Cosmetic surgery to get affordable as VNIT researchers develops implants

The Times of India | Snehlata Shrivastav | TNN | Oct 23, 2016 |

Nagpur: If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives its approval, four different types of implants will soon be manufactured in the city. A group of researchers from the mechanical engineering department at the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), with the support of some city doctors, have formed ULPS Silicon Implant Pvt Ltd. It will manufacture implants for nose, chin, cheek, breast and a T-tube to open windpipes.  The start-up venture will be incubated at the Centre for Innovation at VNIT (CIVN) before moving out as an independent entity.  “Over the last year, we developed the basic technology to make these implants. With a few modifications we can begin manufacturing in about a year in the CIVN as per FDA norms . The team has conducted a market survey and is expecting good demand for all the implants. As 70-75% of implants are imported, these can fetch us good revenue,” said Rashmi Uddanwadiker, assistant professor and project supervisor.

Except for the T-tube, all other implants have cosmetic purpose. The T-tube was developed with the support and guidance of head and neck surgeon Dr Madan Kapre. “This is used to open the windpipe and restore normal breathing. The T-tube is then pulled out and the opening is closed,” said Uddanwadiker.  The VNIT team that developed these and few other biomedical tools includes Piyush Ukey, Chetan Kuthe, Rahul M R, Saurabh Bagde, Nikhil Adhe, and Apurva Sharan. It had the support of ENT surgeons Dr S N Lulay and Dr Prashant Naik and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Alankar Ramteke.

The engineers have also developed forceps to be used in osteotomy or surgical cutting of a bone and have patented the technology. “The first of its kind forceps will replace the use of chisel and hammer to correct any bone deformity in the nasal bone. It reduces surgery time for doctors, simplifies the osteotomy process thereby reducing the surgical trauma to patients,” said Lulay.  VNIT has identified a Mumbai-based company to manufacture the forceps and is in the process of technology transfer. The project was funded by the Biomedical Engineering and Technology (incubation) Centre (BETiC), a multidisciplinary and multi-institution project.   The engineering team has also developed a model of the human temporal bone which is used for academic purposes. Uddanwadiker said that it is the first such model with very fine details of the temporal bone. “The real size bone has been developed using 3D printing technology and is a very useful dissection training tool,” said Naik.  The mechanical engineers have developed a software for non-invasive evaluation of muscle strength in patients. “The software is unique and can help athletes improve their game,” said Ramteke. – Courtesy