This Indian-made machine costs only a quarter of imported electric defibrillators
On World Heart Day, a team of innovators in Pune have revealed a hand-cranked defibrillator, which can save cardiac arrest patients when there is no electricity. A defibrillator is a medical device that delivers a dose of electric current to the heart.
This low-cost device, which can be powered up in 12 seconds by rotating a small hand paddle, can be a life saver in regions where electricity is scarce. Defibrillators powered by electricity are common in airports and hospitals, but this Indian-made machine costs only a quarter of imported electric defibrillators.
"We have developed the world's first hand-cranked defibrillator that would be useful in places that do not have reliable electric supply," said Ashish Gawade, director of Jeevtronics Private Limited.
Mr Gawade and his team were inspired by management guru CK Prahalad to develop this device in four years.
"From the social impact point of view we want to cut the death rate due to heart attacks by three or four times, bringing it to levels similar to developed countries," said Mr Gawade.
According to the 2016 report of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 17.64 million deaths were caused by cardiovascular diseases globally. With 2.75 million of these occurring in India, the country is fast becoming the world capital of heart attacks.
GBD data shows ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in India, with a 53 per cent increase in cases since 2005. For women alone, there has been a 56 per cent jump since 2005.