A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to collaborate on a national initiative towards the creation of high-quality medical datasets representing India's diversity, as stated in a report by PTI. In a statement issued by IISc Bengaluru, it said that ICMR and IISc will develop a technology-enabled hub-and-spoke system for collecting and curating data through institutions across the country.
Additionally, a not-for-profit foundation promoted by IISc ARTPARK (AI & Robotics Technology Park) will serve as the initiative's partner for technology development and programme management. Additionally, it was noted that the Artificial Intelligence solutions for screening, diagnosis and decision support hold much promise to improve access to healthcare and boost productivity and effectiveness of health human resources at all levels.
Further, the statement read, "Quality assured and curated medical imaging datasets that truly represent India's diversity of people, settings and needs will accelerate research and innovation to realise that promise." It added, "Such independent, benchmark data will also help assess AI-based tools developed by startups and companies, and thus accelerate deployment in practice."
Sharing views on this context, the Director of IISc Prof Govindan Rangarajan said, "Our goal is to bring together the best of technology, data science and medical research to improve healthcare. This partnership with ICMR will enable us to do exactly that by creating invaluable datasets to propel the next generation of innovations for India and the world," as stated in a report by PTI. Also, Senior Financial Advisor of ICMR Rajeev Roy said that the MoU would enhance the outcome of the investment by providing value-added, reusable data sources to researchers from medical research and engineering institutions.
