| TK Padmanabhan |
Bangalore-based IT and software major, Wipro Technologies will soon introduce its smart ECG necklace in India. The ECG necklace targets cardiac activity monitoring in everyday life situations. It has also introduced its NextGen Care Management Solution. Apart from this, Wipro is also helping healthcare providers to offer excellent foetal monitoring by connecting hospital enterprise systems to cloud and mobile. TK Padmanabhan, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Infotech, India & Middle East, discusses Wipro’s healthcare innovations and speaks about how nanotechnology is going to change the way that healthcare is provided in India, in an exclusive interaction with Raelene Kambli
What is nanotechnology and in which fields of healthcare does it find application? How is it used in the ECG necklace?
Nanotech is the science of semiconductor technology at nano metre scale. Shrinking semi-conductor technology enables the integration of a lot of intelligent sensors on a chip to make it affordable for a large population. Small form factor ECG (Necklace) uses the latest nanotech to deliver exceptional quality output (similar to standard medical grade ECG bedside monitors) while adding mobility and providing accelerometer sensor for detecting motion.
What is the difference between medical nanotechnology and nanomedicine?
Nanotech is typically used for patient monitoring in a noninvasive way, while nano medicine is the science of using nano particles (materials) for diagnosis or treatment which could be both invasive or noninvasive.
Give us some examples of medical nanotechnology and nanomedicine applications in healthcare delivery? How can nanotechnology change the way healthcare is provided in India?
Nanotech for medical industry has exploded in the recent times and some examples of it are ECG, heartbeat monitor, vitals monitoring (temp, pulse oximetery, BP, blood glucose and weight), foetal monitoring solutions using EKG as well as the traditional ultrasound Doppler technology and many more. Nanotech is used to have patients monitored from their homes in an affordable manner, it also provides for the screening of larger population by offering it at lower costs and through its excellent mobility.
Nanomedicine is a vast area of research. One good example of it can be coating the cancer cells with nanoparticles so that they can be eliminated by our defense systems selectively without affecting the adjacent healthy tissues, which is a common side effect of the current generation chemotherapy systems.
Which type of doctors are using the applications of nanotech in their surgeries and daily practice?
It can be anyone from general practitioners using ECG necklace and vaccines stabilised by nanoparticles to advanced interventional radiologists and oncologists using nanoparticle empowered contrast therapeutic agents.
What can be expected in the future, in the field of medical nanotechnology?
We can expect to see a rich set of diagnostic devices in small form factor at an affordable price. In future, these devices can even be embedded into patients for monitoring at a granular basis thereby increasing the chance to detect, diagonise and cure diseases.
Which countries are leading in nanomedicine and medical nanotechnology? What is in store for India?
US, Europe and Japan are the leading countries in this segment. Of late, good international research collaboration between academia and industry has led to widespread adoption of nanotechnology in India. Good examples are centres of excellences like (not limited to) AIMS, AIIMS, IIT Mumbai, IISC etc.
How did you become interested in this area? Tell us about Wipro’s contribution in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine?
We foresee the need to have a point of care system as it is the most important factor in improving healthcare access in emerging countries which is dealing with infrastructural constraints like availability of skilled manpower, connectivity and power. The ideal point of care systems need to be portable, intelligent, wireless, power aware as well as intelligent with sensors that can help a semi-skilled worker with enough information to complete a meaningful transaction for healthcare delivery like screening, data acquisition, drug dispense and so on. So, we need a system that’s built around mobile phone (the prevalent connectivity infrastructure present) which contains or can interface with ultra-portable sensors as well as ultra-low power to have the battery last for more than a day without being recharged. To attain this, nano electronics was the natural way ahead.
We are working on smart sensors which are not only appealing due to their wearbility and portability but also can stay active with a single charge for more than couple of days to four weeks of time. In addition to this, having the data collected but not reaching the place where it can be analysed and some action can be taken on this is like doing the job half way. Wipro’s unique mobile gateway solution takes the data seamlessly collected from any mobile phone and uploads it to a cloud-based data system which can be ubiquitously accessed by those who have the rights (as per privacy and security policy) to see the data. Wipro also has built advanced analytics platforms on cloud which enables better and faster output of data analysis and quick mass scale turn around.
Tell us about your foetal monitoring system?
The foetal monitoring solution is a wireless CTG (cardiotogograph) for antenatal care and during labour /delivery using a small wearable wireless foetal-maternal monitoring device.
The solution offers ambulatory beltless monitoring solution that needs minimal user intervention (no transducers to reposition) and supports an improved workflow. Accurate FHR/MHR/UA surveillance is additionally supported by electronic storage of clinical data and decision support software that acts as aid to the doctors. The solution also enables remote foetal surveillance during antenatal care for timely detection of morbid changes in foetal status and plans for appropriate intervention. The wearable device is ideal for clinically obese patients providing far greater accuracy than alternative technologies. The data for each patient can be viewed centrally at the nursing station in the LD Ward. Additionally, the network viewer software allows remote viewing of the patient data in the absence of a linked central station.
Tells us about Wipro’s plans for India in this field?
Wipro’s intention is to use nanotech, cloud, mobility and analytics to deliver breakthrough solutions to solve some of the emerging markets healthcare challenges.