Riding on the success of producing 30,000 ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has launched an indigenous cost-effective haemodialysis machine as part of the PSU’s initiative to enter the medical electronics market.
The new dialysis unit was launched in collaboration with Renalyx, a start-up that is into renal health. “The patients on dialysis machine can be remotely monitored by doctors. This is comparable to the best dialysis machines in the world and costs 30% less than those available in the market,” BEL sources said.
The experience of producing ventilators indigenously spurred the defence PSU into medical electronics, and the company started a medical electronics vertical a couple of months ago. Also, BEL had begun manufacture of MRI and X ray machines for global brands.
Over the next five years, the company intends to indigenously produce 20 medical equipment that are cost-effective. They include ultrasound machines, ECG machines, medical simulators, portable MRI and a patient monitoring system.
According to sources, this is expected to bring revenues close to ₹600 crore in the next five years. “While technology partners will be taken on board, in-house design teams will simultaneously work on the products,” sources said.
Sources said that the company is set to produce turbine-based technology for high-end ventilators. “The proof of concept will be ready before March and the final production version will be ready in about a year. We are also be working on an home haemodialysis machine,” added a company source.
EV charging units
As India gets ready for electric vehicles, BEL is working with ARI, Pune, on EV charging units. Company sources said that BEL is working on units where two to four vehicles could be charged simultaneously. The units that are currently being tested will be ready in six months.
“We will participate in tenders floated by State governments for setting up EV charging infrastructures,” said the source.
