AIIMS Delhi & Osaka University to Set Up Medical Device Development Center in Jhajjar

The establishment of this center is expected to significantly enhance the domestic production of medical devices.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has partnered with Osaka University in Japan to establish the National Center for Medical Device Development, Validation, and Skill Training in Jhajjar, Haryana.

This initiative aligns with the central government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, aiming to reduce the country’s reliance on imported medical devices.

The proposed center will serve as a hub for Indian surgeons, physicians, and biomedical engineers to collaborate on the conceptualization, design, development, and testing of medical device prototypes.

According to officials, this facility will play a crucial role in advancing medical technology tailored to the specific needs of Indian healthcare professionals, enabling the testing of these innovations on animals and human cadavers.

Dr Hemanga K Bhattacharjee, Professor of Surgical Disciplines at AIIMS, highlighted the importance of this initiative, noting that despite the ‘Make in India’ policy, approximately 70% of medical devices and equipment in India are still imported from developed countries.

The establishment of this center is expected to significantly enhance the domestic production of medical devices.

Long-term Collaboration

AIIMS and Osaka University have been collaborating on this project for the past two years, during which several AIIMS faculty members visited Japan for training.

The AIIMS administration has now sought a budget of INR 300 Cr from the Union Health Ministry to bring the project to fruition. The land for the center has been finalized, and the government has given in-principle approval for the budget, according to Dr Bhattacharjee.

On Monday, a delegation from AIIMS, led by Dr Bhattacharjee and including specialists from various departments, scientists, and technical officers, met with a Japanese delegation to discuss cutting-edge technological research and gain hands-on experience in prototype conceptualization, computer-assisted design, and 3D printing.

These discussions are pivotal in setting up the state-of-the-art, publicly-funded research center.

Vision for the Future

The Japanese delegation, led by Dr Kiyokazu Nakajima, Professor in the Department of Next Generation Endoscopic Intervention at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, visited the proposed site at AIIMS Delhi’s Jhajjar campus.

They engaged in technical discussions and proposed strategies for establishing the center.

Dr Bhattacharjee emphasized the long-standing relationship between AIIMS and Osaka University, which includes a 10-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) for research.

He expressed optimism about the future, stating, “We are now moving towards infrastructure development under the Make in India scheme, aiming to create an ecosystem where surgeons, engineers, and doctors can collaborate to address unmet clinical needs.”

The new center is expected to serve as a single-window solution for developing medical technologies, fostering an environment conducive to research, innovation, and self-reliance in India’s healthcare sector.