Year-end review: Centre launched drone services at 11 AIIMS hospitals

Centre has launched drone services at 11 AIIMS in 2024. These include AIIMS Rishikesh, Bibinagar, Guwahati, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Bilaspur, Raebareli, Raipur, Deogarh and Mangalagiri.

The drone service aims to aid in the rapid, cost-effective, and safe delivery of medical supplies and samples in hard-to-reach and tough terrains. They will connect remote locations to transport medicines and laboratory samples.

Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) have also been launched at AIIMS Rishikesh. It will be implemented in collaboration with the government of Uttarakhand. The HEMS aims to deliver speedy medical care by stabilizing and treating trauma victims during flight and onsite.

Since 2014, the Centre has approved 15 AIIMS. Of these, MBBS classes, OPD services, and IPD Services have started in 11 AIIMS, These are AIIMS, Gorakhpur (UP), AIIMS Nagpur (Maharashtra), AIIMS Kalyani (West Bengal), AIIMS Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh), AIIMS Bibinagar (Telangana), AIIMS Bathinda (Punjab), AIIMS Deoghar (Jharkhand), AIIMS Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh), AIIMS Guwahati (Assam), AIIMS Jammu J(&K) and AIIMS Rajkot (Gujarat).

Construction work is at various stages in four AIIMS, including Madurai, Awantipura, Rewari, and Darbhanga. The state government finalized and handed over the land for the establishment of AIIMS, Darbhanga.

Meanwhile, MedTech Mitra has supported 200 innovators. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), established the MedTech Mitra platform.

This initiative aims to empower healthcare innovators across India by providing them with comprehensive support to facilitate the progression of innovative technologies through critical development stages, often referred to as `valleys of death’, to ensure they reach their logical conclusions.
MB Bureau