Chennai has joined a select few centres in the world to have Intelligent Operating Room (iOR) and BrainSUITE Intra CT facilities that are stated to vastly improve diagnostic and surgical outcomes for neurological, orthopaedic and trauma cases.
The BrainSUITE iCT launched at Parvathy Hospital on Monday is a software-driven treatment system from the stable of Germany-based BrainLAB that combines the best of graphic imaging and navigation-guided surgery. The facility - the first in India - is only the third of its kind in Asia and the eighth in the world.
Launching the facilities, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said India, especially Chennai, had achieved renown as a hub for high-quality and low-cost medical tourism. At the same time, there is a pressing need to deliver the fruits of medical advancement at the doorstep of the poor, he said.
“We see on one side the rise of corporate hospitals on a par with international standards. But on the other side we see rural poor in search of specialists for treatment,” Mr. Barnala said.
Pointing out that trauma was a leading cause for death, the Governor cited statistics which showed that Tamil Nadu was among the five States to record the highest number of road traffic accident deaths. It was worrying that two-thirds of the 1.64 lakh deaths in 2008 were of persons in the 16-44 age group, he said.
Stefan Vilsmeier, CEO BrainLAB, said the iOR represented the key facets of technological advancement -high resolution imaging and navigation-guided surgery.
Parvathy Hospital chairman S. Muthukumar said the institution aimed to raise the level of precision in less-invasive surgery in the areas of neuro-surgical, joint, trauma and spine care in the country.
E. Karunanidhi, chairman, Pallavaram Municipality, S.S.K. Marthandam, chairman and director of orthopaedics, Sri Ramachandra University, and K. Narayan Rao, secretary, Jai Gopal Garodia National Higher Secondary School, were among those present.
