BETiC
BETIC based at Indian [Institute of Technology Bombay] is an inter-disciplinary multi-institution initiative for medical device innovation. Established in 2014 with support from the government of Maharashtra, it comprises a network of 14 engineering and medical institutes across the state. The BETIC team have developed 50 medical devices as of 2019, and licensed 20 of them to startup companies or industry for mass production.
History
BETIC has its origins in a study conducted by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, which concluded with a brainstorming meeting at Sahyadri Guest House, Mumbai in Dec 2009. This was attended by about 25 representatives of government, academia and medical community, who unanimously recommended setting up a center for indigenous development of affordable medical devices.The study was funded by Rajiv Gandhi Science & Technology Commission, government of Maharashtra. Its chairperson Dr. Anil Kakodkar invited IIT Bombay to develop a proposal for incubating a biomedical engineering and technology center based on hub-and-spoke model. This was approved in April 2014 as a five-year project, with a mandate to develop 12 different medical devices and train 50 innovators. BETIC started functioning from OrthoCAD lab in IIT Bombay in early 2015, followed by two satellite centers established at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and College of Engineering, Pune.
In the next three years, another four engineering institutes and four medical institutes set up self-funded BETIC cells in collaboration with the first three centers. The of Maharashtra approached IIT Bombay to set up three more BETIC cells in government hospitals; this agreement was exchanged in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadanavis in February 2019 at Sahyadri guest house, the same place where the first meeting took place ten years earlier. Andhra Pradesh Med Tech Zone, Visakhapatnam and Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad also signed agreements with IIT Bombay for collaboration with BETIC.
At the 5th annual review, symposium and expo of BETIC held at IIT Bombay on 12–13 April 2019, over 100 stakeholders representing the government, academia, medical community, startups, industry and investors discussed how to sustain, replicate and scale up the healthcare innovation eco-system.
Centers and key people
BETIC network comprises one main center, two satellite centers, four cells in engineering institutes and seven cells in medical institutes. The centers and their respective founders are listed here.Main center
The center has facilities for 3D scanning, CAD/CAM, 3D printing in biocompatible plastic and metal, printed circuit board design and fabrication, and basic mechanical testing. It is managed by Dr. Bhanupratap Gaur, Senior Research Scientist.Satellite centers
- College of Engineering, Shivajinagar, Pune
- Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur
Engineering institute cells
- KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai
- MIT Art, [Design and Technology University|MIT Art, Design & Technology University], Pune
- Symbiosis International University, Lavale, Pune
- College of Engineering Nagpur|G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering], Nagpur
Medical institute cells
- P.D. [Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre], Mumbai
- Grant Medical College and [Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals|Grant Govt. Medical College & JJ Hospital], Mumbai
- Haffkine Institute of Training, Research & Testing, Mumbai
- MGM Institute of Health Sciences, Navi Mumbai
- B.J. Medical College & Sassoon Hospital, Pune
- Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha
- BKL Walwalkar Rural Hospital, Dervan, Chiplun
Innovation process
The Centre organizes Medical Device Hackathon during weekends in July, and week-long Medical Device Innovation Camp in September. Participants include final year students, entrepreneurs, working professionals, teachers and incubation managers. Inter-disciplinary teams of four people are formed, one each from medical, design, electronics and mechanical backgrounds. They select problems from a curated list prepared in consultation with hospitals, evolve novel solution concepts, fabricate proof-of-concepts, and present them to a jury panel. Eight MEDHA and five MEDIC organized during 2015-2019 had more than 700 participants in total. Several winners joined BETIC full-time for developing and commercializing the products; most of them incubated startup companies.
The innovation process of BETIC received ISO 13485 certification of quality management system for medical devices, in 2018.
Products and partners
Medical devices developed by BETIC researchers span different medical specialties and risk classes, including medical diagnosis devices, surgical instruments, implants and prostheses. Sixteen products were licensed to startup companies incubated by the innovators, and six were developed for industry partners.Startup venture products
- Orthopedic surgery planner - AlgoSurg Products
- Smart stethoscope module - Ayu Devices
- Diabetic foot screener - Ayati Devices
- Stance-controlled knee ankle foot orthosis - Aumeesh Tech
- Flexible burr - Aur Innovations
- Endo-tracheal blockage detector - Atmen Technovention
- Menstrual cup - Care Form Labs
- Automatic suturing - Denovo Bioinnovations
- Patient-specific bone scaffolds - Lucid Implants
- Hybrid plaster splint - MediAsha Technologies
- Burn patient isolation unit - Medgyor
- Artificial temporal bone - Nu Ossa Mediquip
- Glaucoma screener - OKO Icare Solutions
- Skin spray gun - Pacify Medical
- Maxillofacial surgery guides - Precisurg
- Jaw relation recorder - Prosthocentric
Industry partner products
- Clubfoot brace monitor - Metwiz Materials
- Multi-use biopsy gun - Tenon Meditech
- Laparoscopy instrument - Eclipse Instrumentation
- Nasal osteotomy forceps - Om Surgicals
- Above knee prosthetic leg - Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust
- ICU ventilator - Innovations Healthcare
Awards