Chennai heart pump to cost 1/3rd |
Frontier Lifeline, a Chennai-based heart hospital has tied up with Russian scientists to manufacture a low-cost mechanical heart pump that can serve as an alternative to a transplant or as a temporary measure before transplant. The `Made in India` device will be available at one-third the cost of existing devices of Rs 30 lakh as against Rs 90 lakh . Cardiac surgeon Dr KM Cherian said thedevice, called Left Ventricular Assisted Device (LVAD), can be surgically implanted to help the heart pump more blood with less work. It takes blood from the left ventricle and moves it to the aorta, which then delivers oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. The total cost of the two imported brands - from the US and Germany - including the surgery typically crosses Rs1.25 crore. In the North American region, more than one lakh people have been using the device. The need is large in India but many patients die because they can`t use this expensive device. With a memorandum of understanding with the Russian manufacturers, the device called Sputnik, will be manufactured at Mediville, the SEZ Medical Science Park of Frontier Lifeline Hospitals on the outskirts of Chennai. On May 23.
|
|
|
|