In the modern, western-influenced lifestyle, the heart has a tough time surviving the increasing stress, hypertension, obesity, poor nutritional habits, diabetes mellitus, physical inactivity due to long hours of sitting, and advancing age.
Although experts agree that the western lifestyle demotes healthy living, due to globalization, industrialization, and urbanization, it is the major reason for cardiovascular risk factors which are significantly rising in low and middle-income countries.
As Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) are increasing in developing countries like India, cardiovascular treatments are gaining traction. However, studies conducted so far and overall estimates suggest that cardiovascular care remains expensive and thus out of bounds for those who need it the most. In many situations, the treatment depletes family savings and wreaks havoc on low or middle-income families.
A general estimate states that in India, a simple coronary angiography may cost ₹10 to 20K, open heart surgery from ₹1.75 to 4.5 lakh, valve surgery from ₹2.5 to 4 lakh, and bypass surgery up to ₹4 lakh. This cost is due to the cost of conventional foundation-based Cath Labs, which may range between $2 to $2.5 million for a 1000 to 1500 Sq. ft space. Similarly, a flat panel Cath Lab may cost from ₹3-4 crore and upwards. Again these flat-panel Cath Labs had to be ordered from foreign countries with sometimes six months to a year of the waiting period.
Furthermore, their installation and regular upgradation were not assured by most of these international Cath Lab sellers. All these factors made cardiac care inaccessible to common people.
This scenario was prevalent before the arrival of Innvolution Imaging Technologies Pvt Ltd – IITPL, a Bengaluru-based MedTech start-up with a mission to make cardiac care accessible to everyone. IITPL is the country’s fastest growing and Asia’s most awarded Cath Lab manufacturing company.
Asia’s Most Awarded Cath Lab Company
IITPL is a joint venture between VJ Technologies, New York, Ex-Alpha X-ray Promoters, Germany and India, and Innvolution Healthcare, New Delhi. With more than 240 sold units and 175+ installations in India, IITPL is a leading Cath lab Manufacturer in India, positioned at number 2 in terms of unit sales.
IITPL’s first revolutionary Cath Lab “Pinnacle” has won 11 national and International awards. It is the only company to win both Good Design and Red Dot awards for Its Cath Lab “Pinnacle”. Also one of the youngest receivers of the India Medical Device Company of the year award in 2020.
IITPL has a 90 % customer satisfaction rate across 175 + installations so far and less than 48 Hrs. of downtime at any installation since its inception, under the able leadership of its visionary leader Gaurav Agrawal, Managing Director (MD).
An Adept Visionary MedTech Leader
Gaurav completed his B. Tech degree in Biomedical Engineering from the first ever batch at Manipal Institute of Technology in 1996 and later, an executive MBA from IIM Kozhikode. His career spans over a quarter of a century working with some of the biggest names such as Dornier, 3M, Boston Scientific and Abbott Vascular, and Meril Life Sciences.
Gaurav has nearly two decades of vast experience in the cardiovascular device industry. In his professional journey, he understood and identified gap areas of reach, access, and cost of therapy as big limiters or decelerating factors in making cardiovascular care more accessible to a large part of society.
Before co-founding Innvolution and IITPL, Gaurav was the marketing manager, of Asia pacific for Abbott Vascular and went on to head India’s only MedTech Unicorn Meril Life Science in 2010. He co-founded Innvolution in 2010 intending to bring cutting-edge technologies and democratized cardiovascular care to the country.
Today, Innvolution serves over 1500 hospitals with life-saving cardiovascular devices and IITPL has 175 Cath Labs in 114 cities across India.
Redefining Medical Imaging Standards
IITPL is one of the nine companies across the globe and only the second company from India which makes Cath Labs. IITPL started its journey with its revolutionary Pinnacle Cath lab, which addressed an unmet need for a versatile Cath Lab under ₹2 Cr. Pinnacle is designed to meet global standards in medical imaging. Here, supercomputing algorithms are used for the first time in Medical Imaging Technology, resulting in Sharp, Virtually Noise Free, High-Resolution Image quality.
Pinnacle’s other features include,
Optimized Radiation Dose– Effective use of collimator and filters. significantly lower peak output current compared to market-leading Cath Labs. leveraging the image processing chain to reduce radiation dose to the doctors, patients, and clinical staff. Using the best imaging technology practices to ensure superior radiation safety.
Leading User Interface– State-of-the-art user interface on Tab. The ergonomic layout of the joystick and buttons. Lean, smart, sleek, user-friendly design.
Aspire Image Quality- High-quality, high-speed noise reduction algorithms that enhance image quality, and offers high contrast and perfect image sharpness. Enables the visualization of fine details for complex cardiac and vascular procedures.
Single, Large Ceiling Mounted Display Monitor– All required clinical/technical information/images on a single screen. Multiple Layouts – Customized to suit clinician’s needs and procedural requirements. Adaptable window – can integrate hemodynamic/IVUS/OCT/vFFR display in a single screen.
Image Modes– DSA, Roadmap, Cine, Stent Clarity ( Digital Stent Enhancement), Pulse Fluoro.
Other Features– Touch Screen and physical controls, tab-based patient data control, first in the industry to have a tablet-based interface that allows all patient data to be controlled easily and efficiently, and table control with a capacitive switch.
Its 2nd generation Cath Lab ‘Pinnacle Agile’ further strengthened the platform and IITPL’s presence in India, by giving enhanced mobility options that make it the most versatile Cath Lab in the market. Pinnacle Agile gives Interventionalists the freedom to do any Cardiovascular/Peripheral Vascular Procedure with Ease.
Pinnacle Agile’s other features include,
Lower Table Height– Now able-bodied patients can sit up and sit out of the table without the need for a patient trolley. Class-leading minimum table height to facilitate ease of patient transfer.
Sharp, High-Resolution Clinical Images– Visualise the most distal and tortuous vessels with our High Definition Flat Panel Detector, a First-in-Industry.
Variable Source to Image Distance– Now take deeper angles with greater ease with the up and down movement of the flat panel detector.
Full Body Coverage– Agile gives you the unmatched advantage of doing Neurovascular to Tibial Interventions on the same table. Presenting Class Leading table sweep length offering head-to-toe coverage for a 6 feet tall patient
ASPIRE™ – Advanced Supercomputing Based Pinnacle Image Resolution– Proprietary Super Computing Algorithms used for the first time resulting in the sharpest Image Quality which allows clear visualization of all details.
Table Swivel– Now Perform Trans Radial procedures and CPR without worrying about the table obstructing the field of operation. Agile gives you the unmatched advantage of doing Neurovascular to Tibial Interventions on the same table. Presenting Class Leading table sweep length offering head-to-toe coverage for a 6 feet tall patient
IITPL recently launched its latest and most advanced Cath Lab ‘Premier,’ a floor mounted single plane Cath Lab, which provides unmatched space optimization enabling a wide range of Cardiac, Neuro, and Peripheral Vascular procedures.
Some Key features of Premier:
- Floor Mounted Single Plane Lab, For Cardiovascular, Peripheral Vascular and Neuro Vascular Diagnostic and Interventional Procedures.
- +120 Gantry movement provides unmatched Space Optimization enabling wide range of Cardiac, Neuro and Peripheral Vascular procedures.
- Non -Touch Based Anticollision Sensors for Detector & L – Arm
- Table pivot Movement of +/- 90 Deg, Provides Greater flexibility to do Vascular Hybrid cases & greater access to the patient for resuscitation during emergencies.
- Better ROI with Versatile capabilities such as Cardiac, EP, Pacemakers, Vascular & Neuro procedures.
- Real-time verification of the stent positioning
- A unique combination of Technology and Design to deliver high-quality images at a low dose.
Superlative International Benchmarks
Gaurav shares, “At IITPL, we have always been committed to creating a product that is at par with any other international contemporaries. Eleven national and International awards are a testament to our superlative product design. We have introduced various first-time features in our segment which were not there earlier.”
- Lifetime free software upgrade on the machine
- Only company to provide Hassle-free upgradability option from the base model to the top model
- Pinnacle – World’s smallest Fixed Flat Panel, fully digital Cath Lab
- Pinnacle Pro- World’s most affordable Fixed Flat Panel Cath lab
- Pinnacle Agile – The most versatile Cath Lab in the Market
- Lowest radiation dose across all the Cath labs
Innovating MedTech with the Latest
Being an experienced leader, sharing his opinion on how the adoption of modern technologies like AI and ML is impacting the MedTech space and how is IITPL adapting to the change, Gaurav says that the three big tech trends that they, at IITPL, are extremely bullish about are
- AR/VR
- Robotics
- AI/ML
He adds, “We have in collaboration with leading academic institutions like IITs and IISC, leveraged these tech trends to achieve the following goals,”
- Make cardiovascular therapy safer
- Make it more precise
- And improve its use experience
Committed to Make India Atmanirbhar in MedTech
When probed about what kind of challenges he faces and how he drives IITPL to overcome them, Gaurav says that the current landscape is that India imports nearly 80% of its consumption of medical devices and is almost 90% import-dependent on Medical electronics. Other challenges are lack of component availability and unfavourable public procurement.
He shares, “At IITPL, we believe that the test of character is in resilience. We keep our engine of innovation running and try to find innovative solutions to the problems. With various first-time features in our product segment, IITPL has always paved the way for creative solutions.”
Along with this, IITPL has also set up a state-of-the-art Cath Lab manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, which is capable of producing 240 Cath Labs in a year and can cater to half of the annual demand for Cath Labs in the country.
Gaurav is also part of various advisory panels on policymaking where he advocates and suggests ways to make India Atmanirbhar in the MedTech Device industry. He firmly believes that with the right Policy and Regulatory framework, India will be among the Top 3 producers of Medical Devices in the world very soon.
A Truly Revolutionary Wisdom
Gaurav’s advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the MedTech space is astute. He says that India is truly at the cusp of the MedTech revolution. The industry is expected to grow 5-fold from 10 bn USD in 2020 to 50 bn USD by 2025.
He says, “I would urge all budding MedTech entrepreneurs to take the plunge and ensure that we develop import-dependent technologies in the country and ride this economic wave by making the country truly Atmanirbhar.”
IITPL’s Future Global Expansion
Regarding envisioning scaling IITPL’s operations and offerings in 2022 and beyond, Gaurav mentions that within a short span of four years, IITPL’s growth has been tremendous. IITPL is now the number-2 Cath Lab-selling company in India. Building on the great performance in India, IITPL is now set to install a dozen Cath Labs in International markets such as Europe and South East Asia.
Along with this, the product roadmap also has some advanced Cath Labs and other diagnostic modalities in India. “Among the upcoming launch is the next-gen Cath Lab on Premier Platform and TAVI Planning Software Solution,” informs Gaurav.
