The Medical Device Hackathon (MEDHA) festival of Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing was held during the weekend of July 13 and 14. Around 10 teams from Biomedical Engineering and Technology (Incubation) Center (BETiC) of IIT-Bombay, K.J. Somaiya College and MGM Institute of Health Sciences had participated in it.
Each team had 4 members from design, engineering, medical and pharmaceutical backgrounds and these 40 participants were shortlisted from over 140 applicants. They selected problems of their interest from a list of 20 unmet clinical needs that were put forth by medical professionals. The key solutions presented included a 15-second pH measurement device (as against the conventional 2 hours), a new CPAP device for sleep apnea that provides a valve to release air pressure, and a portable device that can be taken to an accident venue to measure the stump for below-the-knee amputation. Other problems addressed were single-step blood glucose monitoring, pediatric needle to reduce the anxiety kids have towards needles, portable capillary blood gas analysis.
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Senior innovators of BETiC continuously mentored the participants through day and night of the hackathon, which started on Saturday morning and concluded on Sunday evening. The prizes were given away by Dr. Nishigandha Naik, Director of Haffkine Institute and Prof. B. Ravi, founder of BETiC.
Dr. Rupesh Ghyar, CEO of BETiC said,
The participants faced three uncertainties: what is the problem; which team members they will work with; and what tools will be available. MEDHA exemplifies the close collaboration between doctors and engineers that can produce great results within a short period. Usually, people from medical backgrounds come with a solution which won't be technically possible from the design or engineering perspective and the same can be applicable vice versa. Therefore MEDHA comes with a very distinctive feature where people from varied backgrounds can sit together and solve one issue. When a doctor, engineer, design professional are present together the problem gets addressed in every angle and thus has the potential to be a viable product.
Prof. B. Ravi, the founder of BETiC, further said,
This is the 9th MEDHA organized by BETiC. We are honoured to partner with Haffkine Institute, which is setting up a BETiC cell under an MoU signed in the presence of honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra. With 14 centres across the state, BETiC has become a large network of medical device innovation centres.
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