KMC Hospital to Unveil State-of-the-Art New Block at M’luru
Mangaluru: “In a bid to provide continued access to world -class treatments for the people of Mangaluru, KMC Hospital will launch a new block at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Circle (Jyothi Circle). The new block is equipped with state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary facility to cater to people with all types of ailments. The formal inauguration of the block will be held on Sunday, December 25th by Honorable Defense Minister of India, Shri. Manohar Parrikar at 9:30 am, with guests of honor namely – Dr HS Ballal- Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University; Dr H Sudarshan Ballal-Chairman-Manipal Hospitals; Dr Nagendra Swamy-Group Medical Director-MHE, among other dignitaries. We always endeavour to constantly upgrade our medical expertise and technology. Backed by a team of best doctors in the country, qualified nursing and paramedical staff, along with the newly added tower with state of the art Intensive Care Unit and Operation Theaters, comfortable and luxurious patient room and Health Check Lounge, KMC Hospital provides specialized medical services and tertiary care with excellent standards.” said Sagir Siddiqui, Unit Head, KMC Hospital-Mangaluru addressing the media person at Mangalore Press Club.
He further said,“We are happy to inaugurate this new block that will cater to people in a holistic manner and take care of all their medical needs. The new block is an extension of the existing facility and is an all-encompassing destination with facilities in clinical services in all the specialities ranging from Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Neurology, Transplants, Urology, Joint Replacement, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Oncology to name a few. Additionally the hospital has a dedicate24/7 accident, emergency and trauma centres, blood bank, dialysis, ICU and Laboratory.”
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Krishna Prasad, MD, DM -Medical Oncologist KMC Hospital Mangaluru said, “We are also pleased to inaugurate “IBM Watsons for oncology at KMC Hospital”on the same day. IBM’s supercomputer called Watson Oncology is a dream come true for doctors as well as patients. ”The supercomputer which uses artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for diagnosis and treatment of cancer,” says Dr Krishna Prasad , Medical Oncologist KMC Hospital Mangaluru .Manipal Hospitals is the second hospital in the world to deploy Watson for oncology technology, the first being Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York.”
“Oncology is a rapidly advancing field of medicine, where the cognitive computing platform has a lot of applications. “Watson Oncology has ingested 15 million pages of medical content related to oncology, including around 200 medical text books, 300 journals and thousands of research papers,”. Every day, more than hundred research papers on oncology get published, making it impossible for an oncologist to keep abreast of the new developments. Besides that, a thorough understanding of population health trends and genetics are also crucial”added Dr Prasad.
Dr Prasad further said, “The supercomputer ranks the treatment options available and provides links to supporting evidence for each of them. It can process the patient’s genomics data and case history and come out with tailor-made recommendations in 60 seconds. One can even find out the success rate of a treatment option, the possible side effects and toxicities of drugs, with the help of Watson Oncology. We formulate our treatment plan based on this feedback. Watson Oncology analyzes high volumes of data and processes information more like a human than a computer. “Watson understands natural language, generates hypotheses based on evidence, and learns as it goes. It continuously learns, gaining in value and knowledge over time, and from interactions with its environment,” .
Also speaking, Dr Prashantha B. Adult Hemato Oncologist, KMC Hospital Mangaluru said, ” The other cancer centres in the country may also start using Watson Oncology soon. They can access it online and take an opinion. Patients are the ones who are going to benefit the most from Watson. You get all the information at the click of a mouse. So patients don’t have to go to another hospital for a second opinion. Oncology is a worthy target for the unique capabilities of Watson, as it has a lot of ‘dark data’—unstructured information buried in reports and images that is hard for traditional software to access.’’
He further said, “The software may be used for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases other than cancer in future. Cognitive computing has numerous applications across multiple fields. Delivered via the cloud, Watson now powers consumer and enterprise services in the health care, financial services, retail and education markets.”
Dr. Harsha Prasada – Pediatric Hemato Oncologist, KMC Hospital Mangaluru addressing the media said, “In December 2015, Manipal Hospitals announced its intent to adopt Watson for Oncology, making this the first deployment of Watson in India and the first engagement of its kind as the country advances its efforts to transform health care. The introduction of Watson for Oncology will be a game changer for cancer patients across the country. With Watson, Manipal oncologists can make an informed treatment decisions for patients based on insights derived from the individuals’ unique health status, the latest medical research and other relevant data. With the launch of the Manipal expert opinion service, we are also open to partnering with other hospitals and medical consultants who seek to benefit from Watson for Oncology or individuals who have received a cancer diagnosis and wish to seek the advice of a Manipal doctor.”
“Cancer has become a common ailment and with this new technology treatments can be faster and result oriented. Oncologists in India and across the globe are struggling to keep up with the large volume of research, medical records and clinical trials. Further, doctors face an increasing battle to stay up to date about best practises in treatment and care management. How Watson works. Prefilled details of a patient on the system are loaded to click a submit button, and within about two minutes, Watson shows its recommendations. The top re c o m m e n d e d treatment will be highlighted in green – an oral drug. Second best option comes in amber. And then a whole lot in red, the ones that are best avoided” added Dr Harsha Prasada.
Also speaking during the press meet, Dr Sourjya Bannerjee, Radiation Oncologist at KMC hospital Mangaluru said “Cancer is enormously complicated. Breast cancer, for instance, has some 64 treatment protocols, and which protocol to follow depends on a range of factors about the patient. these include fitness level, age, the state of body functions, genetic profile, the stage of cancer, and the type of cancer. The cancer cells can be estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) or progesterone-receptor-positive (PR+) or it can have large amounts of HER2 protein that makes the cells grow aggressively.”
AT KMC Hospital, a team of oncology experts sit together with all these details about a patient to decide what protocol to follow. The team often takes a day or more to arrive at a decision. Even then, it will be based on the experience of the members, which by their own admission, is limited. Watson, on the other hand, has years of intelligence and experience from around the world within it”
For Appointments please call/ visit:
0824-2444590, KMC Hospital, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Circle, Mangaluru
About Kasturba Medical College Hospital:
KMC Hospital is an ISO certified hospital having achieved highest standards in preventive and curative health services since 2005. In 2010, KMC Hospital has been recertified as per ISO 9001:2008.
KMC Laboratories Services has been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) since 2009.KMC Hospital Blood Bank has been accredited by NABH for Blood Bank since 2009. KMC Hospital Blood Bank was the first to be recognised as Zonal Blood Testing Centre for HIV by the Director General of Health Services, New Delhi and the Karnataka State Aids Prevention Society. KMC Hospital was the first to setup Dialysis Centre in Mangaluru. The fully air–conditioned dialysis centre with 23 units, also has an exclusive facility for HCV/HBsAg positive patients.
It is the ONLY set up in Mangaluru with Full-fledged Interventional Neuro Radiology, Advanced Cardiac care with 2 Cath Labs and catering to Cardiac Electrophysiology as well as a Comprehensive Diabetic Foot care (Podiatrics) set up.
About Manipal Hospitals:
As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the largest hospital network in India serving over 2 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable tertiary care multispecialty healthcare framework through its entire multispecialty delivery spectrum and further extend it to homecare. With its flagship quaternary care facility located in Bangalore, India, 8 tertiary care, 7 secondary care and 2 primary care clinics spread across India and abroad, today Manipal Hospitals successfully operates and manages 5,200+ beds. Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from across the globe. Manipal Hospitals is first in India to be awarded accreditation by the AAHRPP for ethical standards in clinical research activities. It is also NABL, NABH and ISO certified. Manipal Hospitals is also the most respected hospital company in India and the most patient recommended hospital in India by consumer survey.