Swasthvayu - India's Indigenous Ventilator Soon to Start Human Clinical Trails at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru

The invention of ventilators has saved the lives of numerous patients, suffering from respiratory failure-a medical emergency characterized by low oxygen and high carbon-dioxide levels in the body due to the inability to breathe appropriately as compared to a normal healthy person.

‘SwasthVayu’ is the first “Made in India” non-invasive ventilator being developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru in scientific and medical knowledge collaboration with Dr Satyanarayana Mysore HOD, Pulmonology Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Lung Transplant Physician at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru and Dr Anurag Agarwal, Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB).

At the beginning of the pandemic, foreseeing the large outbreak of COVID 19 cases in India, there was a clarion call by the Honorable Prime Minister to all the entrepreneurs and scientists, to innovate and ramp up health care systems, including increasing the number of ventilators. The number of people who would require such ventilators was expected to be high and this was not going to be met with the existing numbers in India, nor would it be met through imports. Hence there was a compelling need for indigenous ventilators to mitigate the acute shortage of ventilators. Apart from COVID patients, these ventilators could also benefit and support patients suffering from other respiratory disorders like complex sleep-disordered breathing such as the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) and heart failure (HF).

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, swung into action and took the challenge to develop SwasthVayu - an indigenous, non-invasive, portable ventilator with clinical inputs from well-known pulmonologist Dr. Satyanarayana and Dr. Anurag Agarwal. SwasthVayu is equipped with advanced features like Bi-level mode (BiPAP), Continuous Positive Airway Mode (CPAP), Spontaneous modes and 3D printed HEPA-T filter adapter connected directly to the non-ventilated mask. “This is of paramount importance in minimizing the risk of virus spread. The device also has a special provision to connect to the oxygen concentrator externally”, added Dr. Satyanarayana.

Dr. C.M. Ananda, Chief scientist and Head Electronics Division of NAL said that the device has been subjected to trials on artificial lung models and has successfully passed stringent electrical safety, performance, calibration, bio-compatibility tests at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratory. The device is registered with the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) regulatory authorities. The device is ideal to treat patients with respiratory failure in both COVID and non-COVID situations, either in the ICU or non-intensive medical conditions. Further, this provides an opportunity for scarce ICU beds not to be overburdened and to be used for severely affected patients.

Dr Satyanarayana further added, “Considering the nation’s endeavor of attaining self-reliance, indigenous production of this device, which for long had always been imported, is itself a mile stone.

The Ethics Committee, and the scientific committee at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru has scrutinized and approved the device for clinical trials under Dr Satyanarayana, Head of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine as the Principal Investigator. Dr. Satyanarayana further added that “the device will also be a bonanza post-pandemic for treating sleep-disordered breathing including Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other sleep apnea. The clinical trials will begin shortly and for now, the focus will be limited to the successful completion of the trials only.”

Advanced Persistent Threats Backed by Nation-States Focus their Intelligence Gathering on COVID-19 Research: NTT Ltd

NTT Ltd., a world-leading global technology services provider, today released its GTIC Monthly Threat Report for the month of July 2020. The Global Threat Intelligence Center (GTIC) protects, informs, and educates NTT Group clients through threat research, vulnerability research, intelligence fusion and analytics. Attacks from Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors continued to be on the rise, despite COVID-19; in fact, the virus has added fuel to the fire and has provided a cover for their operations. Organizations and industries that are considered as essential were increasingly targeted: power grids, oil and gas, postal and delivery services, first responders and law enforcement– assets which are even more valuable during a global crisis.

Key findings:

APTs, particularly those suspected to be backed by nation-states, are focusing on intelligence-gathering efforts on COVID-19 research

APT groups with links to Iran have attempted to breach the World Health Organization (WHO) via phishing campaigns, likely seeking information on testing, treatments, or vaccines

Extortion, espionage, financial gain, and disinformation were the key objectives behind APTs conducting various operations, especially now, during a global crisis

Companies researching the disease should expect to be targeted, whether for purposes of medical advantage to better treat or prevent COVID-19, for monetary gain or purely to inhibit the target from making progress

In addition, APT32 attackers linked to the government of Vietnam have been targeting China, reportedly over its perceived lack of accurate information dissemination during, and the overall handling of the initial outbreak

Normal APT operations have also continued during this same timeframe; and operations related to – or leveraging– COVID-19 have served as a smokescreen as countries continue to focus their efforts in response to the pandemic, from both healthcare and cybersecurity perspectives

Considerations:

As businesses continue to digitally transform and rapidly expand their footprint, they’ve been looking for a network that balances cost, user experience, agility and efficiency. The answer, and solution is a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), a virtualized network overlay and a lightweight replacement for traditional physical WAN infrastructure.

While WAN technologies have some native security features, unless reviewed holistically, it’s likely not enough to ensure your SD-WAN is inherently secure. It is a fundamental requirement to do a risk analysis and assessment that considers your organization’s risk profile at the outset of designing your SD-WAN and selecting appropriate security controls

As the threat landscape evolves, even the organizations that may not be considered an essential service cannot let their guard down. Enterprises must continue to adopt best practices and build awareness in both their network environment and their global state of things.

Leveraging intelligence capabilities and resources from around the world, NTT Ltd.’s threat research is focused on gaining understanding and providing insights into the various threat actors, exploit tools and malware.

RB Announces $25 Mn Investment in New Reckitt Hygiene Institute to Strengthen Scientific Evidence and Achieve Change

RB has announces the launch of a global initiative to generate high-quality scientific research-based evidence to inform public health recommendations and promote behaviours that improve global hygiene. The Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI) is a public health research and innovation hub that will bridge epidemiology, public health, and behavioural insights to generate practical, high-quality scientific research that leads to enduring behaviour change. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed public health to the top of the global agenda. At RB, we see the need for a new paradigm that brings together the highest quality scientific based evidence and informed public health recommendations to generate large-scale behaviour change for a cleaner, healthier world,” said Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of RB. “Today we’re announcing our commitment to convene a group of multi-disciplinary experts who, like us, believe real change on a global scale is within reach if we translate science-based evidence and consumer behavioural insights into sustainable hygienic practices that can be adopted globally. This ambitious goal is the result of our belief that the highest quality hygiene is a right and not a privilege.”  

RB’s commitment to global hygiene research and education includes: 

A multi-year, $25 million investment in research aimed at filling the gaps in our understanding of the science-based evidence around hygiene and the behaviours and solutions necessary to sustain it. 

The formation of an Expert Panel—comprised of cross-discipline luminaries—to guide these research efforts at leading academic institutions around the world. 

The creation of a Global Hygiene Institute with physical infrastructure, a Governing Board supported by full-time staff, ongoing research, and education programming driven by expert researchers and educators. 

Through the establishment of a fellowship program with leading universities, RGHI will generate practical, informed public health research and recommendations that champion global hygiene as the foundation of health. The RGHI Governing Board will determine specific areas for research and will work with the Expert Panel to award the fellowships to promising early career academics, who will become Reckitt Fellows. In addition to the fellowships, the Institute will award grants to institutions for open, collaborative, cross-functional research. The Expert Panel will further define the parameters of these awards. 

RB is honored to announce the founding members of the Governing Board and Expert Panel including: 

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 

Dame Sally Davies, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge

Professor Feng Cheng, Research Center for Public Health, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Tsinghua 

Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) 

Professor Dr. Albert Ko, Department Chair and Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School of Medicine  

Professor Teo Yik Ying, Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore 

“The purpose of RB—to protect, heal, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world—resonates more than ever in the current environment. I am excited to work with the Expert Panel and combine the deep experience in their respective fields with RB’s expertise in hygiene and consumer behaviours,” said Simon Sinclair, RB Chief Safety Officer, who has been named Executive Director of RGHI. “We look forward to partnering across disciplines and geographies to generate the information necessary to support the right behaviour changes for a healthier world.” 

Updates about RGHI are forthcoming as additional details about the initiative are confirmed. The formal launch of the Institute will be in the autumn of 2020.  

Abbott to Supply More Than a Million Tests of IgG Lab-Based Antibody Tests to India

Medical Milestone

* Abbott's SARS-CoV-2 IgG test can be used for highly-reliable, large-scale antibody testing, in line with the ICMR recommendation for the use of IgG CLIA (Chemiluminescence immunoassay) tests

* Abbott's antibody test is being deployed by many hospitals and labs across the country to understand the extent of infection in population exposed, as well as for surveying high risk or vulnerable populations *

* Test demonstrated reliable results with 99.6% specificity and 100% sensitivity for patients tested 14 days or more after symptoms started 

Abbott announced has that it has begun supply of its laboratory-based serology blood test for the detection of the antibody, IgG (Immunoglobulin G), that identifies if a person has had the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Abbott has the capacity to provide millions of tests to India and is already in the process of delivering antibody tests to leading government and private hospitals and labs in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Gujarat.

"Abbott is pleased to contribute to ICMR’s COVID-19 antibody testing strategy to use IgG CLIA antibody tests. Abbott’s recently launched SARS-CoV-2 IgG test can be used to understand the spread of transmission in high risk populations such as healthcare workers, immune-compromised individuals, frontline workers, or those in containment zones. These tests also provide valuable information to the public health officials about the spread in asymptomatic cases, helping us assess the impact of our public health efforts now and guide our COVID-19 response moving forward,” said Narendra Varde, General Manager and Country Head at Abbott’s diagnostics business in India.

Mumbai’s Hinduja hospital was one of the first hospitals to evaluate the test in India. Dr. Tester F. Asha Vaid, Chief of Labs (Admn), Director Lab Research at Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, said, “This test is useful to clinicians and the community – our initial testing has yielded specific results for patients who were RT-PCR positive for COVID-19.”

Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, Professor & Head Microbiology, Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Mumbai said, “For a city like Mumbai, it’s critical to assess the level of exposure of population in the community, which can be done ward-wise, guiding authorities on re-assessing containment strategies. The test gains significant relevance in high-risk populations such as front line and healthcare workers, where outcomes will enable us in understanding contagiousness of COVID-19.”

Dr. Ujjwayini Ray MD (AIIMS), Consultant Microbiologist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata said, “We have found that patients who have clinically recovered or are on path of recovery have developed significant levels of IgG antibody against COVID-19. The IgG assay could be included in the discharge policy of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.”

Abbott's SARS-CoV-2 IgG test specifically identifies the IgG antibody, which is a protein that the body produces in the late stages of infection and may remain for up to months and possibly years after a person has recovered. The test is used on the ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments**, which are installed in hospitals or laboratories throughout India and can run up to 100-200 tests per hour to help with reliable antibody testing during the pandemic.  Independent researchers** found the test to have 99.9% specificity and 100% sensitivity for patients tested 17 days or more after symptoms began.***

Abbott designed its test to detect the IgG antibody specifically as it can better help physicians determine recovery from infection, versus looking at a combination of antibodies. Abbott is also developing an IgM antibody test.

About Abbott's Diagnostics Leadership

Abbott has long been a global leader in infectious disease testing, including the development of the first HIV test. The company created a Global Surveillance Program 25 years ago to monitor HIV and hepatitis viruses and identify mutations to ensure the company's tests remain up to date. Abbott also has a long-standing discovery program that identifies new or unknown pathogens and develops tests to address these new threats.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries. In India, Abbott was established in 1910, and is one of the country's oldest and most admired healthcare companies. With over 12,000 employees in the country, Abbott in India is helping to meet the healthcare needs of consumers, patients and doctors throughout urban and rural India.

India publishing BPO industry to cross $ 1.2 billion, says ValueNotes

A recently released report by ValueNotes estimates that the Indian publishing BPO industry is expected to grow to a value of $ 1.2 billion by 2012.

This growth is expected to come from rise in the number of publishing companies that will outsource - which include traditional segments such as STM/Academic, Educational & Legal Publishing, as well as new segments such as magazines, corporate and B2B publishing.

India continues to remain the favored publishing BPO hub - with 35,550 people in direct employment, and revenues worth $ 660 million as of end-2008. While revenues are expected to cross $ 1.2 billion by 2012, the total employee strength is estimated to cross 55,000 by 2012.

Publishing outsourcing includes a wide range of services. The four broad heads include content, design, technology and 'other' services.

Content continues to drive the industry and contributes to 72 per cent of the total industry revenues.

Over the last couple of years, services offshored have undergone a transition - from low value services such as tagging, editing existing designs, copy editing to high value services such as original designs, testing and assessment and e-learning tools.

There has been an influx of technology in the industry that has enhanced productivity, workflow management and most importantly reduced costs and turnaround time.

According to Arun Jethmalani, CEO, ValueNotes, "Most providers have access to similar technology, however the differentiator has really been the capabilities developed around workflow and innovation. Today's technology will become tomorrow's standard and constant innovation will differentiate the winners."

Aradhana Kolhatkar, lead analyst, Publishing Services, ValueNotes, said: "Indian players are shifting focus from the matured STM segment to the more lucrative segments in the publishing market. We believe that educational, magazines, corporate/B2B, trade and e-books will be attractive segments over the next 3-4 years. Indian service providers can extend their current capabilities to service these upcoming opportunities."

Based on exhaustive primary research and analysis of this sector, ValueNotes has identified and established that there are over 140 vendors in the publishing offshoring industry. Of these we have identified SPi, Aptara, Integra and Laserwords as frontrunners in the industry.

ValueNotes Database is a leading provider of business intelligence and research, with expertise across selected domains and types of customer needs. Working with clients across the globe, we have significant understanding of international markets.

Agencies