Share some interesting phases of your childhood days that have had a strong influence on what you are today.

I come from a lower middle class family with business background. My childhood taught me to deal with difficulties and challenges and that helps me manage large businesses with variety of needs.

What would be your earliest memory of school and your first day at work?

I started my first standard at the age of lower kinder garten in a government school in Chinnalapatti village in Tamil Nadu. And I still cannot believe how  I managed. My mother keeps telling me many funny stories about my first year in school!! The extension of my practice school project work in the last year of BITS Pilani was my work and hence
I did not even have one week gap between my graduation and taking up the first job as Clinical Application Specialist in a south-based medical instrument company named Instruments and Machines
Inc (IMI).

What have been the three most difficult phases of your life? What has been the turning point in your life?

First, when I had to shift to an English medium school in 11^th standard after studying in Tamil medium school upto 10^th standard, I had to refer Tamil to English dictionary for the entire year and had to go through several difficulties before getting accustomed to the English medium of education. Second, when I could not elicit a seat in medicine even after scoring over 98 per cent marks because of the reservation system in India. I had to struggle through several options (despite  serious financial difficulties) such as going to REC Surathkal before landing up in BITS Pilani where I chose to do pharma as I wanted to be close to the medical field. Third, in 1999 when Trivitron was facing a major challenge after losing Chiron distributorship (post Chiron’s merger with Bayer), which was over 90 per cent business revenue then for us. There have been several turning points but the most significant of them is me taking over IMI Job in 1988, despite getting admission in IIM (I had scored very well in GRE/TOEFL). I had to do this mainly due to  personal financial difficulties. I also had the opportunity to join Hoechst Pharmaceutical at more than three times the salary compared to IMI. But my passion to be a part of the biomedical and pathlab industry made me take that decision, which I do not regret today.

Have you ever regretted a decision made? What would it be?

Maybe I should have spent more time with my father and taken care of his high diabetes situation and allowed him to do what he did in the last days of life rather than controlling him. In business, there are several but I always consider business as ‘used opportunities’ and ‘missed opportunities’. As long as you use more and miss less you are doing okay!

 Three tips that you would want to give the entrepreneurs in the medical device field.

India today is a highly import-dependent industry in the medical device space and we need more innovation with involvement of young doctors/engineers and scientists. Entrepreneurs in the devices space should charter their own path with original thinking and innovation rather than following the beaten path to make the difference in the segment. If you ask me the three important characteristics to be successful they are – passion, one’s own innovation (business model/products/processes) and hard work.

 Tell us about three changes that have revolutionised the medical technology space.

Today, medical practitioners are following evidence-based medicine rather than opinion-based medicine only because of revolutionary changes in the medical technology space. Simple advancement in diagnostic tools such as X-ray, ultrasound, basic blood test has moved the healthcare from being reactive to proactive and brought focus on prevention and early diagnosis than treatment. From the treatment perspective, minimally invasive surgery procedures such as endoscopy, angioplasty, PTCA procedures, etc have revolutionised the way surgeries are performed today compared to two decades back. Moving forward, the molecular imaging, molecular point of care diagnostics and implantable devices to treat diabetes/asthma/peptic ulcers, structural heart and neuro disorders are making entry into the medical world and will dominate the future.

What have been the growth drivers for Trivitron?

Bringing medical technology products to improve access and affordability to healthcare with specific focus to the deserving population living in the emerging world through one’s own innovation/manufacturing, Joint Ventures  (JV) and acquisitions for technology access have been the focus for Trivitron’s growth.

 Three changes that you would like to bring at Trivitron.

We would like to implement more focussed HR initiatives to build several leaders within Trivitron to take care of the diversity of needs for the massive expansion plan that the company is engaged in currently. We would like to improve our customer services by setting new standards and delight each one of our customers by exceeding expectations and for this we are bringing about organisational changes and improved technological infrastructure. We will do whatever is necessary to build brand Trivitron at a position equalling the global MNCs, thus giving comfort and confidence to all our customers.

 What are your long term goals for Trivitron?

While we have progressed in the manufacturing activity from nil to over one-third of our revenues coming from manufacturing, which will move to  over 70 per cent through own/JV manufacturing initiatives in the next three years, we strongly believe access to medical technology products and solutions cannot be brought only by cost reduction and this will require more skilled operators across India/emerging world. Hence, Trivitron would like to enter into the medical technology skill education segment in a professional and organised manner soon. 

By Arshia Khan (arshia.khan@infomedia18.in)

This unique implementation by HCL Infosystems is also the first-of-its-kind in India where the Hospital Information Systems (HIS) application for a hospital is completely deployed on the cloud. The solution would reduce capital and operational expenditures for Narayana Hrudayalaya and will enable the hospital to provide faster access to healthcare for its patients such as facilitating faster patient registrations. The implementation will also enable hospital staff to quickly complete their administrative tasks thereby freeing their time to provide healthcare. The high performance cloud computing services are backed by a strong infrastructure backbone and HCL’s national support network to ensure business continuity. The HCL IaaS includes components from Cisco, EMC, Net App and VMware.

Elaborating on the deployment, Harsh Chitale, CEO, HCL Infosystems said, “We would like to thank Narayana Hrudayalaya for deciding to partner with us in their transformational journey. Cloud computing has come to define the way businesses function today and keeping in line with the present times we are committed to providing the best in class Enterprise Cloud Services. Our cloud solutions are highly customized as per the needs of organizations and focuses on addressing business needs of clients. We bring the best available technologies from different partners to achieve an optimal solution for our clients.”

Dr Devi Shetty, Founder, Narayana Hrudayalaya said, “We are delighted to partner with HCL Infosystems who is not only a long standing ICT company in India but also amongst leading cloud enterprise solution providers today. With this deployment we look to maximize our efficiency and scale up our services. We are sure that our HIS on cloud will be a path breaking initiative in the Indian Healthcare Industry.”

HCL Infosystem’s IaaS solution would allow NH to provide and manage the infrastructure required to support its systems in the most flexible manner. It would cater to needs like virtual servers, cloud storage network infrastructure components, Cloud security stack and configuration services and also provide 24X7 support and system monitoring. The Cloud Solution for NH will be scalable and will ensure business continuity.

Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh who carried out the study, say that genetically influenced characteristics could well be the key to how successful a person is in life.

 The study of twins in the US – most aged 50 and over– used a series of questions to test how they perceived themselves and others. Questions included “Are you influenced by people with strong opinions?” and “Are you disappointed about your achievements in life?” The results were then measured according to the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale which assesses and standardises these characteristics.

By tracking their answers, the research team found that identical twins – whose DNA is exactly the same – were twice as likely to share traits compared with non-identical twins.

Psychologists say the findings are significant because the stronger the genetic link, the more likely it is that these character traits are carried through a family.

Professor Timothy Bates, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, said that the genetic influence was strongest on a person’s sense of self-control.

Researchers found that genes affected a person’s sense of purpose, how well they get on with people and their ability to continue learning and developing.

Professor Bates added, “Ever since the ancient Greeks, people have debated the nature of a good life and the nature of a virtuous life. Why do some people seem to manage their lives, have good relationships and cooperate to achieve their goals while others do not? Previously, the role of family and the environment around the home often dominated people’s ideas about what affected psychological well-being.  However, this work highlights a much more powerful influence from genetics.” The study, which builds on previous research that found that happiness is underpinned by genes, is published online in the Journal of Personality.

The device would be simpler in design and operation than existing models. It acts by electrically stimulating neurons in the retina, which are left relatively unscathed by the effects of AMD while other ‘image capturing’ cells, known as photoreceptors, are lost.

It would use video goggles to deliver energy and images directly to the eye and be operated remotely via pulsed near infra-red light- unlike most prosthetic retinas, which are powered through coils that require complex surgery to be implanted.

The prosthetic retina is a thin silicon device that converts pulsed near infra-red light to electrical current that stimulates the retina and elicits visual perception. It requires no wires and would make surgical implantation simpler.

The device has been shown to produce encouraging responses in initial lab tests and is reported in an article published in Nature Photonics. The technology is now being developed further.

Dr Keith Mathieson, now a Reader in the Institute of Photonics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, was one of the lead researchers and first author of the paper. He said, “AMD is a huge medical challenge and, with an aging population, is continuing to grow. This means that innovative, practical solutions are essential if sight is to be restored to people around the world with the condition.

“The prosthetic retina we are developing has been partly inspired by cochlear implants for the ear but with a camera instead of a microphone and, where many cochlear implants have a few channels, we are designing the retina to deal with millions of light sensitive nerve cells and sensory outputs.” He added, “The implant is thin and wireless and so is easier to implant, Since it receives information on the visual scene through an infra-red beam projected through the eye, the device can take advantage of natural eye movements that play a crucial role in visual processing.”

The research was co-authored by Dr Jim Loudin of Stanford and led by Professor Daniel Palanker, also of Stanford, and Professor Alexander Sher, of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Professor Palanker said, “The current implants are very bulky, and the surgery to place the intraocular wiring for receiving, processing and power is difficult.  With our device, the surgeon needs only to create a small pocket beneath the retina and then slip the photovoltaic cells inside it.”

Dr Mathieson was supported through a fellowship from SU2P, a venture between academic institutions in Scotland and California aimed at extracting economic impact from their joint research portfolio in photonics and related technologies.

Strathclyde leads the collaboration, which also includes Stanford, the Universities of St Andrews, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow and the California Institute of Technology. SU2P was established through funding from Research Councils UK- as part of its Science Bridges awards- the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise.

For a clinical institution to be successful, it is essential to obtain the highest possible diagnostic accuracy while maintaining a fast and efficient workflow. The 3D reading and advanced visualisation software syngo.via enables clinicians to meet the respective requirements by automatically loading for example CT or MR images into the appropriate application and sorting them into the disease-specific corresponding layout. Manual work steps are eliminated and the clinician can start diagnosing immediately. Siemens designed the syngo.via efficiency study with regard to following questions: What are the time benefits of using syngo.via compared to other reading software for a specific set of images? And which qualitative aspects in the use of syngo.via improve the diagnostic reading process?

Six medical sites participated in the efficiency study which took account of a total number of seven different clinical workflows. To reflect their clinical routine, each participating site determined the case mix and measured 10 to 20 cases per workflow. The analysis of the study data revealed that the use of syngo.via can achieve time savings and patient-centric productivity gains in all of the observed workflows. For example, the observed average time savings from syngo.via for CT Cardiac amounted to 77 percent and for an Oncology Diagnosis with PET/CT to 45 percent. Using syngo.via when diagnosing Oncology and Neurology MR examinations resulted in 32 and 23 percent average time savings, respectively. Analysis of images for CT Vascular was 27 percent and image evaluation for PET/CT and CT Oncology Follow-Up 30 and 16 percent faster compared to a conventional advanced visualization or PACS workstation.

Additionally, Siemens conducted a usability survey among the study participants. They stated that syngo.via is performing better regarding the aspects data preparation, usability of viewing and measurement tools and documentation and reporting than the former software. “syngo.via is an excellent tool to increase the productivity of radiologists working on cardiac images,” said Professor Gudrun Feuchtner from Innsbruck University Hospital in Austria, for example.

Launched by Siemens Healthcare Sector in November 2011, Agenda 2013 is a two-year global initiative to further strengthen the Healthcare Sector’s innovative power and competitiveness. Specific measures will be implemented in four fields of action: Innovation, Competitiveness, Regional Footprint, and People Development.

With the service, the patients can connect to a urologist for problems related to the urinary system such as urinary stones, prostate enlargement, stress urinary incontinence (urine leakage) and urinary stricture.  They can also consult laparoscopic surgeon for problems like gall bladder stones, appendicitis, hernia, fistula, and piles. Laparoscopic gynaecologist can be consulted for ailments such as uterine fibroid, ovarian cyst, uterus removal, endometriosis, menstrual problems, polycystic ovaries, and infertility.   

Commenting on the launch, Dr Bhim Sen Bansal, CMD, RG Stone Urology & Laparoscopy Hospital said, “There are people who often end up denying themselves of proper medical consultation in a bid to avoid troubles in their busy lives and tight schedules. For them these services can be utmost beneficial as consulting a doctor over the phone and via e-mail can cut down the number of trips to the hospital thereby saving enormous time and money. Telemedicine is the ability to provide interactive healthcare utilizing modern technology and telecommunications. Telemedicine will offer a number of advantages such as equitable access to specialists for patients regardless of their location, reduced cost and time incurred in traveling, early diagnosis and accurate information about treatment. The service will not only benefit patients and healthcare professionals but also the entire healthcare delivery system. With telemedicine, we can see who has the most severe problems and needs treatment right away and who has less serious problems that can be seen at a regular appointment. We at RG Stone Urology & Laparoscopy Hospital always want to take care of our patients, and people will soon realise that this approach is another way to increase the quality of care delivered.’’

Hanish Bansal, Executive Director, RG Stone Urology & Laparoscopy Hospital said, “Telemedicine is a new healthcare delivery model that we can use for the benefit of masses. It can play a significant role across the spectrum of delivering public health and improving patient information about the latest developments in medicine. By leveraging the advancement of telemedicine & web medicine, we can give people an access to the expertise of RG Stone’s doctors. This service will bring quality healthcare within reach of people residing in medically inaccessible or under-served areas.”

Taking into consideration, the growing population in metros, RG Stone has come up  with the idea of satellite clinics so as to provide service at the doorstep. One such set up has been established at Model Town (North Delhi) to extent its outreach in Delhi. The hospital will set up four more such clinics in different parts of the capital very soon. The patients can avail pre and post-operative care at these clinics only, without wasting time in commuting to far off places.

Also considering the element of time lag with everyone today, a special call center has been set  up where people can avail advantage of consulting RG Stone’s specialists, without any fee (even calls would be tollfree on 1800-102-1777).

Also, RG Stone Urology & Laparoscopy Hospital has developed a special software so as to provide the benefit of webmedicine where consultation can be availed on e-mail via internet services. The patients would be easily able to provide  their medical reports to the doctor and avoid travelling distances.

The new features include a companion image (from the original exposure) for pneumothorax visualisation that accentuates the appearance of free air in the chest cavity. A new ICU package also includes Tube and Line Visualisation and automatic image display in the correct orientation for improved productivity and care. Further, there is pediatric image optimisation and enhancement software that expands and integrates a range of seven patient sizes as specified by new FDA regulations for pediatric exams. A new pediatric quality package also includes Carestream’s Total Quality Tool to verify image quality of CR cassettes as well as the system’s administrative analysis and reporting software. Additionally, vendor-neutral IEC exposure index values allow technologists to see if they are within the acceptable exposure range to improve overall workflow and image quality.  Special image processing produces consistent rendering of portable chest images, which can reduce day-to-day and image-to-image variability, which is helpful to physicians who are monitoring changes in a patient’s condition. The enhanced administrative and analysis reporting software provides a single, consolidated source for viewing all performance metrics for CR systems; and multi-format print enhancements can help boost productivity with ability to add markers and adjust the image. Additional print layouts optimise film usage. These compact DIRECTVIEW CR systems are designed for distributed and centralised CR applications that require excellent image quality, rapid image availability, lower costs and high departmental productivity.

…expresses Dr A M Arun, Chairman, Vasan Health Care Group. A young entrepreneur and a clinician by profession, he is the smiling face behind India’s largest chain of eye care hospitals – Vasan Health Care Group. Over the last 10 years he has channeled his energy to provide world-class healthcare to the remotest corners of the country.

Jasleen Kaur Batra

How has been the journey so far?

It would be wrong to say that it was an easy road to walk. I have faced real challenges in various forms through this journey. Vasan Medicals was a brand started by my grandfather in 1947, with an aim to cater to the medical needs of people across South Tamil Nadu. Later, my father, Late Murugaiah Pillai, took over the business. Further, in 1991, I took over the business and decided to diversify further. I set up the pharmaceutical retailing business and ventured into diagnostic centres and multi-specialty hospitals. 

In 2001, I spotted an opportunity in the day care service model with a focus on ophthalmology. At that time, ophthalmology was a fragmented and neglected market in the region, and so I ventured into this area to provide quality eye care and world-class facilities that every individual could afford. In 2002, I set up the very first eye hospital in Trichy, which also happens to be my home town. 

Setting up the hospital was a great challenge in itself, as it was difficult to convince doctors to join Vasan and make them believe that this service model was a viable and workable one. Nevertheless, we managed to overcome the challenges, which encouraged me to venture into another hospital in Salem. Later, I moved on to Calicut.  From there, it took me six years to scale up to 25 eye care hospitals in various towns of South India. In 2009, Sequoia Capital, a PE firm, believed in my vision and the services provided by Vasan Health Care and invested $ 50 million. In March 2012, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) also invested $100 million in the hospital. The funds received will be used to expand our eye care as well as the dental business to 165 and 35 centres, respectively, and also venture into other specialties of day care such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), skin care, urology and more. Today, it feels good to see Vasan Health Care Group as one of the fastest growing healthcare chains in the country with more than 50 pharmacy outlets, 100 eye care hospitals, 15 dental care hospitals, 2 multi-specialty hospitals and 10 multi-specialty diagnostic centres. Although the journey was tough and with many hurdles, it has been quite enriching and fruitful.

What do you consider as the turning point in your life?

My father’s demise was an event that changed my life. I was 17-year-old at the time. I was in the first year of medicine then and had to look after the business. I used to juggle between my college and the pharmacy to take care of the business. Hence, it took me seven years to complete my degree. Despite pressure from my family members to complete my specialty in medicine I took the challenge of running my family business with one medical shop and 14 employees.

Did the fear of failure ever occur to you?

As any entrepreneur I was always surrounded by fears of all kinds – whether the idea is good enough, whether the model will work and, most importantly, the investments needed for a new start up. The major hurdle initially was the capital for expansion and attracting quality talent. When I ventured into a single-specialty day care service model, the biggest hurdle was whether the model would work and become a successful one. However, the success of the first few hospitals, the increasing demand of eye care in the market and the ability to attract professional doctors to join us boosted my confidence and helped me overcome the fear of failure.

What made you foray into the eye care network?

For a population of 1.2 billion in the country, there are hardly any eye hospitals. At that time, tier-I and tier-II cities had no provisions for quality eye care. Hence, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of the people in India by providing world-class eye care at affordable cost at their doorstep and decided to set up Vasan Eye Care. Today, we provide world-class eye care at a very nominal cost in every corner of the country, from a small town Paramakudi in Tamil Nadu to Karol Bagh in Delhi.

 Setting up world-class facilities requires heavy investment, and your focus is mostly on providing affordable healthcare facilities. How do you work out the economics?

Our business model is successful, as it is less capital intensive than any multi-specialty hospital. We are able to leverage upon our scale to balance our costs, and thus provide world-class facilities to the common man.

What got you interested in setting up an eye bank?

Eye transplantation is predominantly required in tier-II and tier-III villages than in the cities, which helped us organise a well-developed eye banking system in Vasan. We have created a unique model. We focus on ensuring that the best of the treatment is available in lesser developed areas. Presently, we have 60 collection centres and eight eye banks across our network.

What are the challenges you faced while setting up an eye bank?

For me the challenge was not in setting up the eye bank but in getting donations. Today, people in India are not well educated and still not open to donating eyes. Hence, the challenge I faced was in creating awareness among the public to donate their eyes. Counselling relatives at the time of death of an individual is not a good idea and this mostly does not work. We need to reach out to the remotest of areas and create awareness.

What according to you is the future of eye banks in India?

Of the 1.2 billion population in the country, 6.8 million people have corneal blindness and, going by the present scenario, by 2020, approximately 10.6 million people will be requiring eye transplantation. With the healthcare system getting organised and big private players like us taking the services to tier-II and tier-III cities, we will be able to reduce this number by creating an effective eye banking system.

What was the motive behind setting up Vasan Foundation?

Vasan Foundation is a trust under Vasan Health Care Group. We understand our social responsibilities and have always wanted to do a lot for the society. Hence, we have set up this foundation where we subsidise eye treatments for our patients and also run eye education camps & seminars in the remotest of villages to create awareness.

Where do you see Vasan Eye Care in the future?

We run a hospital in Paramakudi, near Madurai – a small town in Tamil Nadu with a population of one lakh. Likewise, there are thousands of Paramakudi’s in India. Hence, in the near future, we plan to set up a few more hospitals. We are also in the process of setting up a research institute to focus primarily on ophthalmology drug, research and development. 

(jasleen.batra@infomedia18.in)

“India, once the world’s largest global exporter of polio cases, will become the last country in Southeast Asia to be certified polio-free if it remains polio-free for three years. This will be a major achievement as more focussed strategy can be adopted towards battling resurgence threats from wild polio virus,” said Kalyan Banerjee, Chairman, Rotary International.

Amidst celebration, speakers reminded the festive assembly that the work is far from complete, because the ultimate goal is yet to be reached as three countries continue to remain polio endemic and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (an alliance of WHO, CDC, Rotary and UNICEF) was facing a significant funding shortfall of over $ 1 billion for activities in 2012-2013.

Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration, World Health Organization, said India’s removal from the polio-endemic list is “perhaps the most important milestone ever on the long road to eradication.” But an upsurge in cases of paralysis from polio in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and recent polio outbreaks in China, the Congo, and Tajikistan have also prompted what he called an “unprecedented push” to finally end the disease. He said that 192 ministers of health will meet soon and declare polio a public health emergency.

Calling corporates to play more active role in community service, Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, said, “Corporate indirectly stimulate their own business development if they push their energies and help resolve social sector issues through engagement. There is much to be gained when business leaders take giving to heart, and set the mandate of making a difference by caring for people in their community.”

The three day convention also witnessed Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn representing His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the opening ceremony and thanking Rotarians for their work around the world. Other dignitaries present on the occasion included Sukhumbhan Boribhat, Bangkok Governor; Hugh Evans, Anti-poverty crusader and Cofounder, Global Poverty Project; Gillian Sorensen, Senior Adviser and national advocate at the United Nations Foundation; Angelique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Rotary International convention in Bangkok is estimated to inject more than $ 100 million into the Thai economy.

Cancer kills over 150,000 people in the UK every year and oral/head and neck cancer (HNC) is in the top ten worldwide, with major risk factors being tobacco and alcohol consumption.

Surgery and radiotherapy are the principal treatment options for HNC, with chemotherapy also used, though not recommended as a sole treatment due to its toxicity and very low probability of cure. Usually, chemotherapy is combined with radiotherapy and is administered intravenously through a ‘drip’ in the arm but in this way, the chemotherapy drugs are spread throughout a patient’s whole body.

The researchers within the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Group in the School of Engineering, in collaboration with Duncan F Campbell, an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, St John’s Hospital, NHS Lothian, have been working to develop a new way of using intra-arterial delivery which would concentrate chemotherapy drugs in the area around the tumour with lower doses for the organs vulnerable to toxicity. It is hoped this method would result in higher cure rates and fewer side-effects.

Campbell said, “Chemotherapy is ideally given at a high dose, but results in significant toxicity, for example neutropaenia/immunosuppression resulting from chemotherapy risks fatal pneumonia, renal failure and other morbidities.”

The group is not yet ready to propose clinical trials which are at least a year from now.

The Flow Modelling research team led by Dr Manosh Paul at the University used computed tomography (CT) scans of patients and applied computational fluid dynamics techniques to model the distribution and concentration of a chemotherapeutic agent in the complex network of head and neck arteries surrounding a tumour.

By taking into account many parameters, such as the location of injection, the pressure applied in injecting the fluid, the speed of blood flow and pulse rate, the researchers can find the right way of injecting the therapeutic agent that will concentrate it at the desired location.

Dr Paul said, “In inter-arterial infusion treatment, the chemotherapy dose is given to a specific artery feeding a tumour.”

“Using computational fluid dynamics we investigate the effects of changes in various flow related and surgically relevant parameters to optimise the cancer dose locally at the cancer region.”

Campbell said, “Surgical excision for HNC commonly leads to unilateral removal of major neck veins of patients, the implications of this are not understood. CFD models developed from a patient’s pre- and post-surgery CT scans would allow us to investigate this which might be relevant for subsequent metastases.”

Both believe that this new CFD-aided treatment method could have a significant impact on HNC cure rates, early detection and quality of life for patients incurable by conventional means, and potentially be useful to cure other cancers.

Dr Paul said, “If we can prove in the lab, and through computer modelling, that a highly customised approach is likely to be more effective then we will proceed to trials.”

The team is now working on major research proposals to secure external funding from MRC and the Wellcome Trust to the development of their innovative CFD-aided technology for potential clinical use in future.