Made in India… Incredibly Cheap

How a Rs 9 crore medical gadget project got executed for a mere Rs 5.5 lakh here

NEW DELHI ~ When he first thought of a portable medical gadget that could check body temperature, blood pressure and even conduct an ECG, Dr Kanav Kahol, a biomedical engineer who was working on making video games and simulators to train surgeons, expected it to cost $1.8 million (Rs 9 crore) and three years to execute. This was two years ago in the US, where he was an assistant professor with Arizona State University.

After he returned to India in 2011 and joined the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) as head of the Affordable Health Technologies team, Dr Kahol revisited the idea. And astonishingly even for him, did it in three months and $11,000. In effect, by virtue of being in India, he had managed to complete the project at 0.06 per cent of the original estimated cost and in one-tenth the time.

His invention, the Swasthya Slate or Health Tablet, looks like a regular hard drive. It is connected through Bluetooth to an Android device, which has the Swasthya app downloaded on it. The tablet collects data through various sensors—thermometer, ECG leads, heart sensors and even a water quality meter. It transfers the data to a server through the phone.

“The beauty of the project is that it has been developed using locally available resources and technology,” says the 32-year old. The apps, circuit designs and even software were locally developed by techies based in Bangalore, Coimbatore, Delhi and Surat. The case for the machine has been sourced from a local manufacturer in Dwarka village of Delhi. The app for collating and uploading data was developed by a bunch of students applying for internships at PHFI.

While he is yet to add the blood pressure and blood sugar test functions to the device, Kahol is looking at pricing it between Rs 4,000 and Rs 7,000. PHFI plans to launch it first in J&K by giving it to rural health workers in the field of maternal and child health care. “Nearly 50-70 per cent of our workers spend their time documenting data. What is the incentive to work? The tablet enables instant digitisation and also allows them to take decisions on the spot on an instant diagnosis,” he says.

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Aanchal Bansal