Medtronic has been at the forefront of innovation and we have evolved our products through continuous technological innovation in all aspects of their design, materials & delivery mechanism in the areas of heart, brain, spine, etc, says Madan Krishnan, Managing Director, India Medtronic, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Q Tell us about emerging trends in medical imaging and diagnostics market in India.

Over the years, new medical developments and techniques have changed the face of healthcare. Medical technology has evolved by leaps and bounds, providing a right thrust to surgical processes and treatment procedures. With new advanced technologies, doctors and surgeons can be more accurate right from early and correct diagnosis to attaining desired outcomes during procedures and surgeries.

Medtronic has been at the forefront of innovation and we have evolved our products through continuous technological innovation in all aspects of their design, materials & delivery mechanism in the areas of heart, brain, spine, etc. Over the years, through innovation in our technologies, we have developed products that meet the needs of patients and caregivers as well as the needs of physicians with simpler and quicker procedures. In todays operating room, imaging is a vital tool for the surgical team striving for the best patient outcomes. Medtronic offers some innovative technologies which contribute in the diagnosis and imaging space:

Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) is the smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device designed to help physicians quickly and accurately diagnose irregular heartbeats. While, significantly smaller, the device is part of a powerful system that allows physicians to continuously and wirelessly monitor a patients heart for up to three years. It is mostly suitable for patients who experience symptoms such as dizziness, palpitation, fainting and chest pain that may suggest a cardiac arrhythmia and for patients at increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias.

Another innovative technology in both digital imaging and the diagnostic market is the PILLCAM™ SB 3 CAPSULE. Capsule endoscopy is a breakthrough technology. The vitamin-sized, disposable capsule that has a camera, has been designed for the small bowel and the colon. Once the capsule is ingested, patients can return to most of their daily activities as the capsule naturally passes through the digestive system, wirelessly transmitting more than 50,000 images of the small bowel to a receiver worn by the patient. Physicians can review the footage at a later time to identify potential abnormalities.

The newly launched StealthStation™ S8 system demonstrates Medtronics continued commitment to innovation and contributes to the transformation of how neurosurgeons treat spine disorders. It brings an advanced solution to neurosurgeons by helping them make critical decisions and enhancing the OR environment. It enables doctors to precisely track the location of surgical instruments throughout a procedure. The StealthStation™ S8 system introduces the most advanced version of Stealth technology ” a combination of hardware, software, tracking algorithms, image data merging, and specialised instruments to help guide during surgical procedures.

O-arm® Imaging System is designed specifically for use by surgeons in standard operating rooms and yields high-quality imaging for intra-operative purposes. Images are displayed on the large, 30 digital, flat screen of the O-arm® System Mobile View Station (MVS), providing the surgical team with excellent visibility from the operative field.

Q How do you ensure that your systems and processes are designed to deliver quality healthcare at affordable cost?

We focus on three key strategic priorities that help improve the continuum of care, specifically for chronic disease “ all while developing new partnerships with those who are committed to transforming care.

Therapy Innovation: Providing a spectrum of offerings aimed at improving both economic and patient outcomes.

Globalisation: Adapting our thinking to address access challenges in both developed and developing countries.

Economic value: Thinking more holistically about the care continuum, and how we can lead the creation of value-based healthcare solutions.

Quality has been an integral part of our Mission since co-founder Earl Bakken penned it in 1960. With lives at stake, we at Medtronic take our responsibility for quality very seriously. To us, that means:

Approaching quality holistically “ not just with products, but in everything we do

Having comprehensive, closedloop processes across the entire product lifecycle

Being proactive “ to prevent and uncover issues early

Being collaborative “ working with physicians who are closest to our products and processes

Being transparent “ sharing our expectations and performance and with all our stakeholders, and raising awareness of potential issues early

Q How are your policies geared towards collaborating with governments to bring efficiency in the public health delivery system?

Healthcare world over is a complex subject and cannot be addressed alone by one entity. Thats where we need partnership from all the stakeholders i.e. government, hospitals, doctors, patients and the industry.

Medtronic is committed to Indian market with its large footprint in India since 1979. Medtronic has already set up two global R&D centers and one world-class global IT center in India. Public Private Partnership (PPP) can bring fundamental changes in the treatment of various non-communicable diseases as the challenge in the treatment of patient starts from awareness and diagnosis point of view.

The PPP model can address the early-stage challenges and can actually do a fantastic job in the holistic care from a patient point of view. We are keen to partner with state governments in improving access to affordable, innovative and high-quality healthcare, in line with the National Health Policy.

Q Tell us about your India centric innovations that may help the industry expand its reach.

At Medtronic, we are championing value-based healthcare that helps developing and deploying products, services, and integrated solutions to improve care and reduce costs. Medtronic is committed to address Indias challenges for increasing access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. Medtronic is more than 35 years old in India and the journey has been strong and steady. We have truly revolutionised the healthcare scenario through our innovative products, services and solutions.

The growth opportunity for Medtronic in India is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly on making our innovative devices accessible to a larger section of Indian society. Some of the examples of our market appropriate innovations to address the challenges of awareness, accessibility and affordability are:

Launched in Sep 2010, HHFA works with local hospitals and physicians to remove barriers to patient access to heart rhythm and vascular treatments. The programme works to continually uate and improve the entire cardiac patient care pathway, and it has worked to resolve issues associated with patient awareness and screening, referral connections between general physicians and specialists, and counselling and financing options for patients who need financing assistance to access therapy options. Currently present in over 30 cities in partnership with over 120 hospitals.

Shruti, an innovative ear care programme to deliver awareness, screening, diagnosis and treatment for the underserved. Shruti is currently operational across seven self-funded cities including Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Raipur, Amritsar and Dhaka (Bangladesh). As of February 2017, through community health workers, the programme has screened more than 3,00,000 people.

Medtronic Academia engages with MD physicians through therapy awareness workshops, diagnostic summits, Continuous Medical Education, and Round-Table Meetings to enhance diagnosis and patient management to improve quality of care. India Medtronic has trained more than 16,000 doctors across various specialties over the last 3 years and trained over 6,000 doctors on cardiac and vascular therapies in the last five years”covering 200 hospitals and 100 cities. We also have two Therapy and Procedure Training Centers (TPTC) in Mumbai, and Dhaka and a Medtronic Innovation Center (MIC) in Mumbai that hosts these training programs.

MedEx is a web-based electronic portal that enables Interventional Cardiologists with knowledge, skill set and guidance to perform complex interventions. The treating cardiologist uploads the patient details including the angiogram report on the portal and other complex case details and queries. Intimation is triggered to one of the members of the panel of experts who have registered themselves on MEDEX portal. These experts can be from different parts of India. On the portal, the expert reviews the case and provides a structured report alongwith their recommendations and answers within 48 hours.

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