Admission will be through IISER Aptitude Test. Candidates must have passed class 12th exam in science stream in 2022 or 2023. (Representational Image: News18 / File)
in Medical Sciences and Engineering in B.S. (four-year program), PhD program for doctors as well as science and engineering graduates.
IIT-Madras on Thursday launched a new department for medical science and technology, which will combine medical education and engineering to bring innovative practices in clinical settings. It aims to provide scientists and engineers with the skills to advance medical research, as well as train physicians to take an engineering approach to the human body and provide engineers with a clinical understanding.
The department has already established collaborations with leading hospitals and medical institutes in India and will have professors of practice who are top medical practitioners in India and abroad, and who have also contributed to the development of the curriculum. The courses include BS in Medical Sciences and Engineering (four-year program), PhD programs for Doctors, MS by Research for Doctors, MS in Medical Sciences and Engineering as well as PhD programs for science and engineering graduates.
The 4-year course will provide specialization in multiple areas through elective subjects and cover cutting-edge areas of medicine – such as the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare, new device development and drug discovery, medical image analysis and digital twins.
Additionally, as the first of its kind in India, it aims to train physician-scientists who will lead innovation in healthcare and promote research in critical areas of medicine, according to the PhD program’s website. The program will allow practitioners to explore a problem area of their interest, either independently or in collaboration with an engineer who will support the research.
The admission process will be through IISER Aptitude Test (IAT). Candidates must have passed Class XII (or equivalent) examination with Science stream in the year 2022 or 2023 from any board recognized by the Council of Department Education Board in India.
The department was inaugurated by Cognizant Co-founder Lakshmi Narayanan; and Professor V Kamakoti, Director at IIT Madras, were among other stakeholders including medical practitioners on the steering committee of the department.
Kamakoti said: “Our mission is to unite professionals from medicine and technology to create unprecedented solutions for medical issues that were once unsolvable. We aim to improve treatment options and revolutionize healthcare. ‘ In continuation with our mission of ‘IITM for All’, we aspire to provide technological interventions in the field of medicine that enable quality and affordable medical care to every citizen of our country.
“With this interdisciplinary approach to improving health care outcomes by leveraging engineering and medical knowledge, new technologies can be developed that monitor vital parameters of organs, detect signs of disease and deliver targeted prevention.” and help provide treatment options. As engineering and medicine continue to converge, the possibilities are endless,” said new department head Professor Bobby George.
Narayanan said collaborative research in medical science can make India a global leader in clinical outcomes. He said that India’s leadership in space, nuclear, digital and biotechnology has shown research capability and capacity, and expanding this capability to medicine was a natural next step.
“Innovation can be found at the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, chemistry, the microbiome, cognitive science and other sciences. Investment in such collaborative research and practice will certainly yield excellent clinical results,” he said.
