AIAARO Tamilnadu Chapter Inaugurated
Chief Controller (Research and Development) of DRDO A. Sivathanu Pillai (third left) hands over a copy of a booklet on obesity to president of the All India Association for Advancing Research of Obesity Raman Goel (second left) in Coimbatore on Sunday. Nano surgery, wherein surgeons on earth can operate on a person on the moon through robotic surgery, may become a reality because of the rapid pace of technological advances in medical science, Chief Controller (Research and Development) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) A. Sivanthanu Pillai said here on Sunday.Dr. Pillai was speaking on “Emerging Technologies in Healthcare” after inaugurating the Tamil Nadu Chapter of the All India Association for Advancing Research of Obesity (AIAARO) at V.G. Hospital here. He also released a booklet on obesity. “The man in space will have a nano robot doing the surgery on him. It can be operated from Coimbatore by a surgeon. DNA repair, nano diagnostics are areas in which research is on,” he said. The DRDO’s programmes for defence had many spin-offs that had contributed to the growth of medical science in the country. Titanium prostheses, cochlear implant, pace makers and cardiac stents were some of the benefits. A technology used to detect submarines could be used for detecting persons trapped under debris.
A Society for Bio-medical Technology had been formed to discuss research that would cater to the needs of the medical field in the country. Apart from the DRDO, the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Welfare were a part of it. The requirements were discussed with the Union Health Ministry. Dr. Pillai said all these efforts were to ensure that science and technology met the needs of society. President of the AIAARO Raman Goel said obesity was a major problem in the country. As much as 60 per cent of the population in big cities was overweight. Surveys in schools in New Delhi showed that 30 per cent of the affluent students were overweight. Both these figures were on a par with those in the U.S.
A local model to contain this problem should be developed and this called for research. Dr. Goel lamented that not many organisations offered to do research though the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) had Rs.45,000 crore. “The ICMR has simplified its procedures to apply for research. So, more organisations should come forward to make use of the funds,” he said. Vice-President of the State chapter of the AIAARO P.K. Reddy, secretary of the association and Director of V.G. Hospital V. Venkatesh and other office-bearers spoke.
