KOZHIKODE: In an innovation that is expected to bring down medical scanning charges drastically, the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) Calicut has come up with an indigenously developed Colour Doppler Ultrasound Scanner Technology. This will pave the way for the manufacture of ultrasound scanners in India, rather than relying on imported devices.
NIELIT, an autonomous scientific society under the Union ministry of electronics and information technology, developed the scanner under the ‘Make in India’ project after six years of research. The institute has signed the transfer of technology agreement with a company for commercialisation.
Apart from various types of medical scanning, the automatic sex determination monitoring feature enables the scanner to detect female foeticide.
According to NIELIT officials, the indigenous machine will be an import substitution for the country. The new development envisions to make available low-cost ultrasound scanning facilities — especially for pregnancy cases — at all primary health centres, mainly in rural areas. India imports ultrasound scanners worth approximately $21 million annually, which increases by 10% to 15% every year.
The innovation will bring down imports and enable huge savings for the nation, they said. NIELIT Calicut executive director Dr M P Pillai said the indigenously developed machine and the transfer of technology is a step forward in the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
New desi technology can prevent female foeticide
Dr Jayaraj U Kidav, principal investigator of the project, said only one-fourth of the total amount spent for importing a scanner is needed to manufacture a scanner here. “While importing, an ultrasound scanner costs between `20 lakh and `1 crore. Our machine was manufactured at a cost of `3 lakh-`6 lakh. This will be reflected in scanning charges and, thereby, benefit the common people. If `1,000-1,500 is spent for a normal pregnancy scanning now, it would come down to less than `100 at government institutions,” said Dr Jayaraj.
A significant feature of the machine is the automatic sex determination monitoring to prevent female foeticide. The scanning details of a pregnant woman would automatically be filled in the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques form. Along with this, the biometric details will be stored in the server of the Union ministry of health and family affairs in New Delhi. Thus, scanning at each stage is closely monitored, leaving no room for abortion if the foetus is found to be female. The transfer of technology agreement was signed between NIELIT and Jupiter Design Technologies, Bengaluru, during the Digital India Week-22 event held in Gujarat.