1. Air Ambulance India
Two engineering students, Goutham Sharma, and Jervis Anthony have recently designed and developed a highspeed hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which can surpass traffic and obstacles to serve as an air ambulance for patients who need intensive medical aid and emergency medical services. The device is equipped with emergency medical equipment like automated external defibrillators, automated blood pressure apparatus, and other emergencies medical equipment. Their aim is to provide timely medical access to patients. The device can carry a person weighing 50kg but in a sleeping position due to the present design constraint. www.thebetterindia.com/132598/
2. Axiostat: A Heamostatic Bandage
An Indian innovation “Axiostat” by Axio Biosolutions, Bengaluru is a haemostatic dressing that stops haemorrhage from actively bleeding vessels within minutes of its application on the wound site. The product is the first Indian wound care product to receive US FDA approval. The USP of the product is the incorporation of chitosan which is a saccharine biopolymer obtained from the hard-outer skeleton of shellfish that can stop bleeding under 4 minutes. Users of axiostat are military, ambulance services, hospitals, industries and relief aid where it has reduced fatality owing to traumatic injuries in battlefields, road traffic accidents, and hospitals world over. The product is available in 12 other countries apart from India and promises to save many more lives in the future.
3. A New Blood Pressure App: A Challenge to Traditional Arm Cuff And Electronic Devices
US-based scientists revealed the new BP app technology which is easy to use, efficient and accurate in the Journal Science Translational Medicine. The scientists targeted a different artery, the palmer arch artery at the fingertip as their new target point to take the count. For measuring the blood pressure, users need to turn on the app and press their fingertip against the sensor unit. Now with the finger on their unit, they would just need to hold their phone at heart level and watch their smartphone screen to make sure that they are applying the right amount of finger pressure. Soon the blood pressure will be seen on the screen.
4. Typbar TCV by Bharat Biotech
India is one of the leading countries facing deaths due to typhoid. Until now the available vaccine for typhoid management could be given to children who were two years old and above but the recently developed vaccine Typbar TCV or typhoid conjugate vaccine is a breakthrough for India as it can be given to children as young as six months old.
The vaccine has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech after successful clinical trials in India as well as Oxford. The conjugate vaccine crosslinks the sugar and the protein, successfully fooling a baby’s body into producing antibodies that will give it almost lifelong immunity. The price for one dose is INR 1500.
5. Sticky Patch For Blood-Free Monitoring Of Blood Sugar Levels
Researchers from the University of Bath, UK have developed an adhesive, non-invasive patch which can monitor glucose levels in diabetics through the skin without piercing it. Instead, the patch draws glucose out from fluid between cells across hair follicles, which are individually accessed via an array of miniature sensors using a small electric current. The glucose is then collected in tiny reservoirs and is measured. The sensors ensure its calibrations – free approach without using a single drop of blood. The study is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The aim is to eventually make the patch convertible into a low-cost, wearable sensor that sends glucose measurements to the wearer’s smartwatch or phone to take necessary action in time.
