Engineering the human body
Engineers are solution seekers and today even amidst several constraints, their will to jugaad and solve a problem highlights their capabilities. What if this knowledge is applied to the life saving field of medicine? To an engineer, a human body is a series of actions that operate in a rhythmic flow. Be it any organ, they obey certain laws. Such a perspective to human body opens a myriad of opportunities in patient treatment and care. IIT Madras has stepped into offer a unique 4 year course, BS in Medical Sciences and Engineering that would be a true gamechanger. Launched in May 2023, the course tries to bridge engineering and medicine by teaching engineers the basics of medicine. The course structure involves an internship in a hospital to tie theory and practice. Experts in the field of medicine and engineering will provide a strong research base for students. The programme will offer specialisations in areas like application of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, new device development, new drug discovery, medical image analysis, and digital twins.
Highlighting the unique aspects of this program, Prof. Boby George, head of the department said, “This interdisciplinary approach will enable development of new technologies to monitor vital parameters of various organs, detect signs of disease and help provide targeted prevention and treatment options. As engineering and medicine continue to converge, the possibilities are endless.”
The brain child of Prof. R Krishna Kumar, the course enables setting a common language between engineers and doctors. He further added, “Imagine you are able to create a digital twin of a patient and try out various treatment options or surgical procedures. Your treatment advice may be a vital input for the treating physician or surgeon and save precious lives. The course will train you to be an important link in the future of clinical practice.”
The course which will begin from this academic year will take in 30 students at undergraduate level. It also offers a MS and PhD which is aimed at the doctors to groom them as phyisican-scientists to drive innovation in healthcare. The programme will enable clinicians to delve deep into a problem area of their interest, either independently or in tandem with an engineer who will support the research.
Most of the Nobel prize winners are physician-scientists who perform fundamental research, IIT M Director, V Kamakoti is sure that in years to come, IIT-M would have produced a few laurates.
Encouraging research
Kamakoti during his interview pointed that his faculties and himself motivated their students to address social problems. They say that the core to successful startup is to address a problem and the rest like fame and money will follow suit. Apart from the IIT M research park yet
another domain specific incubator Pravartak Technologies functions at IIT M. It is a Section 8 Company that focusses on technology innovation in areas related to sensors, networking, actuators and control Systems. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, this three-year-old hub focuses on technology development, human resource development, entrepreneurship development and international collaborations. Pravartak handholds ideas until commercialisation and provides all necessary support in the journey. Currently funded by the government, Dr. M.J. Shankar Raman, Chief Executive Officer explained their role, “Once we achieve the targets of the mission, we will register as a company and start supporting the host institute itself. We will enable research from the host institute to translate into usable products. The revenue generated from this will be pumped back to the institute making it a circular model to promote innovation.”
