The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Wednesday announced that it is initiating ‘Digital Wellbeing Alliance’ in collaboration with health technology firms to make Chennai the ‘Digital Wellbeing Capital’ of the world.
The prime objective of the alliance is to improve quality of life for healthcare providers and seekers, and to leverage India’s strength to enhance global health and wellness care.
As part of the alliance, IIT-M will work for the wellbeing of the community with special focus on young workforce and weaker sections of the society by using its expertise in technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IoT and Motion Capture Technology.
The stakeholders of the alliance include IITs in the country, health technology companies, medical device makers, digital health players, medical institutions, corporate firms, government bodies such as NITI Aayog and Certifying/Regulating Agencies.
The alliance was inaugurated at IIT Madras by Dr Ram D Sriram, a renowned AI and healthcare expert, and is currently the chief of the Software and Systems Division, Information Technology Laboratory, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US federal government.
“There are many issues that only an alliance can solve. We will brainstorm to identify those issues in this workshop. This Alliance is spearheaded by several passionate people, apart from me, including Prof D. Janakiram of IIT Madras, Sridharan Sivan of S10 Health Solutions, Sharmila Devadas of MedioTek Health Systems, Subbarao of Chola MS Risk, again emphasizing alliance of people rather than individuals,” Prof M. Manivannan, Biomedical Engineering Group, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, said during the occasion.
The alliance has its own blockchain – a decentralised platform that enables secure, fast and transparent exchange and usage of medical data with smart contracts.
Along with fostering market-driven innovation, the alliance will also work to enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and develop best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure, spawn new products and services around the industry. The alliance enables cooperation of all stakeholders through blockchain for setting policy, standards and regulatory framework.
The focus would be on the culture of wellbeing, interoperability, data privacy, cybersecurity, policy, consumer engagement, and Evidence and Evaluation. The alliance will be a great platform to drive the global penetration for the thriving health tech start-up community.
Established in 1959 by the Central Government, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras is an institute of national importance. The activities of the institute in various fields of Technology and Science are carried out in 16 academic departments, and several advanced interdisciplinary Research Academic Centres.
