ISRO’s Rocket Science Can Now Pump Blood – Major Make In India Innovation For Heart Transplantation

Spin off of the space technology into an artificial heart (LVAD, a blood pumping device) by Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) can now save lives.

In an major Make In India Innovation for the artificial heart a team of ISRO’s Rocket Scientists at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) have been successful in building a small device that can pump blood while spinning off the material and technology used in rocket science.

A team of about two dozen experts like metallurgists, electronic engineers, flow mechanics and conduction specialists have worked for over six years to build the pump and they describe it as work in progress. The device is a mechanical pump that can be implanted in a person’s chest to assist a weak heart pump blood through the body.

This Made-in-India low cost Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) weighs 100 gm and will help people who need heart transplants, replicating the function of a part of the heart that pumps blood.

The device is made of biocompatible titanium alloy and can pump blood at the rate of 3 to 5 litres per minute. Similar imported heart pumps cost crores of rupees, but the ISRO version is expected to cost only Rs. 1.25 lakh.

See the full story here

It is being tested right now by a team of surgeons on animals and is expected to be ready for use on humans only after a few years of extensive testing. The device was recently tested on five pigs at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for a six-hour experiment which doctors said was successful.

“Material used in a rocket, the mechanism used in a rocket, electronics used in a rocket are combined to form the device… which is useful as a first step towards heart transplantation. This device was tested in a pig, and it was found that the pig was alive after fitting it. The other organs of the animal were intact. This shows that it is a very good alternative for an artificial heart,” says Dr K Sivan, Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

In a paper submitted to an international journal in 2011, a scientist from VSSC said: “LVADs are mechanical circulatory devices placed between the left ventricle and aorta that take over the function of a failing heart either partially or completely.”

An advanced cardiac or heart failure may cause a drop in the output of the heart from its normal resting output of about five litres of blood per minute to around two litres a minute. As the output reaches this level, the kidneys, liver, and brain are damaged irreversibly, the paper reads. The LVAD is designed to pump blood at the rate of 3 to 5 litres per minute.

 “This is one of the examples of how work that is done for rocket technology or satellite technology can help human beings. This is an alternate system in case the human heart has difficulties in pumping blood. It provides a bypass pumping system that can definitely help human lives,” said Dr Kiran Kumar, ISRO chairman.

The titanium used is biocompatible and weighs only 100gm. Other studies show LVADs can be used as an alternative to transplant in case of terminally ill patients whose body condition render them unsuitable for transplants.

 

 

9 years old Hilde Lysiak is a self made reporter and a publisher of Orange Street News

Yes, I’m a nine-year-old girl. But I’m still a serious reporter says Hilde Kate Lysiak

This 9 Years old Pennsylvania girl, daughter of a New York Daily News reporter, Hilde Kate Lysiak is a self made reporter, editor and a publisher of Orange Street News started in 2014. She publishes her own Newspaper from her website and has published more than 100 stories at her website.

“Hilde Lysiak is persistent, confident, a little spunky and not afraid to knock on your door to get the story.” says NBC NEWS, Sept 27, 2015

Whenever she gets information about any news or crime, she reaches to the spot cycling on her bicycle, with her pen, diary and camera ready to shoot and tries to show the real facts behind the incident.

“I didn’t start publishing Pennsylvania’s Orange Street News so that people would think I’m cute. I want to get the truth to people, even if it makes grownups mad” says Hilde.

The Orange Street News devoted to the Selinsgrove area claims to be the only newspaper for the area and showcases the truth about the story before other local media. Hilde has shown that there is no age to find your passion and go for it. Her determination has made her successful and today she is featured in most of the high profile media houses.

Orange Street News Publisher Hilde Kate Lysiak has appeared on NBC TODAY SHOW, The New York Times, TIME MAGAZINE, The New York Daily News, Columbia Journalism Review,Politico, and hundreds of national and international media outlets.

See her story here:

This is what the major media houses have to say about Hilde:

“Watch out Mort Zuckerman! There’s an 8-year-old Pennsylvania girl who’s poised to become the news and media mogul of the next generation.” — New York Times, Sept 15, 2015

“The nation’s most ambitious newspaper publisher rides around her tiny Pennsylvania town in a bright pink bike and plays with Barbie in her spare time.”—New York Daily News, Sept 12, 2015

“A lesson from an eight-year-old girl who proves your never too young to find your passion…I’m in love with this girl. She’s a winner.” — NBC TODAY SHOW, Sept 27, 2015

“I don’t think people should be able to decide for me who I should be and what I should be doing. I never began my newspaper so that people would think I was cute. I started the Orange Street News to give people the information they need to know,” says Hilde.

She further adds, “if adults don’t think we can do something, then it is hard for us to believe that we can. And then how will we have great things in this world? Kids should know that if they work hard, they can do amazing things. Kids can do exceptional things and still be kids!”

In first week of April 2016 she came to popularity after reporting about a murder in the locality and when criticised, she replied to critics in the following words :

Those of you who think I need to mind my place, I’ll make you a deal. You get off your computer and do something to stop all the crime going on in my town and I’ll stop reporting on it. Until then, I’m going to keep doing my job.

Read her full story here.

The world requires such heroes with passion and dedication for their work who can bring real changes in the society’s thinking and make something challenging for the betterment of this world. These young minds have enormous capability for creativity, innovation and new thinking in their own new way.

We wish Hilde goodluck and success in her efforts.

 

 

 

What a proud moment for India?

HRD Minister @smritiirani unveils bronze bust of ancient Indian mathematician #AryabhataAtUNESCO HQ in Paris

Yourdost.com started by these IITians have saved 70k people from suicide after quitting their MNC jobs

The startup Yourdost.com is a brainchild of Richa Singh, an IIT Guwahati alumni and her former colleague Puneet Manuja, a graduate of IIT Calicut.

Though the duo was happy in their well paying jobs at multinational companies, they felt the need to start a forum that can help youngsters deal with emotional problems. They wanted it to be a tech-based platform.

The result was YOURDOST, which kicked off operations in December 2014. It now gets over 12,000 hits a month.

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“Not everyone goes to a psychologist when they feel low. There is a certain stigma attached to it. Hence, the online platform. We have a trained set of psychologists who deal with everything from relationship matters and peer pressure to anxiety, stress and parental issues,” said Richa.

The service is free. When asked what made her quit a well paying job and start the venture with her savings, Richa said: “When I was studying in IIT Guwahati in 2008, a friend of mine committed suicide. It shook me. There was a psychologist on campus but not many approached the expert. I realized people were hesitant to talk about their problems. That’s when I started collecting contact details of psychologists across India and even met many. I had come to Bengaluru too. After talking to them, I understood what the hitch was -recognizing the problem itself.”

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One homemaker worried about her son failing in BE and wanting to become a chef to a squabbling couple, they come across diverse cases.”It’s all about emotional wellness, how to make oneself more productive and happy in a relationship. The task is how to reduce the high-stress levels among young adults,” said Puneet.

The counsellors at YOURDOST are called special friends. They are online 24X7. Shaifali Verma, a psychologist, recalled the case of a man who was contemplating suicide. “He came from a dysfunctional family and was suffering from insomnia and vitamin B12 deficiency. Working for long hours had taken a toll on him. We were able to calm him down and he was asked to meet a psychiatrist the next day,” said Verma

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Social Stigma

“If a person can’t easily strike a conversation or mingle with friends, there is a problem that needs to be addressed. If you have a stomach ache, don’t you go to the doctor? Then why not when you can’t do something as simple as talking to people. Social stigma is to blame,” said Richa.

Success stories are regularly uploaded on YOURDOST website, so that those dealing with similar issues can relate to them and seek help, she added. Richa is one of the three INK2015 fellows chosen from Bengaluru for her work.

Originally Published at Times Of India.