The Medical Innovation, Creation and Entrepreneurship Labs, JJ Hospital. Sounds daunting right? Something probably more suited to an engineering college since we as medical students don't really understand or identify with the other 3 words. By the end of the 2 day workshop we were proved completely wrong, and yet we became far more excited about the possibilities than before we began.
We started the workshop at 9:45 am on 24th January a little late after registrations, but it was definitely worth the wait. Krishna Chaitanya sir and Abhishay sir started off with a few ice breakers and all the participants introduced themselves. We then had a detailed and comprehensive introduction session by Krishna sir about the rise of technology in healthcare and the impact created by each technological advance.
He explained the idea behind the creation of MICE Labs and why medical professionals as well as students need to team up with engineers and designers to solve the innumerable unmet clinical problems or needs using a beautiful little modified story on the hare & the tortoise. He talked a little about how Dr. Aniruddha and Dr. Anjali Malpani have contributed to this endeavor as founders, and how Mr. Sandeep Senan of Bibox has helped them build this marvellous " tinkering lab and medical maker space."
We then moved on to the hands on part of the workshop, where we started off by learning how to code a computer program in 30 minutes. No this isn't some advertisement for a miracle product, it actually happened with the help of Bibox Hornbill- a microcontroller system designed to teach these skills to school students as young as 8 years of age.
With an array of input sensors and output devices linked to the microcontroller and using just our Bluetooth connected smartphones to code the functions and logic flow on the intuitive user interface within the app, we could build basic but working prototypes of various gadgets like an alert system if the lights go off or if there's a fire in the hospital, and if the temperature of a patient is out of the normal range as well a system to test the range of movement of a joint.
We had a lot of fun thinking of new scenarios we could use the sensors and output loops in a unique combination to achieve a definite purpose.
After a quick break for lunch, we continued with the next session - an introduction to 3D printing and additive manufacturing processes. We were awed by the technology and how it could use a wide variety of materials to create impossible objects.
As our eyes widened and our jaws dropped realising the enormous potential of 3D printing in a plethora of medical specialities, we began to buzz with excitement for the future of healthcare. We were spellbound by a very aesthetic and informative video made by our own colleagues at LTMMC on the topic of Personalized Healthcare and how 3D printing has fascinating uses for everyone from orthopedicians and pediatric cardiac surgeons.
We had no idea this field is so far ahead, and there is already ongoing research on 3D printing entire organs for transplant into patients who require them! After a few more videos on the mechanism and a demonstration, we ended our session for the day and went back home still wondering if we were dreaming or not.
Day 2 started off with a bang as we each did something we've never tried before - designed a 3D model using simplified version of CAD software. As we medicos slowly started getting used to the challenges of learning and creating a 2D design of various basic objects like a virus, a neuron as well the brain,a stomach, a kidney, a cut section of the eye, a femur and of course , every medical students dreamthe heart.
We learnt the finer details of each type of 3D printing process - additive manufacturing using a multitude of materials which served a different purpose. We then gave the command to print and watched the 3D printer get to work on our designs. But alas, all good things take time and so would this. We would have an excruciating wait of approximately 2-3 hours depending on the complexity of the structure to be printed for the final masterpiece.
After a short break for lunch, we moved on to a small discussion on virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR). There were 4 state of the art VR headsets which looked like they were from a sci-fi movie and we learnt how to operate them. Surprisingly all they required was for a smartphone to be slotted in and connected.
It was that simple! We were explained how VR & AR works, and their applications in the medical field through many interesting videos. There already exists software to teach us anatomy in breathtaking detail, and visualising it in 3D helped to get a proper orientation of the relations.
We could also select and highlight certain structures to point them out or trace them in both directions. It truly was a mesmerizing experience and we very reluctantly took off the headsets and came back to reality
We then had a bigger treat in store- a session on drones and robotics! We first tried thinking of the possible situations in which drones would help us as doctors and came up with a few ideas. Then Krishna sir told us more about existing versions of drones which could be a first response system and came built in with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) - a life-saving innovation to target the crucial first few minutes after any emergency. We had a lot of fun flying the drone and learning how to operate the controls for movements in 3- axes.
We also dived into the world of robotic surgeries and how they were much more accurate and precise, yet minimally invasive and with more scope for movement and finer manipulation due to additional degrees of freedom as compared to traditional open surgeries. The surgeon sits at a console with a 3D view and can even remotely operate on the patient using the Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. Talk about next generation inventions!
We then had an hour long free-for-all discussion with each member coming up with scenarios or patients they had seen and how they imagined they could help them out. Everyone pitched in and suggested various wild and creative ideas for each problem after an intense brainstorming session.
As we went into the depth of it, we realized it is sounds easy in theory, but is a lengthy process, with various factors to be considered like the cost, the physical limitations as well feasibility of that device, for which we needed multiple iterations or prototypes.
And it was nearly over- 2 days flew by so fast we didn't even realise it! So captivated we were by MICE Labslike overexcited children in a toy store, we all just couldn't get enough of everything. We had a short valedictory ceremony with the Teacher-in-Charge of MICE Labs, Dr. Sarla Menon who encouraged us to learn more about what we have seen and experienced and apply it in our daily lives.
Krishna sir graciously offered us an open invitation to MICE Labs with all the resources at our disposal to work on our ideas and hopefully bring them to fruition in the form of a working product. We then filled a feedback form describing our experience throughout the workshop, what we liked most and what could be better for next time.
After promising to keep in touch with all our fellow participants and our ever helpful mentors, with heavy hearts we said our goodbyes and ended our exhilarating journey at MICE Labs. We took home a lot of memories, and are always eager to add to our ever expanding knowledge base in the fields of health technology and medical innovation.
We all are grateful to MICE Labs and Switch India to providing us the opportunity to widen our horizons and explore something beyond what we usually get to as medical and paramedical students. This workshop made us take our first baby steps on the long winding journey of innovation and discover they're is so much more than just our books in the field of medicine.
We learnt to express our inherent creativity , suppressed for so long by the theoretical fact based learning we have grown accustomed to. Becoming an entrepreneur is now a secret desire of everyone who attended. MICE labs and Switch India have achieved their objective of inspiring us to do something different in whichever field we choose to be in and think out of the box to develop something useful for our patients and the public.
