Ideas galore at IIM-A innovation search

Won't it be convenient for healthcare personnel if there is a device to monitor flow of intravenous medicines into a patient? Or, how about making available agarose, a plant extract used in DNA analysis, at less than one-sixth of its market price? Or what about making nano-materials, which have a wide range of applications from drug delivery systems to space technology, through the biological route?

These are some of the innovative ideas that came up during a nation-wide innovator search programme conducted by the Indian Institute of Management. Results of the programme were declared last week.

Over 200 participants enrolled themselves in the National Innovator Search contest, organised by the IIM-A Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship.

Somnath Chatterjee, co-ordinator of the centre, said the movement will gather even more momentum as these contests are held round the year. The third round begins next month.

"We invite high-tech high-value innovations where a prototype has already been created. And going by the kind of entries we have been receiving, this experiment, which began two years ago, will go a long way in helping India move up the value chain," said Somnath.

"This product was evolved over a period of time and we have filed for its patent recently," said Girish Vaze, who along with Sanjiv Gokhale, developed the infusion flow rate monitor.

Vaze said the monitor was developed initially by Gokhale as part of his education project. "But we felt the need to come up with a second version that will eliminate the shortcomings of the first. It has been tested in a few hospitals and is very helpful," said Vaze.

He said the only other equipment available are infusion pumps that are extremely costly. Gokhale and Vaze bagged the first prize in the contest.

Agarose, an essential component in DNA testing, is available in the market for Rs 1.26 lakh a kg. And this is what Kalyani Damle, who bagged the second prize, and her associates did: They developed agarose from Agar Agar, a plant. Agarose will now cost only Rs 21,000 a kg.

"We developed a bacterial culture that eliminated agaropectin from Agar Agar, thus making agarose available at much cheaper rates," said Mayur Joshi, a member of the team.

Joshi said while agarose is neutral, agaropectin has a positive charge and needs to be eliminated. The third best entry was from Kunal Upadhyay, a second year PGP student of IIM-A.

"I developed a prototype of synthesising and manufacturing nanomaterials through the biological route, which is far more environmental-friendly and cheaper," said Upadhyay.

Working with Murli Shastri of the National Chemical Labs, Pune, Upadhyay synthesised nanomaterials, which are materials with size less than 100 nanometres.

"The culture of innovation is growing fast in the country. This is an attempt to hasten it and help such innovations get a far wider application," said Chatterjee.