Twenty-five innovation hubs set up across the country through the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) are churning out best technologies in various sectors, including the health sector to do their bit in tackling challenges thrown by Covid-19 pandemic.
For instance, ARTPARK at IISc Bangalore has developed an AI-driven platform that helps Chest X-ray interpretation of images sent over WhatsApp brought early intervention through rapid screening of Covid-19, aiding doctors who have no access to X-ray machines. Similarly, a team of scientists from IIT Bombay has developed a tapestry method for screening Covid-19 under Remedial Action, Knowledge Skimming, and Holistic Analysis of Covid-19 (RAKSHAK), an effort supported by the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Jodhpur.
According to an official from the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, the ARTPARK has a solution called XraySetu which is quick and easy to use and can work with low-resolution images sent via mobiles, facilitating detection in rural areas. “Using machine learning algorithms, it generates a patient report showing suspicious abnormal regions in the lungs and detects if the person is likely positive for Covid, pneumonia, or other lung abnormalities,” he said.
Similarly, RAKSHAK which has been shortlisted by X-prize in an open Innovation Track has led to the development of a New Chest X-ray based Covid diagnosis System (in the ICMR validation process now), Open Data for Indian and International Covid cases - COVBASE (Imaging, clinical parameters, longitudinal data, and annotations), Campus RAKSHAK - A decision framework for Campus Safety.
On the other hand, AmbiTag, a first-of-its-kind Internet of Things (IoT) device that monitors ambient temperature during the transportation of vaccines, including Covid-19, medicines, blood samples, food and dairy products, meat products, and animal semen, has been developed by researchers at the IIT Ropar Technology Innovation Hub - AWaDH and its startup ScratchNest.
“So far, such devices were being imported by India. The institute is gearing up for its mass production of AmbiTag. The device will be made available to all companies involved in Covid-19 vaccine transportation from production facilities to the last mile vaccination centers in the country at the production cost of Rs 400,” said the official.
A consortium launched by IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and five other entrepreneurial start-up companies in deep tech and engineering domain have been established under the mission I-STAC.DB - Indian Space Technologies and Applications Consortium Design Bureau
The NM-ICPS, which fosters technological solutions in health, education, energy, environment, agriculture, strategic cum security, Industry 4.0 is being implemented through 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) established in top academic, and national R&D Institutes. It was approved by the Union Cabinet at a total cost of Rs 3660 crores in December 2018. All the hubs are working on developing solutions for people-centric problems.