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Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) Technique : Specialists Getting Patients From the Country And Abroad
Invitro-fertilisation (IVF) procedure, long believed to be a rarity, has slowly gained popularity reflected in the increasing number of women opting for this procedure, with IVF specialists getting patients from the country and abroad.
"In 1996, when I started, I received two or three patients for this procedure. Now I get around 10 to 12 patients every month, with at least five from Ahmedabad itself," said infertility specialist Dr Kanthi Bansal.
The invitro procedure entails artificially fertilizing the embryo from anything between two to five days in the lab. The fertilized egg is again implanted in the uterus of the patient, and from then on it is just like a normal pregnancy.
"I get about two-three patients every month from the UK, the US and African countries. The reason being that Gujarati expatriates have relatives here, plus they pay much less compared to what they would have shelled out in the West," she said.
Thirty-three-year-old Binita Choksi, who has come from Michigan to undergo the procedure, said, "One of my cousins who had a positive procedural result suggested that I get the procedure done in India by her doctor. The advantage is that I have my family here and the cost of IVF is cheaper without in any way compromising on the quality of treatment." Choksi said the same procedure in the US would cost her about $5,000 (Rs 2.4 lakh). In India, she underwent the procedure for a little under Rs 1 lakh.
Another IVF specialist Dr Himanshu Bavishi said every month he receives at least 25 to 30 patients from across the state because of the growing awareness. Of these, in a month, about three are from abroad.
"Our facilities here are on par with other centers in the rest of the world. Further, the advanced procedure using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is now available here wherein a sperm is injected into the woman's oocyte (egg) which improves the chances of fertilization," Bavishi explained.
He said the success rate in IVF procedures had risen from the first time it was used in UK in 1978. "In every cycle, that takes about one-and-half-months to complete, there is about 37.5 per cent success rate of conception. It all depends on the age of the woman and how well her body responds to the procedure," he said.
There is a 10 per cent growth in the number of patients undergoing IVF every year in the state, according to infertility expert Dr Manish Banker. "I get anything between 210 to 220 patients, of which at least 20-25 are NRIs," Banker said.
[Ref: Times of India, 19/03/2003]
Neutraceuticals: Tremendous Scope For India
GLOBAL demand for neutraceuticals (functional foods used in preventive healthcare) is about $60bn and mainly comes from developed countries. These products are used for weight loss, stress management, antioxidants, memory enhancement, aphrodisiacs and anti-arthritis.
About 70% of such products originate in Europe, 20% in China and 5% in India while the rest of the countries contribute 5% Hence, there is tremendous scope for India which a natural home to such products since ancient times, to develop and promote herbal and medicinal plants as neutraceuticals, said MK Bhat, director, Small Industries Service Institute, Bangalore.
However, there was need to focus on quality and fair price to make an impression in the global market, he added. Chyavanprash is a classic example of an Indian neutraceutical, he said.
Some herbs that are in demand are vanilla, rosemary, safed musli, aloe vera, stevia, coleus, spirulina and green tea. Cultivation aspects of these plants were also discussed at the event.
Phillip Samuel, CMD, Indfrag, Bangalore, explained that the present day neutraceuticals are modern versions of products based on Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine. He said nearly 60% of the demand for neutraceuticals came from Europe and about 30% from the US, the balance came from other countries.
[Ref: Economic Times, 15/03/2003]
Software For Hospitals And Clinics : Pune Company Launches New Products
MEDICAL Information and Software Technologies (MIST), a Pune based company developing Medical Informatics products, has launched its fourth and fifth products in the range called CT/MRI-Doc for CT and MRI scan (DICOM/Non DICOM version) and Tele-radiology software for hospitals and clinics. MIST has a clientele base of 125 spread across seven countries.
Dwelling on the benefits of the CT-MRI-Doc, Dr. Ashish Dhawad, Founder and CEO said that the software helps save capital investment on Laser Scanner, Multiformat camera and film processor, gives immediate reports and images to the patient on CD and is useful in customer relationship management with referring doctors amongst other benefits. Tele-radiology software can be combined with CT/MRI-Doc but is optional, too.
Said Dr. Dhawad, "with the help of Tele-radiology software hospital can provide logins to any user which will help them view images from anywhere in the world. It also sends automatic email to examining doctor when images are uploaded and gives automatic email when report is sent."
[Ref: Pharmabiz, 06/03/2003] |
