The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi is set to collaborate with Osaka University, Japan, to establish a National Centre for Medical Device Development, Validation, and Skill Training in Jhajjar, Haryana. This initiative aligns with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ programme and aims to significantly reduce the country's reliance on imported medical devices, which currently account for nearly 70% of the market.  The centre will provide a platform for Indian surgeons, physicians, and biomedical engineers to conceptualise, design, develop, and test medical device prototypes. The facility is expected to play a critical role in enhancing the development of medical technologies tailored to the needs of Indian healthcare professionals, allowing for testing on animals and human cadavers.  

Dr Hemanga K Bhattacharjee, Professor of Surgical Disciplines, AIIMS, highlighted the importance of this initiative, noting that despite the ‘Make in India’ policy, the majority of medical devices are still imported from developed countries. The collaboration between AIIMS and Osaka University has been ongoing for two years, during which several AIIMS faculty members have visited Osaka for training. The AIIMS administration has now requested a budget of Rs 3 billion from the Union Health Ministry, with the land for the centre already finalised and the government providing in-principle approval.  A delegation from AIIMS, led by Dr Bhattacharjee and including specialists, scientists, and technical officers, met with a Japanese delegation to discuss advanced technological research and hands-on experience in prototype conceptualisation, computer-assisted design, 3D printing, and manufacturing. The Japanese delegation, led by Dr Kiyokazu Nakajima, Professor in the Department of Next Generation Endoscopic Intervention at Osaka University, also visited the proposed site for the centre at AIIMS Delhi’s Jhajjar campus.  Dr Bhattacharjee noted that AIIMS has had a research-focused Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Osaka University for the past decade, but the partnership is now advancing to include infrastructure development and the creation of medical devices under the ‘Make in India’ scheme. He emphasised the need to establish an ecosystem where surgeons, engineers, and doctors can collaborate to address unmet clinical needs, and design and develop new technologies. The goal is to create a single-window solution that fosters innovation, research, and development in the medical device sector. (IE)