New Delhi, Aug 01: In a medical breakthrough, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday launched India’s first indigenously developed, affordable, lightweight, ultrafast, high field (1.5 Tesla), next-generation Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanner.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, “As an indigenous MRI scanner is made available, the cost of MRI scanning is expected to reduce considerably for the common man thus allowing a wider access to the otherwise highly priced MRI scans. Additionally, the capital investment in the procurement of MRI scanners from the international market will be substantially reduced which in turn will save a lot of foreign exchange, the twin mission objectives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the overall objective of Atma Nirbharta in cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic manufacturing in India. In the coming years, there will be ‘Make in India-Made for the World’.”
“It is indeed a milestone achievement for the National Biopharma Mission (NBM), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) as we unveil the first indigenously developed state-of-the-art MRI Scanner under Public-Private Partnership mode,” he said.
The union minister said informed that Under the National Biopharma Mission, Voxelgrids Innovations Pvt Ltd has developed a compact, lightweight, next-generation MRI Scanner to solve the unmet need of the country. he underlined that out of over Rs 17 crore spent for developing the world-class MRI, around Rs 12 crore was provided by DBT through BIRAC.
Dr Jitendra said this combination of next-generation hardware with software has enabled it to successfully introduce a highly disruptive product in the diagnostic imaging space, as this is the first Indian company to receive a commercial sale and manufacture license from CDSCO, Government of India.
He said India will address many of the problems by making available the first indigenously developed MRI Scanner which is affordable compared to the already available machines. “It also offers a prospect of sharing this success with other nations in the global south to help them to have access to affordable and dependable medical imaging solutions,” he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh also informed the gathering that after the passage of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, a brainchild of PM Modi in Parliament, it will forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for participation and contribution of industries and State governments in addition to the scientific and line ministries.
“We must acknowledge and thank our able leadership under the guidance of the Prime Minister for steering the country in this direction of progress and international recognition, and the role played by national initiatives such as Make in India, Skill India, Start-up India and Digital India in achieving this success. India is moving fast from being a mere consumer of technology to an innovator,” he added.
