Thiruvananthapuram: Govt has initiated plans to strengthen healthcare innovation in the state by setting up Innovation Entrepreneurship and Development Centres (IEDCs) in medical college hospitals. The decision follows a high-level meeting involving Kerala Startup Mission, Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council and director of medical education.During the meeting, all participating agencies agreed to extend support for establishing innovation centres across medical colleges, along with a central health tech hub at Advanced Technology and Engineering Learning Centre (ATELC) in Thiruvananthapuram. IEDCs are aimed at fostering entrepreneurship among students and faculty. In the healthcare sector, these centres will focus on developing innovative solutions, products and services to improve patient care and streamline healthcare delivery systems. Director of medical education Dr K V Viswanathan said the department has expressed full support for the initiative. The proposed IEDCs will primarily focus on medical technology and devices, digital health solutions and new healthcare service delivery models. According to him, the centres will assist clinicians in identifying gaps in healthcare delivery and formulating problem statements. They will also provide technical mentorship, support the development and validation of healthcare products and prototypes and promote awareness of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning among medical professionals. Additionally, the centres will facilitate access to funding, provide exposure to domestic and global markets for healthcare startups and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between medical institutions. Support for technology transfer, patent filing and the organisation of workshops, boot camps and hackathons will also be part of the initiative. The govt has granted ‘in-principle approval’ for the project, envisioning a hub-and-spoke model, with the health tech hub at ATELC serving as the central node and IEDCs in medical colleges acting as spokes, Viswanathan said.
