to breathe. It acts as an external lung and pulls the air out as well.”

The design of the infant ventilator designed was done with the help of Sridharan D. and Leo Wilfred of Pricol Medical Systems Private Ltd Benedict Biju, head of the R&D team at Pricol, where Karthick was working chose him for the team. After his induction, he suggested his friend Jameesha, who he knew was very strong in electronics.

When asked about their contribution to the project, Karthick said, “We were inducted to help make the main board, which is the heart of the machine, took us six months to make.”

It’s not everyday that college students get to be a part of a project of such importance. On being asked what it meant to them, Ashok Kumar said, “It’s a great opportunity. It also helped us find our hidden talents and it gave us the chance to be part of a project that put Coimbatore on the map.”

Karthick said, “We were put to the test and we came up with something that will hopefully make it to every hospital in the country. Now they don’t have to purchase it from abroad and we hope that many will benefit from our efforts.”
 
#20 ·
Advanced patient simulator installed

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/advanced-patient-simulator-installed/850844.html

Coimbatore, Oct 8 (PTI): An advanced patient simulator (Manikin or Mannequin),which can programme almost all emergency conditions like heart attack or poly trauma, has been installed at a city medical institute, for the benefit of the medical and paramedical students. Claimed to be the first in India, the Rs 2.5 crore 'Sim Man 3G' is one of the most advanced teaching aids in clinical medical education, Dr Ramalingam, Principal, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research told reporters here today. Emergency procedures in clinical practice today cannot be taught to medical students on real patients. Similarly it was not possible for medical students learning clinical skills on real patients where minimally invasive procedures have to be taught. It was in these conditions simulators or patient models are useful in teaching students, Dr Dhanabhagyam, Director of Institute said. Real life scenarios, such as cough, fits, snoring,breathing problem, chocking, can be mimicked and the clinical finds can also be replicated like in real life. Various procedures can be taught on this making the student adept in handling real life situations, she said. With trained faculty, both medicos and nursing students, would be trained in medical emergencies, suturing, cathetering and also all discipline in medicine, anaesthesia and cardiology with the machine, manufactured from Norway and other teaching aides from Japan, Ramalingam said.
 
#21 ·
Crossposted from TN Healthcare (originally posted by Arulmurugan):

Chamber presses for Coimbatore healthcare city

Coimbatore, Nov. 6:

A suggestion to form Coimbatore Health Care city, on the lines of Dubai Health Care city, to promote medical tourism has been made to the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, by the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, Mr M. Krishnan.

He has also pitched in with a demand for pushing the case of Coimbatore as one of the National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) in the country in view of the strong presence of the manufacturing industries in the region.

In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, the details of which he shared with Business Line, the ICCI President drew attention to the presence of several super speciality hospitals in the city in the private sector that has made Coimbatore a major healthcare destination in the region. He suggested that the State Government may allocate about 500 acres of land between Avinashi and Coimbatore for formation of a Healthcare city similar to Dubai healthcare city. The government may offer land at concessional rates and invite participation by the private sector to establish healthcare facilities in the new city.

He suggested that helipads may be built close to Salem-Coimbatore stretch of NH 47 (there are also airports at Salem and Coimbatore) for airlifting patients requiring emergency care and these could also be handy for operating air ambulance services. The Government might also start a training institute to train healthcare professionals like nurses, medical technicians, etc.

Mr Krishnan said the Government might also consider establishing a 1,000-bed super speciality hospital in the city for the benefit of patients from poorer sections who could be charged for the materials used alone. Establishment of high tech diagnostic centres on PPP model and opening a chain of pharmacy stores etc. were also worth considering.
MSME sector

Adverting to the plan of the Central Government to establish National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) in select centres across the country, which would be incentivised like SEZs and EoUs, he said since the policy was aimed at giving a boost particularly to the MSME sector, Coimbatore was qualified to host one of the NMIZs in view of its pre-eminent position in the MSME map in the country.

He said the city played a crucial role in the supply of components for textiles, motors and pumps and automobile industries and testing facilities have also been established. It has qualified manpower and was strategically located to make best use of the NMIZ formation for which an investment of about Rs 15,000 crore each was estimated. He felt that formation of a NMIZ in Coimbatore would help attract large industries that would provide lifeline to MSME sector in the region.
Industrial estates

Referring to the absence of any initiative in the last two decades to form industrial estates in Coimbatore, he suggested that a new industrial estate for MSME sector may be established as it has now become an urgent necessity in view of stepped up industrial activity in the region.

Mr Krishnan suggested formation of integrated townships on the outskirts of Coimbatore styled ‘workers' villages' to house blue collar employees as well as skilled and unskilled workers. These villages should be self-contained offering the entire gamut of services like catering, health care, laundry, shopping, etc to accommodate up to 30,000 employees.

Referring to the phenomenon of reverse migration of workers to the region with a large number of people from the North flocking to the city in search of jobs, he felt there was ‘something amiss' in the continuation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in a region where there was no shortage of jobs but paucity of workers existed!

The ICCI President suggested that this scheme may be suitably modified, as done reportedly in a few other States, so that while it retains the benefit the rural workers get now, it also ‘ensures no artificial labour shortage is created

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle2604092.ece
 
#22 ·


http://www.thehindubusinessline.com.../article2606965.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

COIMBATORE, NOV. 7:
Already a major killer, death due to cancer is expected to explode nearly by 50 per cent in the next two decades and sensitising the people on cancer prevention ‘is the need of the hour' as nearly 70 per cent of all cancer deaths occur in low and mid-income countries, according to the Tamil Nadu Governor, Dr K. Rosaiah.

He also wanted ‘sincere and committed effort' from the NGOs and private hospitals to offer quality health care at affordable cost.

Speaking at a function after inaugurating the Rs 250-crore ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center' at the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) here on Monday, he said though the quality of life had improved in the country, in many spheres such as education, infrastructure, healthcare etc, India has to improve to compete globally.

Stressing on the need for taking the benefits of science and technology, especially medical science, to the needy, he said the State and Central governments were giving prime attention to healthcare. But what was needed was a sincere and committed effort from the NGOs and private hospitals to cater to the health needs of the people at reasonable cost.

Dr Rosaiah pointed out that cancer has emerged as a major killer globally, accounting for 7.6 million deaths and WHO had projected that death due to cancer would rise to over 11 million in 2030 and lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast cancer are the most widespread. The World Health Organisation had projected that by 2030, the number of cancer-related deaths would rise to 11 million.

Mr N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the benefits of high economic growth in the past 15 years, while substantial, have ‘not translated into health security for the people' as was pointed out by the Kolkata Group whose meetings are chaired by the famed Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen.

He said many countries in Asia, including those with lower per capita income than India, tend to ‘outperform India' in healthcare and health outcome, mainly because the country lacked a ‘good enough primary health system' that offered effective and affordable protection against common ailments.

Mr Ram said time had come for Governments ‘to put their money where their mouth is' to raise public spending on health that still hovered around 1 per cent of the GDP to much higher levels, which though in itself might not be sufficient, to progress beyond ‘where we are today', particularly as ‘health is going to be a very major challenge'.

Mr N. Mahalingam, Chairman, Sakthi (Sugars) Group, suggested that the efficacy of Indian systems of medicine such as ayurvedha, siddha and unani in the treatment of cancer should be studied.

Dr M. Mayil Vahananan Natarajan, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr M.G.R. Medical University, offered felicitations.

Dr Nalla G. Palaniswami, Chairman, KMCH, said in the two decades since KMCH was started, it has emerged as the country's second largest corporate hospital and the comprehensive cancer centre would have 200 beds and would have the most sophisticated equipments for treatment of cancer.
 
#23 ·
^^

One of my friends in that hospital works in this department only. He said that such a comprehensive center for cancer is first of its kind in South India (which includes infrastructure, trained personnel and strict adoption of guidelines). Even Chennai lacks such a facility. In India only Delhi and Mumbai have such a facility but he claimed that KMCH's facility is better than the ones in Mumbai and Delhi. The head of the department had planned this well and got the assistance from Stanford University to set up the facility. Spending 250 Cr for one department is mind blowing. Definitely tertiary care in CBE is better than many metros in India. :)
 
#24 ·
Speaking of Cancer Research, Coimbatore born Chennai educated doc was in the news couple of days back for break through in Cancer Research

An Indian-origin scientist-led team has discovered a radical way of knocking out cancer cells and leaving healthy ones unharmed, a key finding they claim could pave the way for new treatments for the most aggressive forms of the disease such as pancreatic or breast cancer.

Dr Srinivasan Madhusudan and colleagues at the University of Nottingham has found that blocking an enzyme, which repairs genetic material in cells, enabled them to kill cancer cells containing faulty genes, in fact, they focused on inherited cancer-causing genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2.

These two genes cause up to 10 per cent of breast cancers, which are more often fatal than non-genetic tumours. In their research, the scientists found that blocking a cell repair enzyme called APE1 with special molecules they had developed stopped two repair routes at once.

The discovery enabled them to kill BRCA cells, which normally multiply out of control because they have a faulty ‘repair kit’, allowing damaged cells to accumulate faults. The molecules were tested on breast, pancreatic and cervical cancer cells, the Daily Express reported.

"This study provides the first evidence that APE1 is an important new target. Not only could these molecules provide a basis for new drugs but they could help 'soften up' cells from many cancer types to boost the effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy," Dr Madhusudan said.
src: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/sci-tech/medicine/breakthrough-cancer-research-548
 
#25 ·
Gastro specialists' meet in Coimbatore

Specialists in the fields of gastroenterology, liver diseases and endoscopy from India and abroad will gather at Coimbatore for a five-day conference from November 18 that reinforces the ascendancy of Coimbatore as a health care destination since a conference of this stature is not usually held outside metros.

The annual meeting of Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISGCON) is a joint annual conference of Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) in association with Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopists of India (SGEI) and Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL).

During the meet, there would be a demonstration of a disposable Gastroscope (use and throw endoscope), electronic endomicroscope that would help in early detection of cancer etc, according to a release from Dr V.G. Mohan Prasad, National Past President, Endoscopy Society of India and Organising Secretary of ISGCON 2011.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article2618561.ece
 
Top