I am delighted to know that KG Hospitals takes eye care facilities to the doorsteps of the needy people irrespective of their economic strata by organizing free eye camps in over 1100 villages covering about 2.5 lac patients and carrying out more than 42,000 operations. Medical Institutions need to follow such programs based on the socio-economic factors of the beneficiaries. The eye problems in the children if diagnosed early, they can be corrected easily. Such programs should aim at screening all the children. A team of paramedical personnel visits nearby schools and examine children for possible vision defects. Any one having defective vision or any obvious complaints are asked to attend the Institute for further investigations. The program is unique in its approach blended with compassion, empathy, and love. I am given to understand that KG Hospitals have taken up an ambitious project " EVERYTHING FOR CHILD'S VISION" with the objective of tackling primary causes of childhood blindness.

Eye is considered to be the most important sensory organ of the body. It provides the most important window for the self with the Universe. Any pathology (disease) of this important sense organ can lead to a significant impact on the physiology and psychology of the affected individual leading to a marked decline in the quality of Life. With the life span (average) increasing significantly in our nation reaching a figure of 67 years, leads to the increased incidence of age related diseases including cataract. Most of the elderly people suffer from cataract. Other diseases of eye like Glaucoma, detachment of retina, corneal disease particularly in rural areas due to accidental trauma of eyes are quite prevalent in our country. Vitamin-A deficiency in childhood may lead to night blindness.

All these eye diseases if diagnosed early, it is possible to provide early intervention which can help the patients to recover significant capacity of vision. Organising Eye-testing camps particularly in rural areas can achieve this objective. I like to congratulate KG Hospital for this initiative also. SBMT has developed another equipment known as DRISHTI using Nd - Yag Laser for opthalmological surgery for Glaucoma, in a DRDO Lab. Similarly a new Lens has been developed for enhancing vision in visually challenged individuals. Opthalmologists and Engineers need to work together to develop many more such biomedical instruments for our nation.

LAUNCH OF HELIPROBE

I am glad to launch and inaugurate the new facility HELIPROBE for diagnosis a water borne disease caused by the bacteria Helicobacter Pylori. This infection, I understand, leads to diseases like Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer which are quite prevalent in this part of our country as well as other regions. The strength of this system is that it is a non-invasive technique employing urea breath test. Since, it is a new technique, the doctors using this systen need to validate it here with conventional diagnosis and develop a database. Beside using it as a clinical diagnostic tool, attempts should be made to use it for clinical research in the field of infections of gastro-intestinal system. Subsequently, doctors and Engineers need to work together for indigenous development of a similar system with further improvement in a cost-effective manner with the objective of providing affordable and accessible healthcare to people in lower Socio-economic strata and in rural areas. Society for Biomedical Technology (SBMT) constituted as a consortium of DRDO, DST and Welfare Ministries to promote the indigenous development of this system if found to be effective. I congratulate the authorities of KG Hospital for establishing this new facility.

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