Tackling Delhi pollution head-on with air filter helmets

Reproduced from: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2019/nov/07/tackling-delhi-pollution-head-on-with-air-filter-helmets-2058315.html, published 7th November 2019

By Express News Service

Even as the government takes measures to tackle the problem of air pollution, some people have pitched in with ‘remedies’. To keep particulate matter at bay, Sandhar Amkin Industries has come up with a special helmet for two-wheeler drivers.

Mavox Helmets from the house of Sandhar Amkin has launched a range of activated carbon (charcoal treated with oxygen to open pores of carbon atoms which help it in absorbing certain airborne particles as well as harmful chemicals and gases which leads to poor air quality) air filter helmets. The Mavox FX30 Max can filter up to 93 per cent polluted air.

The carbon filter present in these helmets traps the air pollutants and prevents these from going back to the air, resulting in cleaner air to breathe in. What’s more, the filter can even be re-used after washing it, which makes it quite economical. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

How technology can help India become healthier

Fortune India - Pramod Bhasin

The global healthcare industry is worth $8.2 trillion but sadly enough, only about 20% of the people have access to secondary and tertiary care. High population growth, mortality rates, vast expanse of landmass and low per capita income accentuates this challenge further for India. In particular, India’s burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is very high and an acute shortage of specialists isn’t making things any easier. And, a surfeit of data lies unstructured & fragmented. Deep tech capability in this environment is like a breath of fresh air, but we must remain mindful that quality, accessibility, and affordability will have to go hand-in-hand. To be sure, NASSCOM has done a deep-dive of healthcare startups (550+) and estimated a 55% growth in value terms for this segment. Essentially, technology can be leveraged to create impact on three fronts – build awareness about diseases (particularly in remote areas); as a preventive measure, pre-screening in sub-centres being a case in point; and, getting the IT industry to focus on the most important issues. The health-tech startups today aren’t addressing one monolithic structure, but really a sum of many parts. A broad classification here - aggregators (e.g. on-line pharmacy), personal health & fitness discovery (apps, wearables), health information management (EHR), tech-enabled diagnostics & anomaly detection, tele-medicine & medical devices.

Delhi HC notice to Centre on PIL challenging criminalization of cannabis

Mint – Prathma Sharma

India may have taken the first step toward the legalization of cannabis for industrial and medicinal uses. The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre, challenging the prohibition and criminalization of the plant for industrial and medicinal purposes, while side-stepping similar demands for recreational use. Uttarakhand has already spearheaded a movement to bring out cannabis in the open, permitting the cultivation of hemp over 1,000 hectares on a pilot basis in 2018 and the produce can only be sold to the government. The Delhi high court notice to the Centre came on a public interest litigation (PIL) which challenges the legality of certain provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS), which bans the use of cannabis. The petition was filed by the Great Legalization Movement India Trust which says it is at the forefront of the movement to decriminalize the use of cannabis and raise awareness with respect to its medicinal, industrial, ecological, economic and other benefits. While the medicinal, industrial and recreational use of cannabis is still largely illegal in India, the plant is finding increasing acceptance elsewhere in the world. The Dutch drug policy bases its legalization on the idea that “every human being may decide about the matters of their own health." It also justifies legalization on the premise that concealing it would make it “far more difficult to influence and control."

Bengaluru: Doctors’ protest may go national

ET Healthworld- TNN

BENGALURU: The Federation of Resident Doctors Association India (Forda) has threatened to go on a national-level strike if the accused who assaulted a postgraduate medico at the government run-Minto Hospital are not arrested. The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) also hardened its stand and threatened a complete shutdown of OPD services in private and government hospitals on Friday if their conditions are not met by then. In a letter to the Union minister of health and family welfare on Monday, Forda said: “It is beyond understanding why the administration keeps the security of doctors on such a low priority... If the accused are not arrested and action not taken, we will be forced to agitate in solidarity with our brethren from Karnataka,” the letter read. Police promise action: Deputy commissioner of police (south) Rohini Sepat Katoch said they will act against the offenders at the earliest. “Since investigation is on, I cannot reveal details,” she said. A senior investigator, however, said junior doctor was not manhandled. “CCTV footage shows accused Ashwini Gowda and the woman doctor arguing. Gowda urged the doctor to speak in Kannada and in reply, she retorted in English. However, she was alone and around 35 pro-Kannada activists were shouting at her,” he said.

Innovation and better availability of medical devices can help India stay on top of its health

YourStory - Nikhilesh Tiwari

Medical devices and equipment form a significantly essential part of healthcare delivery. With the sector emerging as a major component of healthcare, the Indian government is planning to introduce a series of important reforms in the regulatory framework governing medical devices. Not only has the NITI Ayog proposed to establish a national register for medical devices, it has also proposed to impose a hefty penalty of up to Rs 1 crore on manufacturers and importers in case of unsafe products. The reforms that streamline regulation and certification process for medical devices and instruments are expected to upgrade the regulatory framework to international standards. The Indian medical devices market, currently pegged at $7 billion, is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2025. India is currently the fourth largest medical devices market in Asia after Japan, China and South Korea. The medical devices sector consists of a wide array of tools and equipment that help clinical practitioners deliver quality healthcare effectively and save crucial lives. Medical Devices consists of diagnostics imaging, IV Diagnostics, Consumables, Patient Aids, Equipments and instruments, Ortho and Prosthetics, Dental products and other devices such as patient monitors, oxygenarators, ECG etc. Each one of these categories is crucial to quality healthcare delivery. At the same time, constant innovation and technological advancement in the field is crucial to ensure the goal of Universal Healthcare.

Now, antacids must carry ‘kidney injury’ warning

The Times of India

In a bid to promote patient safety, widely-sold antacids (anti-acidity pills) will hereon need to carry a side-effect warning of ‘acute kidney injury” as part of their package insert leaflets. A directive to that end was issued by India’s Drugs Controller General on Tuesday, asking all state regulatory authorities to direct manufacturers of Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) — a large chunk of antacid market — to incorporate ‘acute kidney injury’ as an adverse drug reaction (ADR). The warning will be inserted in the packaging of these formulations, including Pantoprazole, Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, Esomeprazole, and their combinations. A package insert, or prescription drug label is directed primarily at prescribers and is intended to provide information for safe and effective use of the drug. The issue was discussed and case studies evaluated by several experts over the past few months, including the National Co-ordination Centre for Pharmacovigilance Programme, official sources said. Recent global studies on anti-acidity pills — popped for treating “gas” and heartburn — have pointed out that there can be serious adverse events due to their prolonged use like long-term kidney damage, acute renal disease and chronic kidney disease, and in certain cases, even gastric cancer. Since these reports are mostly restricted to nephrology journals, many physicians may not be aware of these adverse effects, experts pointed out.

A strong traceability system is a must for drugs supply chain: Ulrike Kreysa

ET Healthworld – Shahid Akhter

Sub-substandard/ Falsified Medicine- Global scenario - We know that spurious drugs are a serious issue. According to INTERPOL 1 million people die per year because of that. It is also big business, which has unfortunately created a fact that spurious drugs are sold across the world. As per WHO approximately 10 per cent worldwide are spurious drugs, which is much lower in some countries like Europe, where the chance are1-2% to get spurious drugs. If we move to Africa, then it goes up to 60% which is really significant. Sub-substandard/ Falsified Medicine- India - To fight to counterfeit, you need to have a traceability system in place, great visibility in the supply chain and you need to be able to follow a drug through the supply chain from the manufacturer to the patients. This will make sure that when the drug arrives at the patient, it is an original drug with the original content in it, which would really have an effect which it should have.

Gorakhpur: Health camp to allay fears after HIV+ woman gives birth

ET Healthworld- Arjumand Bano

Gorakhpur: Doctors and paramedics who handled the delivery of an HIV-positive woman earlier this month will undergo screening at a special health camp at Bhathat community health centre here to allay fears and bust myths regarding the spread of the disease. On November 2, the woman went into labour and her family members contacted an accredited social health activist. A 108 ambulance was taking her to the community health centre when she began having contractions. She delivered the baby in the ambulance while the umbilical cord was cut after she reached the health centre. A day later, doctors and health centre staff came to know that the new mother was HIV-positive. While one can only get HIV by coming into direct contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV who has a detectable viral load, panic nonetheless gripped the health centre. CHC in-charge Dr AK Chaurasia told reporters on Wednesday that they had detected negligence on part of an auxiliary nurse midwife. “The ANM knew the patient was HIV-positive, but did not inform doctors,” he said. Chaurasia said to stem panic, everyone who came in direct contact with the woman during her delivery would undergo check-up at a special health camp. “Medical equipment involved in the delivery have been destroyed while a letter seeking action against the health worker has been written to senior officials,” he added.