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Metha Short Stem For Young Arthritis Patients
Bbraun India launched Metha Short Stem - new hip implant with modular neck
option to reconstruct anatomical hip joint on August 19, 2007 at P D Hinduja
National Hospital, Mumbai. Dr. Sanjay Agarwala, Joint Replacement and Spine
Surgery Specialist, P D Hinduja National Hospital unveiled the product for a
gathering of orthopaedic surgeons, where distinguished speakers from the field
of joint replacement share their views. Speaking on the occasion, he said that
the stem with large heads would definitely benefit the young patients with
indications to Total Hip Replacement (THR).
Dr. Kiran Kharat, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune said
that Metha Short Stem represented the future of THR surgery where more bone is
conserved, smaller incisions are required and the patients is ambulated very
early. "The modularity in the implant allows its applications in any deformity
and the implant is inserted without cement! It is born out of well validated
research from Europe and early results are very encouraging," he added.
Dr. Feldmann, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Germany one of the brains behind the
design of the product was also present at the foundation. He shared his
experience of Metha Short Stem in Germany and discussed the design rationale of
Metha stem with early results. He later performed live surgery at the venu along
with Dr. Agrawala for the benefit of the gathered eminent surgeons.
(Ref: Modern Medicare September, 2007)
Medical Equipment Companies Make A Beeline For India
In a bid to tap the booming healthcare market, global medical equipment
manufacturers are now setting up plants in India. While companies such as Aloka
Science and Humanity of Japan and Starkey of the US have recently set up their
units, others like Philips Medical Equipment are scouting for partners.
Japanese ultrasound manufacturer Aloka has entered into a 60:40 joint venture
with Chennai-based Trivitron. The joint venture will invest Rs 50 crore and
manufacture 1,000 ultrasound equipment annually. Trivitron said it would soon
form similar joint ventures with 3-4 more foreign companies to manufacture
various medical equipment with an investment of Rs 250 crore in a medical
equipment manufacturing park in Chennai.
In the past six months, Japanese opthalmist company Hoya, Nova India of
Brazil and Chinese company Mind Ray have set up assembly units in India. Niche
player Starkey, the No 1 hearing aid maker in the US, has also set up a
manufacturing unit in India "As there is a good demand, companies can now break
even in 2-3 years, compared with 8-10 years some years ago. It is now much more
viable for companies to set up units in India," said Starkey India managing
director Rohit Misra. However, all these units will mostly manufacture low or
middle level segment products and require relatively small investments.
Currently, India’s medical equipment market, including small devices, is
estimated to be Rs 2,500 crore. It is growing at 10% but is expected to increase
to 15-20% in the next couple of years. About 80-90% of the medical equipment
used in the country are imported. Industry officials said once global companies
started full-scale manufacturing in India, prices of medical products could fall
15-50%. Hospitals spend a large chunk of their investment in procuring
equipment. In the case of top speciality hospitals, medical equipment account
for as much as 35% of their total capital investment.
GE has a tie-up with Wipro, which manufactures diagnostic equipment in India.
Philips Medical Equipment has said it is looking for suitable partner to start
manufacturing in India. "The country has never seen such kind of growth.
Companies, which want to cash in on the boom, would like to be close to the
centre of action than just depend on imports. The country’s healthcare industry
could see a boom similar to the one it is witnessing in the auto sector today,"
said Philips Medical Equipment senior director (Indian Sub-continent) Anjan
Bose.
US-based healthcare IT and technology provider PekinElmer Inc is also looking
for partners to develop its products in India. "Besides the cost advantage, the
Indian healthcare industry is a large market and has the right skill set. We
plan to make India the centre of our exports to unregulated markets such as the
Middle East, Asia and Africa," said the company’s chairman and CEO, Gregory L
Summe. However, he added that the company would develop its sophisticated
equipment for regulated markets such as the US and the UK from its global
centres.
(Ref: Economic Times dated 20, September 2007)
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