Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University’s learning app, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Barbara Bush Foundation’s Adult Literacy XPRIZE competition.
Chennai :
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University’s learning app, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Barbara Bush Foundation’s Adult Literacy XPRIZE competition. It has been awarded 1.25 lakh USD for winning the first round of the competition, said a press release.
Amrita is one of the four teams which demonstrated significant improvement in language skills in both, Native Speakers (NS) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners during a 12-month test period. The competition will now move on to the next phase – the Communities Challenge – wherein the final four apps will be scaled up to enrol one million users across the US.
The Amrita Learning App was developed by an 18-member team from the university’s Center for Research in Advanced Technologies for Education. The app is available for free on the Google Play Store.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 24th, 2019
With the help of 3D printing technology, doctors reconstructed the jaw of a 20-year-old woman from Sudan at a private hospital in the city recently.
The patient, who preferred anonymity, approached Gleneagles Global Health City with a contour deformity of the lower jaw. She had undergone surgery to remove a benign tumour of the jaw a few months ago in Sudan.
A segment of the lower jaw bone was removed and the gap was bridged with the plate which caused major contour deformity in the due course and she could not close her mouth. She had difficulty in swallowing and her major concern was the face deformity and the absence of teeth on that side. The team of doctors, headed by S. Selva Seetha Raman, senior consultant plastic surgeon, Gleneagles Global Health City, planned for the reconstruction of the jaw bone.
The doctors with the help of 3D printing technology and CT scan image created a 3D mirror image of the opposite side to reconstruct an entire jaw bone model.
The dentistry also launched Cone-Beam Computerised Tomography machine, a special type of X-ray equipment.
Chennai :
Pearl Dentistry, a dental clinic, and Dentsply Sirona, a manufacturer of dental products and technologies, on Tuesday launched a new technology that enables a patient to fix new teeth in a single visit unlike conventional method which will take a minimum five days.
CEREC software that allows a dentist to take 3D model of the teeth to design restoration, was started. It will enable to complete single crown, bridge, implants and smile makeover restorations in a single visit.
B Arunkumar, founder of the dentistry said, “Using CEREC software, teeth can be scanned.
It will capture video image in the computer. It takes an accurate pix. By using the image, tooth crown can be created in 20 minutes and it will take another 20 minutes to fabricate and to fix the crown, and it will take another 20 minutes to polish it. So, new teeth can be fixed in single visit,” he added.
The dentistry also launched Cone-Beam Computerised Tomography machine, a special type of X-ray equipment.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 20th, 2019
A two-day national conference on endoscopy is being conducted by gynaecologists in Chennai on February 16-17.
Chennai :
A two-day national conference on endoscopy is being conducted by gynaecologists in Chennai on February 16-17. The unique feature of this EVE Endoscopy Conference is that for the first time in India, an all-woman gynaecologist team will be performing laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgeries at Sri Ramachandra Medical College, according to the organisers.
The surgeries will be relayed live to at a private hotel hosting the event where 200 to 300 gynaecologists will learn and discuss the surgeries. This first of its kind national event is being conducted under the aegis of IAGE (Indian Association of Gynaecological Endoscopy), OGSSI; ATNRCOG. International faculty from UK , Germany and Italy will be participating.
Dr Adeola Olaitan, a gynaecologist from London, will be demonstrating advanced cancer surgery.
Laparoscopic surgery or keyhole surgery helps women to recover from surgery quickly and does not leave a scar on the abdomen. Many conditions including early stage cancers, are amenable to laparoscopic surgery. The conference has sessions that caters to beginners as well as advanced state-of-the-art surgeries and discussions with experts.
With International Woman’s Day less than a month away, this conference also celebrates the fact that woman are in the forefront in all fields. This conference will be a boon to all aspiring endoscopic surgeons and especially for women gynaecologists, a release said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 15th, 2019
Nutpam builds virtual reality-driven training content for people working in large corporations and sectors like healthcare and education. Its VR simulators train people to not just learn but also get used to machines.
When we hear the term virtual reality (VR), our first thought might be of a sci-fi movie or a video game. However, many people are now realising the application of immersive technology to skill people in various sectors such as healthcare and other industries to train people. With platforms such as IBCricket, which brings the popular sport to your living room, and VRDevotee, which lets you immerse yourself in devotion at any place, VR is also garnering a lot of attention in India.
Meanwhile, Senthil Sarguru and Karthik Bavanandan, both 28 years old, set up Nutpam in 2016 at Mylapore, a suburb in Chennai, which builds solutions using VR. Its product uses immersive technologies to train industrial labour, doctors and students. The team says it uses AR, VR, internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to bring immersive experiences into the app or even into the physical world.
“We strongly believe that our strength is in content making for immersive experiences. We have been developing VR/AR content in healthcare, enterprise, education, and other immersive experiences based on the client’s requirement,” says Senthil.
Nutpam’s 10-member team has expertise in scripting, modelling as well as programming for virtual reality.
Karthik Bavanandan, Co-founder of Nutpam
The early inspiration (and setbacks)
The founders say they were very inspired by Google and Facebook’s VR work. However, the team initially started off by offering 360-degree videography services for companies. But their common interest was VR technologies.
In 2016, when they were marketing their skills and looking for new projects, they were discovered by a client from Brazil. The project was about Human Anatomy VR training for medical students in Brazil. Hence, the trio bought their first VR hardware and began building modules, which they sold to the client in Brazil.
“For a year we were able to work on various 360 degree projects, and then we started using VR for companies,” says Senthil.
Simultaneously, they also started focusing at NGOs to deliver training and education to students using VR. Unfortunately, it did not work, and they ended up burning most of the money. Their first success came from one of the corporates, which asked the team to build a VR module to train employees to collaborate effectively. The results were good, and this deal proved to be lucky for Nutpam and it started making profits.
It is currently focusing on medical and industrial training with VR simulators. The founders claim that their unique selling proposition is integration of VR content, and leasing of VR headsets. The company presently competes with Tesseract, a Delhi-based startup which specialises in AR experiences.
The founders say it was challenging for them to find the right talent to build the technology, create image recognition, processing the content and regenerating a real world in the virtual world.
Senthil Sarguru, Co-founder of Nutpam
The training product
Nutpam’s product aims to simplify the effort for its clients and builds virtual reality-driven content for training. For example, it provides simulators to people to get used to machines in a thermal power plant, and avoids the risk of training them in a live thermal station.
“This kind of simulator-based training will make a huge impact on the society because it can take risks off industrial training, and make people perfect with their skills,” says Senthil.
Similarly, in healthcare, if a trainee doctor needs to understand the different cases of polyps that grows in the gut, it can be created using virtual reality and the doctors can be trained to insert an endoscope and guided to lift tissues for biopsy.
The company also operates in industrial training, facility management training and construction. Some of its prominent clients include L&T, Uber and Swiggy. Apart from India, it has clients in the US and Brazil.
The numbers game in VR
According to the founders, Nuptam is yet to gain substantial revenues as it believes the market for virtual reality will only pick up from 2020. The company’s revenue at present is less than Rs 50 lakh, said one of the founders. “Our revenue model is a services model. For any client who wants R&D services for VR, we manage that,” says Senthil.
The company has so far raised $500,000 from an undisclosed angel investor. It aims to double its clients by 2020, and plans to increase its revenues to Rs 3 crore or more and also turn profitable in the coming years.
According to research firm Statista, the VR industry is growing at a fast pace globally. The market for virtual reality hardware and software is projected to increase from $2.2 billion in 2017, to more than $19 billion by 2020.
The world of virtual reality is filled with opportunities as it is a new area of interest for corporates to train its employees, to connect with consumers and also build immersive content. As India is brimming with ideas about changing the nature of reality itself, it is only a matter of time before people end up living their digital avatars, and less of their human self.
Carrots cooked in alcohol may soon be a popular source of lasers.
Chennai :
Carrots cooked in alcohol may soon be a popular source of lasers. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have demonstrated the possibility of generating laser in an eco-friendly way, by using carrots as a lasing material, according to a statement issued by the institute.
The laser, generated through this technique, has immense potential in the field of bio-imaging.
Currently, the most common lasing materials, such as Indium-Gallium-Arsenic and Gallium-Nitrates, are manufactured using toxic chemical processes which are harmful to the environment. The new technique that the researchers have come up with uses just minimally processed carrots.“We fondly call this kitchen laser,” exclaimed Sivarama Krishnan, one of the guides of the research.
The research was undertaken by a team comprising Prof C Vijayan, Assistant Professor Sivarama Krishnan, and Venkata Siva Gummaluri, a PhD research scholar, from the Physics department of IIT-M.
The discovery itself was a result of the after-work-hours fun experiment, said Sivarama Krishnan. “We were pumping light through various organic materials and found that carrots have lasing properties. For example, we also tried orange juice and tomato juice,” he said. What set the humble carrot apart was the optically active bio-pigment called carotenoids present in the vegetable.
Although the fluorescence quantum yield of carotenoids is much less, compared to standard organic laser dyes, the vibrational spectra can be obtained even with extremely low concentrations of carotenoids, said Sivarama Krishnan. “We could easily increase the concentration of caretenoids on the surface of the carrots, by simply cooking it in alcohol. Then we pump light through a slice of the surface to get laser,” he said.
While the traditional polymers used were toxic and non-biodegradable, there has been search for more eco-friendly fluorescent polymers. In this search, the team looked at biological molecules as probable lasing sources.
Speaking about the importance of this research, Vijayan said, “There is now a move towards development of green, sustainable materials for various applications, including in photonics. The need for green photonic technologies is obvious in the current times where sustainability, bio-compatibility and degradability are of paramount importance.”
Carrots, in addition to having carotenoids, also have cellulose fibres that contribute to multiple scattering of photons and resultant optical amplification for Raman random lasing. The demonstration uses a process, first discovered by CV Raman, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.
The researchers plan to advance their research to make the material more commercially viable. Currently, this material has potential as it is natural, bio-compatible, safe to handle and highly reliable.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Sushmitha Ramkrishnan / Express News Service / February 05th, 2019
Chennai-born, US-based social entrepreneur and impact investor Kunal Sood talks about instigating further futurism via tech-vestments
Having spent the past 20 years of his life in the US, Kunal Sood, the Founder of X Fellows and Partner at X Impact Group, uses technology to drive change. A TED Resident and Ambassador to Singularity University NYC, the 41-year-old empowers entrepreneurs and innovators to turn their dreams into reality.
Kunal’s expertise ranges from psychology degrees to being a global health scientist to, of course, entrepreneurship. All this culminates in two important bodies: X Fellows and Novus Summit.
X Fellows, a privately-held community of entrepreneurs, is considered the inner-circle of innovators with companies.
Excerpts from an email interview:
Working with world leaders
My work with world leaders is primarily about building extraordinary citizens. The men and women shaping the future of our planet can find common ground around solving our global challenges.
People sometimes ask me ‘what do the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and the President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid have in common?’ I’ve been fortunate to play an important role in helping them unite around solving our world’s most urgent problems. Leaders that live their values in action help drive real-world results.
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Hear it from the leaders
As the founder and chairman of Novus Summit launched at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in 2016, Kunal has put the world’s most accomplished and exponential leaders together.
Such figures include Peter Diamandis, Anousheh Ansari and Astro Teller on stage, alongside tech titans like Sunil Mittal, Reid Hoffman and Marc Benioff.
Expect stories of transformation with a global audience of delegates representing 193 countries, consisting of Heads of State, UN Ambassadors and Youth Leaders.
While 2019’s summit on July 20 – to celebrate man’s landing on the moon – is invite-only, Kunal shares there will be a line-up of astronauts, influencers, artists, policy-makers and storytellers present.
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My hope is to make X Fellows and Novus Summit the pre-eminent gatherings at the UNGA, for exponential leaders to unite in action and work to achieve the 17 UN Global Goals.
The Indian influence
Growing up in Chennai was my toughest lesson in life early on, and given where I am today, the biggest blessing. My life, when I was around eight years old, shifted drastically, and I suffered both physically and mentally. While others excelled academically, I was left behind — often lost and without an understanding of why I was not able to keep pace.
My experience taught me how to relate to people with compassion and extraordinary resilience. India continually influences me because my late mentor Dr T J Cherian was a renowned cardiologist and served as a father figure in my life.
The birth of X Fellows
The idea of X Fellows was born out of the extraordinary courage of people like Dr Cherian. The programme was also born out of the need I see in the world to create a new league of extraordinary citizens. It is focused on the vision that we are all gifted, even when seemingly cursed.
Given the fast and accelerated pace at which exponential technology is outpacing our lives, I have learnt that the right community with sparking the right kinds of stories can bring about real impact. Together, they drive a sense of urgent action and offer a genuine opportunity to learn, connect and create something that is larger than us and truly extraordinary at its core.
We have entities such as Astro Teller of Google X, Anousheh Ansari of X Prize and Craig Hatkoff, founder of Tribeca Film Festival and Disruptors to name a few involved with X Fellows.
Tech talk
X Fellows is unique in technology because we believe in the power of mass customisation. Exponential technologies, be it Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, or life-saving drones, can help us design individual solutions at an unparalleled scale. For example, a child who needed a prosthetic limb 20 years ago would face a lifetime of extremely expensive, poor-fitting choices. Today, tailor-made solutions are available at a fraction of the cost.
Sustainable solutions that are customised to the individual experience is where humanity is heading. By 2020, IDC analysts expect 3D printing global revenues to exceed $35 billion. It is human nature to want to create something that improves your life.
Human beings by nature are drawn to stories. Novus gives the youth a voice, as much as we give our elders a platform to share practical wisdom.
(As told to Akila Kannadasan)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Internet / by Akila Kannadasan / February 04th, 2019
N. Ram launches Vizhithezhu project, an initiative by ESOINDIA in Chennai on Sunday. B. Jothi Ramalinga | Photo Credit: B_JOTHI RAMALINGAM
ESOINDIA conducts fundraiser music programme
Vizhithezhu, an initiative to create awareness about stomach and food pipe cancer and suicide prevention at the district, taluk and village-levels was launched on Sunday by Chennai-based ESOINDIA.
Launching the project at a fundraiser music programme for ESOINDIA at Kalaivanar Arangam, N. Ram, Chairman, THG Publishing Private Limited said when one wanted to achieve a social objective , creating awareness was the key. The media had an important role in creating awareness on the two issues, he said.
Appreciating the work of ESOINDIA founder S.M. Chandramohan, he said he was a humanist and his was evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Chandramohan said the organisation aimed at helping those with gastroesophagal disorders, especially cancers and those who had consumed acid.
“For a doctor, the happiest thing is to see his patients hale and hearty. We see patients who have ingested acid and are unable to eat or swallow even their own saliva,” he said.
Tears of joy
Cancer survivor Roopavani said she had gone to Dr. Chandramohan after she had lost all hope. Now, she leads a normal life with her grandchildren. Mukilan, who had consumed acid, said he shed tears of joy when he had the first morsel of food after 13 long months. Film director Agathiyan said: “There is no life without failure.” M. Kanagavel, secretary ESOINDIA said in February 2020, the organisation would conduct the Asia Pacific Gastro Esophagal Cancer Congress. Prizes were distributed to students who took part in an essay contest as part of World Cancer Day. Doctors Rema Chandramohan and Nalini Krishnan, who is also Co-Chairperson of Kasturi & Sons, Mohan Rajan, Sujatha Mohan, and Poongothai; and actors Varalakshmi and Sathish were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – January 28th, 2019
Vice-Chancellor, MSU, K. Baskar, middle, and Senior Finance Officer, Software Technology Parks of India, Devekara Venkanna, exchanging MoU documents in Tirunelveli on Thursday. | Photo Credit: t
Signs an MoU with STPI, New Delhi
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University’s long cherished dream of setting up the Information Technology Incubation Centre on its premises has finally been realised.
A Memorandum of Understanding with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), New Delhi, for setting up an Information Technology Incubation Centre to cater to the needs of the young entrepreneurs in this region by providing an extent of three acres of land on the Universitycampus was signed on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Vice-Chancellor K. Baskar and Senior Finance Officer, STPI, Devekara Venkanna, STPI in the presence of Registrar, Dr. S. Santhosh Baboo.
Based on the MoU, the STPI will soon invest around ₹ 30 crore for creating infrastructure, export of computer software, IT-enabled services including export of professional services and electronic hardware.
The MoU will facilitate the students of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University to train themselves on a par with the industry standards using the IT Incubation Centre. It will further help to start new IT companies inside the campus which will eventually create the job opportunity to the students.
Though the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University planned to establish the IT Incubation Centre on its premises quite long back, the land required for the venture could not be allotted to STPI. The reason was that there was no separate patta in the name of the University for its 546.98 acre in the Abhishekapatti campus that still belonged to the Department of Animal Husbandry, the actual owner of the land.
Following the steps taken by Dr. Baskar, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University recently received patta for the entire 546.98 acres of its Abishekapatti campus after paying ₹11.50 crore to Department of Animal Husbandry and Live Stock that subsequently paved way for signing of MoU with STPI, New Delhi, a Ministry of Information and Communication’s venture.
The 3 acres of land will be used by the STPI for a lease period of 30 years to run the IT Incubation Centre primarily for the development of young students residing in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts with employable qualities and transform them into entrepreneurs.
Moreover, young entrepreneurs and people across the country can also utilize the facilities by setting up their own companies at the IT Incubation Centre of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Special Correspondent / Tirunelveli – January 24th, 2019
The doctors performed Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), a minimally invasive surgical procedure that repairs the valve without removing the old, damaged valve on two senior citizens.
Chennai :
Another feather has been added to the cap of the Tamil Nadu Government’s Multi Super-Specialty Hospital at the Omandurar Estate with the private doctors performing advanced heart surgery, first-of-its-kind procedure, on two senior citizens in the government sector hospitals in the State recently.
The State Health Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2018 with paediatric cardiologist Dr Neville Solomon and interventional cardiologist Dr A B Gopalmurugan, who head the Heart Team India, to perform the advanced procedure at government hospitals for the initiative.
The doctors performed Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), a minimally invasive surgical procedure that repairs the valve without removing the old, damaged valve on two senior citizens at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super-Speciality Hospital at the Omandurar Estate on November 16.
“The State Health Department signed MoU with Heart Team India to perform the procedure and it is an initiative of Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar,” said Dr V Anandakumar, Nodal Officer, Tamil Nadu Multi Super-Specialty Hospital.
Speaking to Express, Dr Gopalmurugan said, “So far it was limited to private hospitals only. Now things have changed with the procedure performed at the Government Multi Super-Speciality Hospital at the Omandurar Estate,” he added.
“In conventional procedure, the main valve aortic valve is replaced by an open heart procedure, but in TAVI, the new valve is implanted in the place of old valve through a blood vessel. Just like stenting,” Dr Gopalmurugan explained the procedure.
“The procedure is generally done for people beyond the age of 60 here. But, it can be performed on anybody who needs aortic valve replacement from low-risk group to medium-risk group for open heart surgery. Though in other countries open heart procedures were almost stopped and shifted to minimally invasive procedures, in India still open heart procedures are being done,” said Dr Gopalmurugan.
“This advanced procedure was only available at private hospitals, but with the initiative taken, it has reached even the poor. It is performed under the Chief Minister Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme,” he said. “The procedure was performed on two senior citizen, one from Rajapalayam and other from Erode. The patients were doing well and discharged subsequently,” Dr Anandakumar told Express.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / January 14th, 2019
