Indian Council of Medical Research

Hospitals from China will be partaking in existing research in Singapore that aims to develop precise and personalised solutions to early detect and manage symptoms of cardiovascular diseases specific to the Asian population. Early this month, Kailuan General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding to join the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's (NUS Medicine) Project RESET. WHAT IT'S ABOUT The new Project RESET Parallel Cohort will particularly focus on subclinical cardiovascular diseases (SCVD), or asymptomatic conditions associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases that have become a growing concern among Asian populations. Tianjin Medical University reportedly has expertise in this research area. The four organisations will study data from a diverse, multi-ethnic cohort of Asians using multi-omics and big data to discover molecular, metabolic, and immunological markers of heart diseases. Besides filling gaps in the research of SCVD, their study will also contribute to developing "precise, personalised prevention and management strategies for cardiovascular conditions." Additionally, the organisations will conduct trials to test the effectiveness of AI and digital health interventions for detecting and treating cardiovascular conditions. THE LARGER TREND NUS Medicine launched the Project RESET in September last year. The five-year research project, funded by the Singaporean government, initially sought to track heart disease symptoms that go undetected in the majority of Singaporean people. At least 3 million individuals or half of the island city-state's population unknowingly have heart disease. Up to 80% of healthy individuals are reportedly unaware of the abnormal calcium build-up in their arteries while around four in 10 have fatty liver, which is also a key sign of heart disease. Project RESET then aims to discover new biomarkers of early heart disease; it also intends to pilot new methods and approaches to prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases. Other national and private initiatives in Singapore are building big databases representing the diversity of the Asian population, contributing to precision medicine. The SG100K project, led by the government's Precision Health Research, is analysing big data – sequencing genomes of a hundred thousand individuals – to better understand various factors contributing to non-communicable diseases relevant to Asians. Private startup Mesh Bio has established a big multi-omics dataset that assists in generating insights into metabolic conditions related to the Asian population. Outside Singapore, India has also embarked on a population-wide initiative, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research , to collect and curate volumes of medical images representing the Indian people to support AI development. In September, the first comprehensive multi-omics database on cancer was also launched in India after fifteen years. The Indian Cancer Genome Atlas now provides initial access to clinically annotated data on DNA, RNA, and protein profiles of breast cancer patients.

A public-private national project in India has introduced what could be the country's first comprehensive cancer multi-omics database fifteen years after its founding. The Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA) focuses on studying cancer biology specific to the Indian population to create datasets that can be utilised in developing personalised treatment protocols Based on a media release, the open-access ICGA portal initially includes clinically annotated data on DNA, RNA, and protein profiles of breast cancer patients, along with their treatment histories and outcomes. By next year, the available data will be expanded from the current 50 patients to over 500. "This data is freely accessible to the global research community under India’s PRIDE guidelines, which promote ethical sharing and collaboration in cancer research," a press statement noted. The portal was built based on the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics platform developed by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. THE LARGER TREND Health and medical researchers in India have long relied on databases from global sources. "Historically, cancer treatments in India have been based on Western data sets. However, cancers in Indian patients can differ significantly at the molecular level," the ICGA said. Two years ago, India's peak body for biomedical research, the Indian Council of Medical Research , started building datasets representing Indian diversity. These datasets, for one, will underpin the development and integration of AI technologies in healthcare. In 2023, India recorded over two million new cases of cancer – the third highest in the world. Late detection and poor intervention are reportedly driving this trend. Digital technologies have been identified as one solution to address India's growing cancer problem. The Koita Centre for Digital Oncology established by the government-backed National Cancer Grid is one of those centres established to promote the digitalisation of cancer care in the country. ON THE RECORD "Cancer touches all of us, and the need for more effective, personalised treatments – especially tailored to the unique genetic and environmental factors in India – is urgent. This portal will empower researchers with crucial data to advance customised cancer research for better treatment outcomes," Dr Anand Deshpande, a non-executive director of ICGA, commented.

The All India Institute Of Medical Science in New Delhi recently unveiled its new AI solution that assists with the early detection of cancer. Developed with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Pune under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the AI system runs on deep learning models capable of analysing complex medical data with "unprecedented accuracy and efficiency". It was trained using a data set of 500,000 radiological and histopathological images from 1,500 cases of breast and ovarian cancers, the two most common types of cancer. It has now been applied by the Department of Gynaecology to validate cases of breast and ovarian cancer. AIIMS has made the AI solution available to cancer hospitals and research centres for implementation, with deployment already made to five undisclosed district hospitals. The Neurology Department at Aster CMI Hospital has created an AI tool for screening Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The AI diagnostic solution can identify the median nerve in ultrasound videos and detect CTS with 95% accuracy, the hospital claimed in a statement. Singapore-headquartered Qritive was recently signed by three diagnostic centres and hospitals in India to deliver AI-driven pathology management solutions. According to a press release, Metropolis Healthcare , Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, and CŌRE Diagnostics will be adopting Qritive's Pantheon image management system and AI solutions as part of their respective pathology modernisation strategies. "The integration of Qritive’s AI-powered platform into our workflows signifies a revolutionary step in enhancing precision, timeliness, and personalised diagnosis," Metropolis Healthcare CEO Surendran Chemmenkottil commented. "This collaboration will strengthen our diagnostic precision, resulting in improved patient outcomes, and reaffirm our dedication to delivering excellence in clinical care. The collaboration also has the potential to lead to the development of new AI services for the diagnosis of rare diseases," said Dinesh Chauhan, CEO of CŌRE Diagnostics. "With efficient identification of concerning areas and precise grading, integrating these tools has enhanced our workflow and diagnostic precision, offering significant benefits to our practice," Dr Gurudutt Gupta, head of the Pathology Department at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute Research Centre, also said about their adoption of Qritive's technology. Amrita Hospital in Faridabab announced that the head of its Radiation Oncology department has received a grant from the government to develop a robot-assisted ultrasound system for image-guided therapies and hyperthermia for cancer treatment. Explaining his project, which has received support from the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr Bhaskar Viswanathan said, "It is a non-invasive technique that uses focused ultrasound waves and has a huge potential in cancer treatment like tumour ablation, mild hyperthermia for radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and motion management during radiation delivery." "This cutting-edge technology will allow precise localisation of lesions, enabling targeted and effective delivery of therapeutic radiation and avoiding damage to the surrounding tissue and organs," he added. Dr Viswanathan will also collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad and Eranki Labs for this three-year p roject. Ambulance service Medulance has launched what could be the first 5G-enabled medical facility offering for corporates. Launched in a corporate office in Gurgaon, city southwest of India's capital New Delhi, the Smart Medical Room features diagnostic tools, telemedicine capabilities, and real-time monitoring systems. Enabling rapid communication and data transfer, it reduces emergency response time to "under 4 minutes," the company claimed in a statement. "[W]e are not only treating basic parameters inside the medical room like CPR or Basic Life Support [but] we’re also going to provide teleconferencing with the doctor from this medical room and we will ensure that they can see the patient’s vitals remotely – this means blood pressure, sugar levels, and ECGs can be simultaneously shown to a doctor while the patient is on [their] way to a hospital," Medulance co-founder Pranav Bajaj further explained.