Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology – A place where innovation is a way of life
Located in the capital city of Kerala, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology is a reputed institution in the country where the innovations are the way of life. The institute focuses primarily on developing technologies that are relevant to the society.
Introduction
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) is a reputed institution of National importance. The institute is located in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. It was established by the Government of Kerala in the year 1974. Subsequently, the institute was elevated to the status of the autonomous National Institute by the Government of India. Currently, the institute comes under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The institute drew the attention of the country by developing artificial heart valves, the first of this kind in the country at that point in time. Since then, the institute has made a number of new products that help mankind in one way or the other.History
The origin of the institute can be traced back to the year 1973, when the royal family of Travancore through its noble gesture handed over a multistoried building near Medical College junction to the Government of Kerala, thus to the people of Kerala. The purpose of this gesture was to use the premises of this building for developing world class centre for the treatment of the common man. As a result of the efforts by the Government of Kerala, the medical center was set up in this building. The medical building was dedicated to the nation by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Mr. P.N. Haskar. In this new facility, inpatient treatment was started immediately. After the inauguration of this hospital, another facility called Biomedical Technology wing was started in a place called Poojapura in the capital city of Kerala. Again the new facility was started in Satelmond Palace donated by the Travancore royal family.
During its initial days, there arose a need to bring various medical services under one roof to facilitate its funding and administration. Accordingly, all the medical services were brought under the framework of one institution, and it was brought under the administrative control of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India in 1980. After the amalgamation of medical sciences and technology wings, the medical centre was named as Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology. In the subsequent years, the building of another division of the institute got started. This division was dedicated to the nation in the year 2000, and it was christened as the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies (AMCHSS). This centre was inaugurated by Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, the then honorable minister of Science and Technology.Activities at the Institute
Primarily, the institute focuses on the areas such as patient treatment, technology development and healthcare research. The main aim of the institute's technology development and the research in healthcare is to develop technologies that help in lessening the sufferings of the patients. In tune with this aim, it focuses on the development of facilities such as interventional radiology, the pre-surgical evaluation for the surgery of epileptic patients, cardiac electro-physiology, microsurgery, etc. In addition to these, there is a provision for evaluating the movement disorders using a computer simulation technology. On the other hand, the medical technology wing of the institute is actively engaged in the development of new medical devices as per the international specifications. The classical example of the product developed by the Sree Chitra medical center is the heart valves. Last, but not the least, the healthcare research wing of the institute is trying to develop world-class curriculum for supplementing the needs of global healthcare networks. Conclusion
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology is a reputed institute in the capital city of Kerala. The main purpose of establishing this institute is to provide quality services and technologies that are relevant to the society. In tune with this aim, the institute has developed different technologies and curricula to support the global healthcare framework. The first technological product developed by the institute was the artificial heart valves. Currently, this product is manufactured in mass scale at a TTK facility near Chennai. The very fact that the centre holds the maximum number of patents for the development of medical devices tells about its high stature in the country.