Kochi: People who go for a CT scan or x-ray at hospitals and diagnostic centres in Kerala may be atserious radiation risk as many medical institutions in the state use junk X-ray tubes and CT scan machines that are discarded by Europe and the US.
Radiation devices,mainly X-ray tubes,whose fiveyear life term has expired,are being imported to Kerala in large numbersfrom theUS and Europe.Such devices cause serious health hazards.
We have alerted theAtomic Energy Regulatory Board about the import of poor quality radiation devices and itisup totheboardtotake a final call on permitting import of such devices, a senior official in the state health and family welfare department,who requested anonymity,said.
Following expert advice,the state government has decided to set up a Directorate of Radiation Safety (DRS ) to conduct quality check on all radiation devices used in hospitals and other institutions.This is the first time that such a body is being set up in the country.
Preliminary probes have revealed that the majority of imported devices are banned in the US and Europe due to high radiation risk, the official said.
According to data available with the state government,there are 2,500 centres in the state,which use over 6,000 radiation devices,including dental Xray,for diagnostic purposes.The government has decided to act on its own to check the quality of the radiation devices.In another two months time,the state will have DRS to check the quality and radiation level of the devices installed at all diagnostic centres and hospitals in the state, said DRS director-designate K A Davis.
Currently,a few private agencies are conducting quality checkof radiation devices.But they enter into an unholy nexus with diagnostic centres to issue certificates.The DRS will conduct a mandatory periodic quality check of the devices at all hospitals and diagnostic centres.Above all,centres planning to install new devices should get it approved from the DRS after a spot inspection, Davis explained.
Cell phones and fl ashlights operate by battery without trouble. Yet because of the limited lifespan, battery power is not a feasible option for many applications in the fields of medicine or test engineering, such as implants or probes. Researchers have now developed a process that supplies these systems with power and without the power cord.
For more than 50 years, pacemakers have set the rhythm for many hearts. The engineering of microelectronic implants has since advanced by leaps and bounds: they have become ever-smaller and more technologically sophisticated. The trend is moving toward miniaturized, intelligent systems that will take over therapeutic and diagnostic functions. For example, in the future implantable sensors will measure glucose levels, blood pressure or the oxygen saturation of tumorous tissue, transmitting patient data via telemetry. Meanwhile, medication dosing systems and infusion pumps will be able to deliver a targeted release of pharmaceutical substances in the body, alleviating side effects in the process.
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a novel device to continuously and systematically monitor the dynamics of premature babies’ breathing. The small, noninvasive device dubbed “Pneumonitor,” makes possible the early detection of respiratory problems, allowing for preventative care before the onset of complications. The findings were published in the January issue of Intensive Care Medicine.
Dr. Danny Waisman of the Technion Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Carmel Medical Center and Prof. Amir Landesberg of the Technion Department of Biomedical Engineering, the device’s developers, say the device has been already been tested on animals in different disease models – including asthma and respiratory tract disorders.
Sridevi Sarma’s research focuses on a system with three components: electrodes implanted in the brain, which are connected by wires to a neurostimulator or battery pack, and a sensing device, also located in the brain implant, which detects when a seizure is starting and activates the current to stop it. (Credit: Illustration by Greg Stanley/JHU)
Epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide, but in a third of these cases, medication cannot keep seizures from occurring. One solution is to shoot a short pulse of electricity to the brain to stamp out the seizure just as it begins to erupt. But brain implants designed to do this have run into a stubborn problem: too many false alarms, triggering unneeded treatment. To solve this, Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers have devised new seizure detection software that, in early testing, significantly cuts the number of unneeded pulses of current that an epilepsy patient would receive.
Shobhit University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, has invited applications from eligible candidates for admission into the following Under Graduate (UG) & Post Graduate (PG) programmes in Biomedical Engineering, to be offered in the ensuing session 2012.
M Tech (Master of Technology) – 2 years Biomedical Engineering
Note: Lateral entry to some of the courses is available. For more details, candidates can visit the University’s official website: http://www.shobhituniversity.ac.in/
How to Apply
Interested candidates can download their desired course application form from the University’s official website: http://www.shobhituniversity.ac.in/. All applications for academic programs must be made on the prescribed Application Form and sent along with a DD of non-refundable processing charge (given on the website). The DD (for the applicable amount) should be made in favor of Shobhit University, payable at Meerut. For more details about admission, eligibility criteria and application procedure, candidates are advised to visit the University’s aforementioned official website or contact the below:
Kochi: People who go for a CT scan or x-ray at hospitals and diagnostic centres in Kerala may be atserious radiation risk as many medical institutions in the state use junk X-ray tubes and CT scan machines that are discarded by Europe and the US.
Cell phones and fl ashlights operate by battery without trouble. Yet because of the limited lifespan, 
