BACKGROUND
Greetings! We are pleased to inform you that Prof. R Krishna Kumar Engineering Design Dept, IIT Madras and Dr. Rajan Ravichandran, Nephrologist MIOT hospitals, are organizing a two day International Conference on Non-Communicable Diseases. The Conference will be held at IIT Madras from 28th and 29th March 2020.
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The goal of the Conference is to bring clinicians, biomedical engineers and scientists under one roof to discuss Science, Clinical advancements and Engineering solutions to this important problem of Non-Communicable diseases.
Department of Engineering Design,
IIT Madras
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Welcome to the Department of Engineering Design, one of the most vibrant departments at IIT Madras.
The emerging need for highly qualified and motivated design professionals to spearhead the economic growth of the country through innovative research and development was one of the main reasons for starting the Engineering Design program at IIT Madras in the year 2005. Initially started as a dual degree program with a specialization in automotive engineering, it was converted to a full-fledged department in 2006. The department now offers two dual degree programs leading to B.Tech. in Engineering design and M.Tech in automotive engineering or biomedical design, with an option for the students to choose an interdisciplinary M.Tech in Robotics. Department of Engineering Design is the only interdisciplinary department in the country with a very specific focus on form design and functional design, with domain expertise.
The curriculum for the 5-year dual degree program is carefully crafted to ensure that the students get a well-rounded education to meet the requirements of the industry. While the focus in the formative years (year 1 to 3) is on fundamentals of mathematics, science and engineering, graphic art, design, and aesthetics, focus shifts to domain specialization and skill development in the 4th and 5th years. A compulsory industry internship for 6-months makes the ED dual degree program very unique. This internship prepares the students to understand the real-life engineering problems and their solution strategies. In summary, the dual degree program offered by the department provides a comprehensive skill set for the students to develop as well-groomed designers to meet the growing need for design professionals in the industry. During the last 15 years, ED has produced many highly accomplished designers and entrepreneurs, and many of them are in the leading positions in India and abroad.
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Biomedical Design @ ED dept, IIT Madras
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Biomedical design is an important growing area in the Indian context. It is essential to develop and train engineers who are able to apply fundamental principles of mechanical and electrical disciplines to develop essential devices for India and the world. Our department is uniquely situated in this context and our strength and focus are on developing devices to serve these needs. The key focus areas in Biomedical Design are medical imaging, biomechanical modeling, soft tissue mechanics, biofluid mechanics, prosthetic and scaffold design, biomedical devices and control, microwave applications such as hyperthermia physics and microwave radiometry, ergonomics, and rehabilitation engineering.
Faculty: Prof. Asokan T, Prof. Ganapathy Krishnamurthy, Prof. Kavitha Arunachalam, Prof. Krishna Kumar R, Prof. Saravana Kumar G, Prof. Tuhin Subhra Santra, Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian​
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Medical Imaging
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Bio Fluid Mechanics
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Bio-MEMES and Nanomedicine
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Rehabilitation Engineering
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Medical Device Design
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Microwave Ablation
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Microwave Radiometry
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Hyperthermia Physics
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Bioelectromagnetics
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Medical Device & Implant Design
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Healthcare Policy and Implementation
Sapiens Health Foundation
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Sapiens Health Foundation was started in the year 1997 with the idea of helping patients with kidney diseases. The foundation was started by donations from patients and has been effectively run by transplant patients. Initially, the main focus was on providing subsidized dialysis and medications after transplantation. From 2003 the foundation has been conducting awareness lectures in several institutions all over the country. From 2005 we have been checking the urine for protein amongst college and school students in and around Chennai. The data has been published in the international journal of nephrology and Reno vascular disease. The website sugarbp.org was launched in the year 2009. A booklet “Save Your Kidney. Only You Can” was also published in the same year and has been distributed to both lay people and health professionals throughout the country. The second edition of the book has been released in 2018. From 2010 the salt reduction campaign was launched with various lectures and media propagation throughout the country. Several walkathons have also been conducted in different parts of the country. An international conference on salt reduction was jointly held with IIT in Chennai and Mumbai. Prof. Graham MacGregor from the WASH and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan from the WHO took part in the conference. The Notable Achievement Award for salt reduction by the World Hypertension League was received in 2014. A book “Decrease Salt Increase Life” was published in 2018 and has been distributed throughout the country to health care professionals. The foundation has been interacting with more than 300 food manufacturers to reduce salt in packed food. Several documentaries have been produced relating to chronic kidney disease, early detection of kidney disease, acute kidney injury, ill effects of high salt consumption, peritoneal dialysis etc. The Cystinosis Foundation of India was started in 2012 with the view to help patients with cystinosis. The foundation provides health and information regarding the disease and ways to procure cysteamine which is not available in India. So far 30 children have been registered with the foundation and the report of the registry has been published in Rare Disease Journal of Europe. Five of these cystinosis children have undergone successful renal transplantation and six children receive subsidized treatment from the foundation. The world kidney day is also celebrated every year since 2010 with celebrities as chief guest and extensive press coverage to create awareness for kidney disease. A very popular venture of the foundation is the humorous street plays in various socio economically backward tenements. A unique project called the PD Assist Program was launched in 2015 to subsidize peritoneal dialysis so that patients can undergo home based therapy without disturbing their employment. This programme has been very successful covering Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
