Wipro GE Healthcare Strengthens Its Commitment To India; Inks Partnerships In Medical Technology Research And Skill Development To Support Ayushman Bharat

MoU with Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) for the development of an Indigenous 1.5T MRI system

 GE Healthcare and SAMEER (an R&D unit under Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Govt of India) will collaborate on research, design and development of a MRI Platform to include whole-body MRI, portable MRI and digital, to increase access to MRI technology in India. GE Healthcare has provided a magnet (one of the most critical components) around which a prototype is being designed. 

 GE Healthcare will also provide SAMEER training on MRI technology and support the benchmarking of various subsystems, including gradient & radiofrequency amplifiers, coils, spectrometer and imaging software. The two partners will also collaborate to develop AI and machine learning based solutions.  

 Commenting on the partnership, Kieran Murphy, President and CEO, GE Healthcare said, “GE Healthcare has decades of know-how on MRI technology which is one of the most advanced and complex form of medical imaging. We are delighted to share this expertise, and partner with SAMEER in this exciting journey that will significantly enhance India’s capability and competitiveness in the field of medical technology. This program is strongly aligned with the Government’s vision to boost research and ‘Make in India’, and will support Ayushman Bharat through availability of cutting-edge, yet affordable MRI technology.” 

This program is part of Scan Era - a national mission program launched by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Govt of India for indigenous development of MRI. The program is funded by the Government of India under the Hon. Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ initiative and SAMEER has received a first-round funding of $6.5 million to build the first prototype. 

 GE Healthcare, a pioneer in medical technology started manufacturing in India in 1990. Today, many high-end subsystems such as X-ray tubes, high voltage generators, MR Amplifiers, power supplies and coils are manufactured in GE Healthcare’s three plants in India. India is also a CoE for MR electronics and high voltage generators for X-ray tubes. Leveraging these capabilities, GEHC will start to assemble, and test fully finished MR cabinets fitted with power supplies and gradient amplifiers which are made in India.

 Skilling is a critical part of any sustainable healthcare system. Availability of skilled resources will also be critical to the success of the Ayushman Bharat program. This partnership will empower women by training 5000 community health workers and will be accelerating our ongoing skill creation initiative by training 3000 underprivileged young people in 2019. It will also help strengthen the HSSC partner network through use of GE Healthcare’s digital learning technologies. 

HSSC is a not-for-profit, non-statutory, certifying organization under the ambit of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Council has been promoted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, National Skills Development Corporation and healthcare industry leaders representing both public and private sector. The key objective of the Council is to create a robust and vibrant ecosystem for quality vocational education & skill development in healthcare space in the country.