Many congratulations on the new product launch. Your announcement comes at a time when ‘Internet of things’ is being hailed as the technology that will change the way healthcare is practised today. Tell us why connectivity is so important for medical devices in today’s world?
| Dr Karthik Kuppusamy |
Connectivity is very important both within a hospital and also for communicating with referring doctors and patients. This is because of googlisation of healthcare. Let me just elaborate. First of all, for a hospital or a diagnostic imaging centre there are various diagnostic equipment and pathology tests which need to be quickly connected to each other while reporting to referring doctors. Secondly, diagnostic imaging is now spreading out deeper, to smaller towns and cities and there is a need for faster connectivity in releasing the reports online to many referring doctors and patients.
The newly launched MRI product has digital broadband technology, tell us how this makes a difference to the image clarity?
Most of the 1.5T MRIs have conventional analog copper cables to carry the analog data from the magnet room to equipment room. While carrying the signal there is an external environmental noise which leads to signal loss. So, while receiving the data in the equipment room, which is 10-15 feet away, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases. MR360 Advance is designed to feature the digital broadband MR technology, the data will now be carried using optical fibre cable which will significantly reduce the effect of noise and improve the signal to noise ratio. OpTix offers high channel count, analog to digital signal conversion where it matters – inside the scan room to minimise noise and signal degradation, but away from the patient to enhance comfort and safety. OpTix provides up to 27 per cent higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over conventional, analog signal receivers, improving image quality and clinical confidence.
Does higher clarity in image provide any diagnostic advantage to the physician as compared to the normal MRI image?
Yes, MR360 Advance Digital broadband MRI provides superior high definition image quality
Kindly explain how the ownership cost of the new MRI will be lower than the existing MRIs in the market?
The ownership cost of the new MRI will be lower than the existing MRIs in the market in following ways. Our new MRI product is engineered to use ecomagination-certified technologies like efficient gradients, water-cooling, super capacitors, and a power distribution unit, reducing power consumption by 50 per cent as compared to similar premium 1.5T competitor MR systems. With all of these ecomagination features, these systems are intended to lower the total cost of ownership while still delivering excellent clinical performance. Other premium 1.5T systems requires UPS ratings of 100-140KVA while MR360 Advance uses only 60KVA UPS.
Advanced applications like propeller 3.0 which helps in motion correction while neuro, body and musculoskeletal imaging will help to reduce rescans. It reduces effects of patient voluntary and physiologic motion and thus reduces artefacts and rescans.
The product also helps to save on use of contrast agents through the needle free suite consisting of Inhance Suite- Arterial and venous flow anywhere in the body with no need for contrast. Its other features are:
- 3D ASL – Non contrast, whole brain, quantitative perfusion assessment rapidly and accurately assess tumour perfusion, TIA, stroke, stenosis, etc.
- 3D Heart – Non-contrast heart vasculature in clear details simply and precisely evaluate arterio-venous malformation, aortic dissection, etc.
MRI has been advocated as a better means to view abdominal tissue specifically liver. What is your opinion on the same?
MR abdominal imaging is increasing rapidly. GE has many breakthrough applications which are not available in conventional 1.5T MRI. For example, one of them is IDEAL IQ for needle free liver fat and iron quantification. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging cause of chronic liver disease and can lead to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver failure. The prevalence is on par in the Indian population due to increasing socio-economic status. It is paralleling the epidemics of diabetes and obesity. Liver biopsy is the current gold standard and can establish a definite diagnosis, determine the severity of the condition and provide information about prognosis. However, it is invasive and associated with complications, and suffers from sampling variability. The lack of a safe, inexpensive, and non-invasive method for accurate identification and quantitative grading of NAFLD has been a major barrier to understanding its epidemiology and pathophysiology. It has the potential of becoming a rapid, accurate, and non-invasive test for the estimation of hepatic fat content without the need for performance of percutaneous liver biopsy.
Which imaging facilities (in what geographical and economical settings) will be benefited by having a MRI system such as yours?
Both hospital and diagnostic centres across the geographies can benefit from the MR360 Advance. We have already installed our MR systems in tier I, II and III towns
What is the approximate cost of the machine? Where does it stand (in terms of cost) in the present array of machines in the market? (high end/ low end?)
It approximately costs Rs 5.5 crores. It is one of the most advanced and premium systems developed in the US with an affordable price and low total cost of ownership.
MRI is an expensive technology. What are you doing to address the price point issue as India is demanding less expensive diagnostics?
Through this Advance MR 360 system, which is one of the most advanced and premium systems developed in the US, we are getting it to India with an affordable price and low total cost of ownership. It has all the premium 3.0T MR technology and applications in 1.5T now.
Please tell us about the size of MRI market in India? What is your share of the market?
There are approximately 1400 MR systems in the Indian market and the exact market share data is proprietary and confidential and we cannot share that. We are one of the major players in the MR market.
What is the future of MRI market in India?
MRI market has been growing in the last three years at an average growth rate of 10-12 per cent and this trend will continue in the next decade as MRI is non-invasive, non-contrast and non-radiation modality and has a huge scope for growth in future. In the US there are approximately 25 MRs per million people, in Japan there are approximately more than 40 MRs per million people. While in India we have approximately one MR per million people. So you see there is a tremendous opportunity for the growth of MRI systems in India.