Tag: Apollo Hospitals Group

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Apollo Hospitals’ vital post-vaccination study shows COVID vaccines provide protection in more than 95% of healthcare workers

Jun 17, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Apollo Group, #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Dr Prathap C. Reddy, #Dr. Anupam Sibal, #Dr. K Hariprasad, #Dr. Raju Vaishya, #Founder & Chairman, #Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, #Hospitals Division, #Mr. SV Kiran, #President – Hospitals Division, #Senior Consultant Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Surgeon, #Senior Vice President & Head - Human Resources

Hyderabad: Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi today released the results of a multi center study of healthcare workers across India to evaluate the incidence of post-vaccination infections (PVIs). The study that took place over four and a half months, from January 16th to May 30th, 2021, and covered 31,621 healthcare workers who had received either both doses or the first dose only of the Covishield and Covaxin Covid vaccines.

Commenting on the study, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “This study reiterates the fact that our mainstay against Covid-19 is mass vaccination. Vaccines are not only safe, but they also help prevent severe manifestations of Covid-19 and will help save lives. The results of this large study across India make for a compelling case for citizens above the age of 18 to come forth and get vaccinated in order for us as a country to tide over the Covid-19 crisis”.“With greater availability of the vaccines in the coming weeks, the number of vaccines administered each day should increase. We should aim, to vaccinate 5 million Indians per day consistently. The main conclusions from the study are that post-vaccination infections are usually minor and vaccination helps to prevent severe infection, ICU admissions, and death”, Dr Reddy added.

Speaking on the details of the study, Dr. K Hariprasad, President – Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “This is one of the largest cohorts of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs) analyzed in the country, so far. The 31,621 HCWs covered under the study were from 43 units of the Apollo Hospitals group across 24 cities in the country. The HCWs covered various categories including doctors, nursing, paramedical as well as support and administrative staff. We thank them for participating in this study, which has helped highlight the role of vaccines in our fight against Covid19”. “While the study emphasizes the fact that COVID-19 vaccines are effective, it is important to continue with COVID safe behavior even when fully vaccinated such as wearing a mask, sanitizing hands, maintaining appropriate social distance, and avoiding crowds” added Dr Hariprasad.

Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Apollo Group said, “The results showed that COVID vaccines provided protection in more than 95% of the recipients and that post-vaccination infection (PVI) occurred in only 4.28% (1355 / 31621) of the vaccinated healthcare workers. The finding also showed only 90 cases or 0.28% (90 / 31621) of cases required hospitalization, with only three cases 0.009% (3/31621) requiring ICU admission. The most important finding of the study was that there were no deaths in case of COVID infection after vaccination”. “Covishield was administered to 28,918 HCWs (91.45%), while 2703 (8.55%) received Covaxin. 25,907 or 81.9% HCWs were fully vaccinated, having received both doses of the vaccine, while 5,714 or 18.1% had received only the first dose. Out of the fully vaccinated workers, 1061 or 4.09% reported post-vaccination infections, while 294 or 5.14% of the partly vaccinated workers tested positive”, Dr Sibal added.

Dr. Raju Vaishya, Senior Consultant Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Surgeon and one of the key authors of the study, said, “Of the 90 cases who required hospitalisation, 48 were males and 42 were females with the majority i.e., 83 cases being below 50 years of age. Of the 3 ICU admissions, 2 were males and 1 was female, between the ages of 25 to 39 years, with 2 fully vaccinated and 1 partially vaccinated. The incidence of PVI in those who had been administered Covishield was 4.32% and in those who had received Covaxin was 3.85”%. The findings of the study are under consideration for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

“The majority of infections occurred after two weeks of the last vaccination dose, at an average of 6 weeks. 43.6 % of infections occurred in HCWs below the age of 30 and 35.42 % in those in the 31 – 40 year age group. This study period covered the second wave and the maximum infections occurred in April and May 2021. Despite the high infection rate in the community during this period, the vaccinated HCWs were protected.” said Mr. SV Kiran, Senior Vice President & Head – Human Resources, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Group.

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Apollo Hospitals Group scales a new milestone by administering 1 mn vaccines

May 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group

Hyderabad, 28th May 2021: Apollo Hospitals Group has crossed an important milestone by administering 1 million vaccines across 80 locations in India. The Group prioritised frontline workers, high risk population and corporate employees across the country in this drive. As the largest vaccinator in the private sector Apollo Hospitals will continue to support the Union and State Governments in the fight against this pandemic.

Apollo Hospitals will further ramp up the immunisation program in the days to come. The first million was clocked in just about 3 weeks, in June the Group is set to administer a million every week and double it in July. The Group’s vaccination program is on track to complete 20 million Jabs by September, 2021.

We would like to thank the Union and State Governments and the vaccine manufacturers of Covishield and Covaxin for their support, says Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice-chairperson, Apollo Group of Hospitals.

Sputnik the third vaccine approved in India will be available through the Apollo system from the 2nd week of June.

“We believe that no one is safe till everyone is vaccinated” adds Shobana Kamineni.

About Apollo Hospitals:

It was in 1983, that Dr. Prathap C Reddy made a pioneering endeavor by launching India’s first corporate hospital – Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. Now, as Asia’s foremost trusted integrated healthcare group, its presence includes over 12,000 beds across 72 Hospitals, 3800 pharmacies, over 120 Primary Care clinics and 650 Diagnostic centers, 700 plus Teleclinics, over 15 medical education centers and a Research Foundation with a focus on global Clinical Trials. The most recent investment being the commissioning of South East Asia’s very first Proton Therapy Centre in Chennai.

Every four days, the Apollo Hospitals Group touches a million lives, in its mission to bring healthcare of international standards within the reach of every individual. In a rare honor, the Government of India had issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo’s contribution, the first for a healthcare organization. Apollo Hospitals Chairman, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2010. For 38 years, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Its hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the country for advanced medical services.

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Apollo Hospitals reports first successful use of Intravascular Lithotripsy in India in treatment of severely calcified carotid artery stenosis

Apr 29, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Apollo Health City, #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Cath Lab & Interventional Cardiology, #Dr Sangita Reddy, #Dr. P C Rath, #Hyderabad, #Intravascular Lithotripsy, #Joint Managing Director, #Sr. Consultant Cardiologist & Director

Hyderabad: Apollo Hospitals today announced the first successful use of Intravascular Lithotripsy in India to treat a 75-year-old male patient with heavily calcified carotid artery lesions.The patient, who presented with recurrent CVA (cerebrovascular accident) or strokes, was successfully treated by transcarotid arterial revascularisation (TCAR) using Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL). With only a few cases reported from USA and Italy using IVL to treat carotid artery stenosis or narrowing, the achievement by the team of doctors at Apollo Health City, Hyderabad of the first reported use of this technique in India is a milestone in carotid angioplasty and stenting procedures in the country.

Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “At Apollo Hospitals, we are always looking to set new standards of care with advanced medical technology that lets our doctors undertake challenging procedures safely and successfully. The first reported use of IVL in India to treat calcified carotid artery lesions will enable us to treat patients who cannot go in for conventional procedures. It will decrease the risk of procedural complications, providing positive clinical outcomes with reduced risk of future adverse events. It is a testament to the dedication and skill of our doctors that they have continued to focus on treating and saving lives of patients with NCDs even during the pandemic.”

Dr. P C Rath, Sr. Consultant Cardiologist & Director, Cath Lab & Interventional Cardiology, Apollo Health City, Hyderabad said, “The patient presented with recurrent strokes. Upon evaluation, he was found to have a critical stenosis involving the right internal carotid artery. There was also significant calcification of the vessel and a 180o arc of deep wall calcium. This required urgent intervention to open up the vessel since carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is responsible for around 30% of ischemic strokes.The conventional treatment option of carotid endarterectomy, that is, surgical approach to remove plaque from the artery was not recommended due to advanced age and comorbidities that included hypertension and a prior CABG (coronary artery bypass graft surgery). A direct stent implant through the minimally invasive transfemoral carotid artery stenting was also not advisable due to the severely calcified plaque that would prevent proper stent expansion with sub-optimal dilatation of the artery. It was decided to proceed with Intravascular Lithotripsy that combines the combines the calcium-disrupting potential of lithotripsy with the expertise that we hold in use of balloon catheters.”

Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL)works through generating sonic waves, which are sonic pressure waves. This is a novel use of the concept of lithotripsy, that has been safely used for decades to treat kidney stones by safely breaking up the stones. The sonic waves in IVL pass through the soft tissues of the arterial wall lining, and the pulsatile energy safely disruptsthe calcium in the plaques, creating micro-fractures in the calcium. The broken-up calcium allows expansion of the artery at low pressure thus permitting the safe implantation of a stent with minimal trauma to normal arterial tissue and improving the blood flow. The procedure is safer as the calcium fragments resulting from the IVL therapy remain in situ, with a reduced likelihood of breaking off and embolising.

Dr. P C Rath added, “A new tool called Shockwave intravascular lithotripsy that has been recently approved for the treatment of heavily calcified lesions in coronary and lower limb arteries was used to treat the heavy calcification in the carotid artery. While minimal data exists for its use in treating calcified plaques in carotid artery, we decided to proceed with IVL as the patient’s age and co-morbidites would not permit conventional treatment methods. However, the underlying calcium is known to result in suboptimal outcomes following stenting through percutaneous intervention. Aggressive post-dilatation in the carotid region often results in severe bradycardia (slowing down of heart rate) and hypotension (low blood pressure). IVLfacilitated adequate stent expansion and we were able to successfully perform the dilatation with minimal residual stenosis.

Health

Apollo Hospitals partners with Anatomiz3D Medtech to establish Hospital 3D Printing Labs in India

Feb 18, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Anatomiz3D Medtech Pvt Ltd, #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Hospital 3D-printing labs

Hyderabad: The Apollo Hospitals Group, one of Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare services provider, and Anatomiz3D Medtech Pvt Ltd, India’s leading ‘patient-specific’ solution provider to the healthcare industry for Design, 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Bioprinting technologies, today announced a collaboration for design and printing of complex implants. Apollo Hospitals and Anatomiz3D would take the lead in a pioneering initiative to establish Hospital 3D-printing labs in India for 3D printed implants that would enable doctors to visualise and print implants for complicated cases. The first of these would be launched at Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “We are proud to once again be the pioneers in bringing the latest in medical technology to benefit our patients. It would not be wrong to say that with the Hospital 3D-printing labs, the future of healthcare is here! Personalisation of healthcare is the new mantra and advances in genomics and precision medicine are driving personalised prevention and treatment. From specialised medicines for targeted therapies to customised implants and prosthetics, 3D-printing technology is transforming the medical environment providing a fast, accurate and economical solution to take medical care to the next level! As healthcare evolves, 3D-printing will play an important part of this future transformation.”

Dr.Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group
Dr.Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group

The Hospital 3D-printing labs would provide medical 3D printing services for better healthcare, through the creation of anatomical models for pre-surgical planning and education, patient-specific cutting and drilling guides, and customized implants and implant moulds.

Ms Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “3D-printing is today used in a wide range of healthcare settings and is helping to save and improve lives in ways never imagined until now. 3D-printing has many applications in healthcare and the in-house 3D-printing labs at the hospitals will enable better patient care and treatment planning.

Ms Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group
Ms Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group

Advances in 3D printing technology today produces customized, lighter, stronger, safer and higher performing products with reduced lead times and lower costs. This gives doctors with a better understanding of their patients and improves patient comfort level with products that are designed especially for their anatomy. Patient-specific design of implantable devices and surgical tools will help optimize surgical processes and costs. In areas such as spinal surgery, customised 3D-printing will add value to personalized medicine, enhancing pre-operative planning, leading to shorter operation times and helping to reduce risk for the patient. 3D-printing will also help improve the skills of the new generation of surgeons with a better understanding of the disease involved. This is just the beginning and as the technology continues to develop, we will see the unlocking of the full potential of 3D-printing in healthcare.”

Ms Firoza Kothari, Co founder and CTO Anatomiz3D said, “Ever since 2015, Anatomiz3D has believed in the potential of 3D Printing in personalizing healthcare and has seen itself follow a path to translate its vision to a reality. Our strategic collaboration with Apollo Hospitals, a progressive organization and one of the pioneers in adopting new technologies early on that are beneficial to its patients, is a strong step towards such large scale translation. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to work with multiple clinicians associated with Apollo Hospitals, and it is a moment of pleasure and pride for us to bring this technology to them directly in their facility, to use in their practice as well as explore in research and development. Together, Apollo Hospitals and Anatomiz3D aim to make customized medical devices easily accessible to patients, for an enhanced quality of life”

Anatomiz3D uses technology that has been proven in over 1000 cases. A multi-disciplinary team consisting of Biomedical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, AM Engineers, 3D Designers will work with Apollo Hospitals medical and surgical talent in the Hospital 3D-printing labs. The lab will provide Anatomical Models that are life-size replicas of a patient’s anatomy, accurately reconstructed from their CT/MRI scans into 3D models, which can be created in multiple materials, colours, opacities and hardness to provide advanced 3D visualization for pre-surgical planning and patient communication; Implants and Molds that are custom designed to perfectly match the defect region in a patient, ensuring the ideal aesthetic and functional fit. 3D printed in biocompatible material; and, Surgical guides and tools that fit on a predetermined area of a patient’s bone and guides a surgical saw or drill in a pre-planned direction, ensuring a precise surgical outcome.

Business World

Union Budget 2021 – Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group

Feb 1, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Chairman, #Dr Prathap C. Reddy

Hyderabad, 1st February 2021: Commenting on the Union Budget 2021, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented medical crisis and it underlined the importance of building resilient healthcare infrastructure. Today, the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s said health was her first pillar and her announcements to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare systems, greatly gladdened my heart. This ground-breaking focus on health which will provide access to medical care for all in our country, fuel job creation and boost economic momentum.

India’s efforts in managing the pandemic have been exemplary – our frontline workers and scientists have been working tirelessly to save lives and develop indigenous vaccines. Now the allocation of Rs. 35,000 crores for COVID-19 vaccines and more if required, makes our glorious nation stand tall as a model for the world.

We must now look at the next crisis of Non Communicable Diseases, which will be responsible for 80% of deaths and cause a 3.8 trillion USD burden to the country by 2030. It is important to focus on prevention, early detection and possible cure to protect Indian families from grief, financial burden and to help the GDP grow. India having proven its clinical excellence, should now focus on clinical trials, research, innovation and technology. There is potential for India to become the largest global health technology center. As an additional opportunity, India can generate employment and be a healthcare service provider for the world.”

Health, News

As the nation launches the world’s largest preventive-health vaccine, Apollo Hospitals begins vaccinating healthcare workers

Jan 16, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Chairman, #COVAXIN, #COVID-19, #Covishield, #Dr Prathap C. Reddy

Hyderabad: After a long year spent fighting the COVID pandemic, hope and positivity was palpable in the air as the COVID vaccination program began at the Apollo Vaccination Centre in Chennai today. The Apollo Vaccination Centre is one of the 3000 sites across the country selected to vaccinate over 3 lakh healthcare workers on the first day of the national COVID vaccination drive. The vaccination program saw the vaccine being administered to healthcare workers at the COVID frontlines beginning with Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group who received the first dose.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The vaccine marks the turning of the tide in the fight against the novel corona virus that brought the world to its knees for almost a year. The launch of the vaccination program is a critical event, as the last few months have seen a second wave of infections sending many countries in Europe into a fresh series of lockdowns, and a vaccine is the need of the hour to prevent and reduce new infections. I commend the Government for taking bold steps and fast tracking the vaccine approval to ensure that India’s citizens are safe and armed with a vaccine to fight the virus.”

He added, “For India, this is a landmark moment as the vaccines are being manufactured in the country itself, with one a product of indigenous R&D. This is a proud moment and a milestone in our efforts to become self-reliant or atma nirbhar in the field of healthcare. I am privileged to be the first person in Apollo Hospitals to receive the vaccine dose here today. I am sure that this will strengthen the resolve of our frontline workers to continue to serve patients and win the battle against COVID-19.”

The immunization programme at the Apollo Vaccination Centre abided by the recommended Government protocols. The healthcare workers scheduled to receive their first vaccine dose followed proper physical distance. There was proper checking of identities before administration of the vaccine shots with cold chain maintenance, proper biomedical waste management, validation of data in Co-WIN app, observation for 30minutes post vaccination, AEFI (adverse effects following immunization) management and above all a comforting and reassuring environment to reassure those present for the vaccine shots. During vaccination, the entire process of infection control practices were followed including screening of all beneficiaries for fever, physical distance, hand hygiene, universal masking, and safe injection practices.

The launch of the vaccination programme was the culmination of months of preparation that included preparing the infrastructure, planning the distribution, training programs, dry runs, and ensuring that both the public and private healthcare work together in this mammoth task.The Tamil Nadu government had received 5,56,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines including 5,36,500 doses of Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin for today’s vaccination drive held at 307 locations across the state.

At Apollo Hospitals, the work began in October itself to strengthen the vaccine cold chain and gear up the facilities for efficient and fast administration by trained healthcare personnel with the highest safety standards, for up to 1 million doses per day. Over the next weeks, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the country will cover 30 million frontline healthcare workers across over 3,000 sites, and Apollo Hospitals is ready to play an integral role in the vaccination process. The vaccination of the healthcare workers is to be followed by vaccination of other frontline workers such as police, local administration and revenue officials, and later persons above the age of 50, and then, those aged below 50 but with co-morbidities.

Health, News

Covid 19 vaccination dry run at Apollo Vaccination Centre

Jan 9, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Managing Director, #Ms. Preetha Reddy, #Ms. Suneeta Reddy, #Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan, #Vice Chairperson Apollo Hospitals

Hyderabad: Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan visited Apollo Vaccination centre in Wallace Gardens, Nungambakkam today as a part of the second nationwide dry run on the Covid 19 vaccination. The objective of this dry run was to simulate the actual vaccine administration event. Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan expressed his best wishes for the good health and safety of the “Corona Warriors” who are on the frontline in saving lives.

The massive mock drill was held in 736 districts across 33 States and Union Territories today. Prior to this the Health Minister visited the session sites at Government General Hospital and Government Omandurar Hospital in Chennai this morning.

Speaking during the occasion Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson Apollo Hospitals said, “Apollo hospital is privileged to carry out the Covid dry run for the state on 8th January. It’s a prestigious opportunity to be a part of the entire process which would put us in forefront to vaccinate the frontline workers who are serving our countrymen during the Covid 19 pandemic. With this trial we at Apollo, along with the government will be prepared to protect our countrymen from the clutches of Covid 19 this New Year.”

Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “As the country’s largest private healthcare provider, it is our responsibility to participate in the nation’s fight against COVID-19 and make India safe and healthy. It’s a prestigious opportunity for us to be a part of the entire process, which will put us in the forefront to vaccinate the frontline workers serving our countrymen during the Covid 19 pandemic. It is our privilege to work with all Governments, Governmental agencies, and healthcare networks to ensure that a large number of frontline workforce and people get the vaccine quickly and safely as per the prescribed phase-wise rollout.”

During the dry run multiple steps of vaccination was assessed including operational facility, assembling beneficiaries with proper physical distance, checking identity, administering vaccine shots, cold chain maintenance, proper biomedical waste management, validation of data in CoWIN app, observation for 30minutes post vaccination, AEFI management and above all comforting and reassuring the people who take the shots.

During the vaccination day we will re-emphasise on strong infection control practices which will include screening for symptoms of fever, ensuring physical distance and hand hygiene, promoting safe coughing and safe usage of masks, and safe injection practices and appropriate biomedical waste management will be carried out.

Business World

Apollo Hospitals and Medtronic Partner to Advance Stroke Management Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Oct 30, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Dr Prathap C. Reddy, #Medtronic, #Mr. Madan Krishnan, #Ms. Preetha Reddy, #Ms. Suneeta Reddy

Apollo Hospitals Group today announced a partnership with India Medtronic Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced stroke management for the first time in India. The USFDA approved AI platform for stroke diagnosis has been validated by clinical trials.1 The AI software will provide automated analysis in less than two minutes, enabling faster decision making in the stroke where every second count.

Through this partnership, Medtronic will help in bringing in stroke technologies, technical expertise, training and comprehensive stroke management with the integration of AI platform at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences at ten locations in Apollo Hospitals across the country, taking stroke management to the next level by standardizing stroke diagnosis and empowering clinicians to make a faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Stroke is a major global public health problem with 1 in 4 people over the age of 25 years suffering a stroke during their lifetime, according to data from the World Stroke Organization2. The fourth leading cause of death today, around 1.8 million people in India suffer from a stroke every year and it is only early treatment that can reduce morbidity and mortality.3 There is an urgent need to improve the treatment and management of stroke using digital technologies. Today, AI platforms are improving patient care and outcomes every day, and at Apollo Hospitals, we are proud to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in healthcare.

This partnership brings together Apollo Hospitals’ clinical expertise, AI platform and stroke technologies from Medtronic to transform stroke treatment in the country. With this partnership, Apollo Hospitals continues to be the torchbearer in adoption of digital technology as one of the first hospital group in South Asia to use AI in an organized and scalable manner for comprehensive stroke management. Also, with the introduction of 640 slice CT Scan having a capability of doing cerebral angiogram, the patient will definitely gain by means of advanced technical adaptations in stroke treatment.

AI has been a boon for the healthcare industry and has transformed many different aspects from drug development to diagnostics and clinical medicine and surgery. It has simplified the lives of patients, doctors and hospital administrators, taking over tasks that are routine, saving time and costs, freeing the doctors to give more time to their patients. It has helped to reduce the chances of errors in diagnostic processes and medical errors due to heavy caseloads.”

Mr. Madan Krishnan, Vice President, Medtronic Indian Subcontinent said, “Medtronic has been leading the fight against acute ischemic stroke (AIS) – enabling our physician partners with meaningful stroke technologies to empower their expertise. There is a huge unmet need with regards to stroke awareness and therapy in India.

Medtronic has been partnering with hospitals to create centres of excellence in the country so that patients are identified faster, and they receive the best treatment. We are aiming to address the current treatment gaps in stroke with our innovative technologies, aiming at reducing the door to needle time, thereby potentially improving outcomes for patients. Our partnership with Apollo Hospitals will further our goal of creating awareness and providing quicker access to quality healthcare for stroke patients in India.”

The AI platform uses artificial intelligence to create high quality, advanced images from non-contrast CT, CT angiography, CT perfusion, and MRI diffusion and perfusion scans, helping hospitals to improve time-critical triage or transfer decisions and facilitate better patient outcomes. The stroke team will be able to remotely access the brain scans of stroke patients with the AI analysis on the mobile app or email for faster decision making without losing time.

Other benefits include physicians being able to evaluate the patients remotely and visit in-person only when the AI analysis of the scans suggest an indication for treatment. This will help to reduce unnecessary exposure in a COVID situation. The AI system will also generate a valid document proof to support the clinician’s decision taken on the course of treatment for a stroke patient.

Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Apollo Hospitals – Medtronic partnership will bring about a paradigm shift in acute stroke management, building and establishing a world-class stroke program with uniform stroke protocol across the group. Trials have shown success in achieving substantially larger clinical benefits through the use of AI technology and the Apollo – Medtronic partnership will support early diagnosis and effective clinical decision in stroke patients leading to the shortest treatment time for better clinical outcomes.

While early treatment leads to the best clinical outcome, a trial of stroke patients treated up to 6 to 24 hours with the use of AI technology lead CTP or MRI scans showed better clinical outcomes for the patients.1 The partnership also envisages a structured training and education program to further improve the clinical efficiency of the Apollo stroke clinicians and support team.”

The Apollo Hospitals and Medtronic partnership to build comprehensive stroke management will lead to multiple patient benefits. The use of AI platform in stroke management will reduce diagnosis time from 60 mins to 2 mins1. The time saved is brain cells saved as every minute of delay leads to 2 million more brain cells dying. A stroke at odd hours of the night will not result in a patient losing time for an expert review to begin treatment.

The time between onset of stroke to treatment is significantly reduced which can help in improving outcome, reducing hospital stay and saving costs for the patient not just on hospitalization but also on follow-up and rehabilitation. Every patient will receive appropriate treatment as per the indication and not lose any treatment opportunity.

Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Apollo Institute of Neurosciences has revolutionized high-end neurological care in the country. With a legacy of innovation and excellence, it has been working at the cutting-edge of neuro-imaging, neuro-intensive care and medical and radiation oncology services to deliver outcomes that match the leading neurology institutions in the world.

A highly skilled multidisciplinary neurosciences team dedicates itself to enhancing patient care through cutting edge technology and the partnership with Medtronic will elevate the quality of stroke care with world-class AI-powered stroke treatment.”

Apollo Hospitals’ comprehensive stroke centre equipped with 24/7 emergency, a team of specialized experts, CT, MRI facility, and capability of specialized surgical and interventional therapies will have treatment taken to the next level through AI. With AI technology, stroke diagnosis will be standardized and scans will be available remotely within no time to the stroke physician.

The technology will increase utilization of IV-tPA (intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke). It will also increase detection of LVO (large vessel occlusion) which accounts for up to 38% of acute ischemic strokes4 and utilization of mechanical thrombectomy (physical removal of the clot in the brain by a special device threaded through the blood vessels). The partnership will optimize stroke protocol and create a strong regional tele-stroke network with the power of AI.

The AI technology-enabled advanced stroke management will be launched at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences at Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru; Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road, Chennai; Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai; Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad; Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad; Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi; Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Jayanagar, Bengaluru; Apollo Hospitals, Sheshadripuram, Bengaluru; Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysore; and Apollo Hospitals, Indore.

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The prestigious ‘Guinness World Records,’ recognizes city-based Grace Cancer Foundation for two of its feats!

Oct 29, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Apollo Hospitals Group, #Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli., #Dr Sathya Kalangi., #Grace Cancer Foundation, #Mr Rishi Nath, #Mr Swapnil Dangarikar

City-based Grace Cancer Foundation hosted the World’s largest Cancer Awareness initiative, ‘Grace Cancer Run’ with over a lakh participants from 115 plus countries, taking part, virtually on October 10th 2020. The Run and its organiser, Grace Cancer Foundation, won accolades from across the globe, from Institutions and individuals alike, for hosting and participating in the mammoth cancer aware initiative from across continents.

The Grace Cancer Run, the largest cancer awareness global drive, also caught the attention of the World’s official chronicler of records and achievements, the prestigious Guinness World Records and recognised Grace Cancer Foundation on two counts for titles.

The Records acknowledged by Guinness World Records are for accruing ‘Most live viewers for a female health awareness lesson on YouTube as part of Cancer Awareness Drive’ and for ‘Most videos of people running/ jogging uploaded to Facebook in one hour as part of Cancer Awareness Drive’, Cancer which incidentally had over 5000 videos uploaded in support of the awareness.

The illustrious recognitions were announced and formally bestowed on Grace Cancer Foundation by Mr Rishi Nath, Adjudicator; Mr Swapnil Dangarikar, Official Adjudicator and Ms Sonia Chadha Nihal, Commercial Account Manager – APAC & India, Guinness World Records™, at a Virtual event, today.

Also present on the occasion were Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, CEO, Grace Cancer Foundation; Dr Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Hospitals Group; Dr Sathya Kalangi, Executive Director, Collective Power of One International – a Global outreach to improve health through education and community development in emerging societies; and Mr Y Subramanyam, Regional CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.

A dream of creating Cancer awareness conceived seven years ago has achieved unprecedented success and well beyond our imagination. What we accomplished with over lakh participants in 115+ countries is huge and overwhelming and are enormously gratified with the fact that we could reach out and sensitize millions across the globe. The icing on the cake is the prestigious Guinness World Record, crowning our effort. I am humbled by Guinness acknowledging and presenting two Titles for our feats, says Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli.

It is truly momentous for Apollo Hospitals Group to be part of a Guinness World Record, that too for a cause very close to our heart – cancer awareness, early detection and prevention. As Apollo Hospitals Group, Chairman Dr. Prathap Reddy always says, Indian medical fraternity will be the guardians of global healthcare, this initiative has taken us a step closer to that dream.

The message on healthy living from the Grace Cancer Run is reckoning across the globe and the world is awakening to Indian medical prowess, says Dr Hari Prasad. Though COVID is occupying the major mindshare of the world, one must acknowledge that more number of people died because of Cancer than because of COVID. Not much is being talked about cancer, though it is preventable and completely curable when diagnosed and treated early, deaths due to cancer can be brought down significantly provided enough awareness is built.

Apollo is extremely delighted to be associated with the largest cancer awareness initiative in the world and this provides the impetus for a bigger awareness campaign against cancer. It is a privilege to be associated with a noble and important cause.

Mr Rishi Nath said, the record is for female health awareness lesson video online, we had laid down some strict guidelines to match the standards of Guinness World Records. It was a 30 minutes lesson and was measured for the most number of concurrent viewers at one point of time, so the maximum viewers at one time present online would contribute to the record and result.

The result was 2928, wonderful record, a new Guinness World Record has been set and the record title is ‘Most live viewers for a female health awareness lesson on YouTube was 2928’ and was achieved by Grace Cancer Foundation, India; Collective Power of One International, America; Apollo Hospitals and AP Police.

Mr Swapnil Dangarikar said, I am presenting the second attempt you did for most videos of people running, jogging and uploaded it on Facebook in one hour. It may seem a simple task to upload the video and be a part of the record, but I know how difficult this has been to verify and come up with the numbers, its been so difficult that we have not yet finished the entire process of finalising the numbers, because the response you received was tremendous, which kind of crashed the Facebook page and we were not able to see the actual videos that were posted. After a lot of trials we were able to look at some numbers.

There were lot of stringent guidelines to be followed and those participants who qualified were actually considered for the record and at the moment we have more than 500 successful participants, which means you have set your second Guinness World Record. As we are still counting, we might be able to give you a bigger number.

The Grace Cancer Virtual Run, which evoked unprecedented response and participation, was a joint initiative of Grace Cancer Foundation; Apollo Hospitals, Collective Power of One International (CPOI) and AP Police, to raise awareness about breast cancer and hosted in October to commemorate the World Breast Cancer Awareness month. The theme of this third edition of the Run was, ‘Beat Cancer, Beyond Covid 19.’

Winning the recognition of Guinness World Record is a humongous accomplishment and that too two titles for an effort is truly laudable. I was always sure of this initiative going places, knowing the passion of Dr Chinnababu towards it. I congratulate Grace Cancer Foundation, Dr Chinnababu and his team for enlightening the world on the ill-effects of Cancer and bringing laurels to the country with the recognition, says Dr Sathya Kalangi.

The record number of views on YouTube and the maximum video posts on Facebook enabled us to multiply the reach of cancer awareness message, manifold. Guinness World Record recognizing the initiative is heartwarming and that so many more across the globe benefitted from it, is utmost satisfying, we are confident of this having a ripple effect and reining in the incidence of cancers, says Mr Y Subramanyam.

Grace Cancer Foundation is committed to reducing the burden of cancer in society. COVID-19 has placed an unbearable burden on people and they were neglecting diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Grace Cancer Foundation brought the focus back on cancer with the third edition of its run, with the theme, Beat Cancer Beyond COVID 19. They focused on creating awareness at the grass-root level in India and abroad. The enrolment of Navodaya Schools and the AP State police in the program helped to create wide-spread awareness for the program in India. In addition to India, 115 nations participated in the run.

The foundation gave huge momentum to this exercise with specially designed content. They uploaded 111 videos with a total reach of more than 800,000 screens. The reach through Facebook and Instagram was more than 467,000 and 276,000 respectively. In addition, they had Facebook live sessions, every Sunday evening through the month of September and responded to the question of the affected population.

Collectively all these efforts caught the imagination of the people leading to tremendous participation which positioned the Foundation for the recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records.

The organisers leveraged modern technology and social media to create mass awareness, mass participation and create a people to people connection. The run itself was virtual with participants running alone in open areas, with complete safety precautions. They then uploaded these videos, creating awareness and motivation for other participants, adds Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli.