Latest news with #SCTIMST
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Sree Chitra to explore link between indoor air pollution, heart health
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over the next year, 200 heart patients in Kerala will sleep with a drum-sized cylindrical air purifier beside their beds. This is part of a major study being undertaken by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to explore the link between indoor air pollution and heart health. The air purifiers -- supplied by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi -- will continuously monitor indoor air quality even as clinicians track each patient's heart condition. The goal: to understand whether cleaner indoor air can reduce complications in people suffering from heart failure. The Kerala-based project is part of a larger multi-centre research initiative involving AIIMS, New Delhi, and the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, in Punjab -- regions known for far worse air quality than Kerala. Funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study is significant as cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in India. 'Air pollution is not just a city or traffic issue. Indoor air, where people spend a majority of their time, can be just as hazardous, especially for those with heart failure,' Dr Harikrishnan S, principal investigator and professor of cardiology at SCTIMST, told TNIE. 'This study asks a crucial question: can reducing indoor air pollution improve outcomes for patients with heart failure?' Each home will be equipped with one of two types of purifiers, distributed randomly. One has a basic bacterial filter while the other comes with both bacterial and dust filters. The devices will measure pollutants from environmental sources and household practices such as cooking. 'Patients will return for clinical review every three months, during which doctors will assess changes in their heart function, specifically the heart's pumping efficiency,' Dr Harikrishnan said. A baseline reading from a central monitor installed at SCTIMST will help interpret the data collected by the homebased machines.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
How does air pollution affect heart? Sree Chitra to find out with purifiers
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over the next year, 200 heart patients in Kerala will sleep with a drum-sized cylindrical air purifier beside their beds. This is part of a major study being undertaken by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to explore the link between indoor air pollution and heart health. The air purifiers -- supplied by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi -- will continuously monitor indoor air quality even as clinicians track each patient's heart condition. The goal: to understand whether cleaner indoor air can reduce complications in people suffering from heart failure. The Kerala-based project is part of a larger multi-centre research initiative involving AIIMS, New Delhi, and the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, in Punjab -- regions known for far worse air quality than Kerala. Funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study is significant as cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in India. 'Air pollution is not just a city or traffic issue. Indoor air, where people spend a majority of their time, can be just as hazardous, especially for those with heart failure,' Dr Harikrishnan S, principal investigator and professor of cardiology at SCTIMST, told TNIE. 'This study asks a crucial question: can reducing indoor air pollution improve outcomes for patients with heart failure?' Each home will be equipped with one of two types of purifiers, distributed randomly. One has a basic bacterial filter while the other comes with both bacterial and dust filters. The devices will measure pollutants from environmental sources and household practices such as cooking. 'Patients will return for clinical review every three months, during which doctors will assess changes in their heart function, specifically the heart's pumping efficiency,' Dr Harikrishnan said. A baseline reading from a central monitor installed at SCTIMST will help interpret the data collected by the homebased machines.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
SCTIMST launches multi-centric study on air pollution and heart health
The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has launched a new study o explore whether cleaner indoor air can lead to better health outcomes for heart failure patients. Air pollution is increasingly being recognised as a serious threat to heart health, contributing to heart failure and other cardiovascular conditions. Higher levels of ambient air pollution, especially particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM 2.5) are specifically placed as a serious environmental risk factor for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Other pollutants that increase cardiovascular risk include nitrogen oxides (NOx), and ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide and black carbon Both short and long term exposure are linked to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases-related mortality, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and stroke. Air pollution is often seen as a problem of cities and traffic, but indoor air pollution is equally dangerous, especially in their own homes, where people spend most of their time. For patients with heart failure who are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors, breathing cleaner air could significantly reduce complications, hospitalisations, and even deaths. SCTIMST study to explore whether cleaner indoor air can lead to better health outcomes is being carried out in collaboration with partners in India and the U.S. Indo–US collaborative This research is part of the Indo–US collaborative agreement on environmental and occupational health and focuses on one key question: Can reducing indoor air pollution improve the health of people with heart failure? The study is being carried out at three major medical centres in the country- the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; Dayanand Medical College (DMC), Ludhiana; and SCTIMST, Thiruvananthapuram. Some of the dangerous indoor air pollutants include nitrogen dioxides (commonly produced by gas stoves and heaters) and carbon monoxide (produced by home appliances without proper air vents or when burning fuels), both of which can be quite harmful for patients with heart failure or other cardiovascular disease. As part of the study, air purifiers have already been installed in the houses of 10 heart patients in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. The plan is to expand this number and install a total of 200 air purifiers in patients' houses across these districts. Wide-reaching implications This study could have wide-reaching public health implications for it could lead to new guidelines for managing heart failure, with an emphasis on the importance of air quality at home. It may be informative for national health policies, making air purifiers a potential part of patient care for high-risk groups, according to Harikrishnan S., Professor of Cardiology, who is the the Principal Investigator of the study. The co-investigators are Jeemon Panniyammakal, G. Sanjay and Jyothi Vijay. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in India, innovative, evidence-based interventions are urgently needed. Exploring the connection between clean air and cardiac health could be the first step towards this, they said.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Sree Chitra transfers Parkinson's care tech to industry partners
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has transferred five advanced medical technologies to industry partners, paving the way for their commercial production and broader clinical use. Among the developments is a Deep Brain Stimulator, an implantable device designed to manage movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Developed by a multidisciplinary team from SCTIMST in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the device offers a cost-effective, indigenous alternative to imported stimulators. Another major innovation is a chitosan-based wound dressing sponge, intended for the treatment of chronic and infected wounds. The dressing delivers antibiotics directly to the site of infection, neutralises free radicals, and promotes faster healing while reducing the risk of systemic toxicity associated with oral or injectable antibiotics. The institute has also developed a small-scale plasma fractionation technique that enables the extraction of four critical proteins—fibrinogen, thrombin, albumin, and immunoglobulin—from blood plasma. These proteins can be used in specific combinations to aid blood clotting and manage immune-related conditions. Additionally, SCTIMST has created a device to transfer laboratory mice without causing stress. The Mice Transfer and Enrichment Box is designed to improve animal welfare standards in laboratory environments. The technologies have been licenced to various companies for commercial development. The Deep Brain Stimulator has been transferred to Shree Pacetronix Ltd in Madhya Pradesh. Intracranial and subdural electrodes, along with the plasma protein extraction technology, have been handed over to Synapticore Technology Pvt Ltd. The chitosan-based wound dressing has been transferred to Vranova Biotech Pvt Ltd in Mumbai.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Sree Chitra completes six new tech transfers
Thiruvananthapuram: The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences (SCTIMST), which has a long history of technology transfers and commercialisation of medical devices and biomaterials, made six new technological transfers, including a deep brain stimulator. The indigenous development of a deep brain stimulator is for managing movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia. The project was initiated with support from the technical research centre of the department of science and technology, Govt of India. Another technology transfer made is the "mice transfer and enrichment box-tunnel system with securing gates." Laboratory mice constitute over 87% of the total laboratory animals used in research. The test results using this system show that it can not only reduce stress during handling and cage shifting of animals but also act as an enrichment material inside the cage to reduce fighting behaviour and other unwanted behaviour observed in laboratory mice. The "plasma proteins fibrinogen, thrombin albumin and IVIG" technology is a small-scale fractionation of plasma to obtain four plasma proteins: Fibrinogen, Thrombin, Albumin, and Immunoglobulin. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Fibrinogen concentrate and thrombin are two major proteins of blood plasma. It has enormous potential in the preparation of wound healing matrices, tissue adhesives, and haemostats. Albumin is used as a replacement therapy in cases where blood volume loss occurs, liver diseases, and cancer. Two main uses for IVIG are as replacement therapy in primary or acquired antibody deficiency disorders and as immunomodulatory agents in patients with autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, and it has enormous potential. The "intracranial and subdural electrodes" technology are critical tools in neurology essential for electrocorticography and targeted cortical stimulation. But globally sourced electrodes are prohibitively expensive, limiting access in many parts of the world. To address this need, an indigenous development initiative was launched. The "chitosan-based antioxidant polymeric wound dressings for controlled antibiotic delivery" is an advanced wound care material intended for treating chronic and infected wounds. The last technology transfer made was on the reference materials for biological evaluations. For meeting the regulatory requirements in biocompatibility evaluations, as per international standards ISO 10993, a proof of concept project under TRC was completed at calibration cell, SCTIMST, for the development and standardisation of in-house reference biomaterials.
