Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam derived immense satisfaction from saving lives through the development of the famed ‘Kalam-Raju stent’ for coronary heart disease. Kalam collaborated with the renowned cardiologist Dr. B. Soma Raju of Care Foundation and his colleagues to design the ‘K-R stent’ in the 1990s. These stents were developed to bring down the cost and make them affordable to the common man. They were made in India and introduced in the market in 1994. Cardiologists use these coronary stents to dilate constricted arteries while treating heart attacks.
Dr. B. Soma Raju was associated with Kalam since 1985. He used to say that Dr. Kalam was the “guiding soul” for the project. For this effort, the Care Foundation received the Defence Technology Spin-off Award in 1998, and, ‘Kalam – Raju stent’ went on to gain widespread acclaim.
Dr. Kalam along with Dr. B. Soma Raju also introduced the concept of a tablet PC for health care workers at primary health centres in rural areas.
While the Kalam-Raju stent took the centre stage for its affordability, the Kalam-Raju tablet was designed and aimed at arming healthcare personnel at the primary level like doctors, Anganwadi workers, ayahs and first responders to deal with an emergency. The tablet was capable of performing a number of medical processes at the rural level.
Picture Credit : Google
