THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was the passion towards his profession, that led medical practitioner Danish Salim forward in his quest for innovation. The city-based doctor who is the academic director and head of the Emergency Medicine Department at PRS Hospital was recently awarded the Best Innovator Award as well as the National Achiever Award by Central Cabinet Minister Kali Charan Saraf. The event took place at an international emergency medicine conference held in Jaipur.
Dr Danish has been spearheading a string of innovations with his team of engineers. As a person in charge of the emergency section, it was the state of the patients being brought to the hospital that drove the doctor to do something. “Many times, patients are brought in late, with a weak pulse and after having suffered much blood loss,” he said.
An Ambulance Networking System and Emergency Response is one of his most notable innovations. The application which can be controlled by a user can help an accident victim get the required treatment faster. “A person who witnesses an accident need just dial a hotline number. The person who picks the call has all the information of the number of ambulances plying in the accident area, the exact spot where the victim is lying and the number of hospitals nearby. Using all these details, the patient can be swiftly moved to a good and accessible hospital,” he said. When it comes to accident or trauma victims, swift treatment is what can save a life. Realising that traffic blocks can be an impediment during such an urgent situation, Dr Danish has come up with another life-saving solution. An alert mechanism titled ‘Accident Smart Alert System’ was devised by the doctor. Once installed, the approaching ambulance will send an alert within one kilometre and 500 metres of distance from the signal. “The device, which can be installed inside ambulances as well as fire engines, has been tested to be successful.”
The special emergency jump kit for trauma patients, much like a first-aid box but with more facilities, is also deemed a life-saver. “There can be times when you witness a person collapsing to the ground and you don’t know what to do. This kit for doctors has around 100 medicines and instruments while a kit for the common man contains 25 medicines and important items like splint and so on,” he said.
Dr Danish’s other list of innovations include a bike ambulance, a railway ER, automatic accident detector, device locater and anti-theft and many more. Two of his products, including the ambulance alert system, have already received patents. His ambulance networking system, which is part of the IMA’s initiative Trauma Rescue Initiative, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Kanakakkunnu palace grounds in the city on December 21. Danish had also received the ‘Best Emergency Physician Award’ the previous year.