A hospital at IIT Kanpur? ‘It makes a lot of sense for MedTech,’ says Prof Sandeep Verma | Technology News

Professor Verma holds a Master’s degree from the Banaras Hindu University, and a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, followed by post-doctoral research at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, USA, and at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Germany.

With over 250 publications, several patents, and a start-up to his credit, his work has been recognised with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.

Prof Verma spoke to indianexpress.com on the impact a large hospital at an IIT would have on MedTech innovations, the kind of MedTech innovations it could spawn, and the challenges of bringing engineering and medicine under one roof. Edited excerpts:

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Can you tell us about your research interests?

Prof Sandeep Verma: My current research interests include chemical neuroscience, stem cell engineering, microfluidics, and new antibiotics. We work on the biological effects of neuromodulators and their role in reversing the conditions associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

My research group has recently published and patented a handheld device for the detection of faulty proteins found in neurodegenerative diseases, which helps in rapid detection and quantification.

I also co-founded the startup Stablin Biosciences and have been associated with the Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: A hospital at IIT Kanpur? Tell us about the need for such a project.

Prof Sandeep Verma: The medical field today is so complex that it can no longer stand on its own. It needs new technologies and a partnership between science, engineering, and the humanities to fully understand the challenges of healthcare and human well-being.

That is why we urgently need a new kind of medical curriculum that brings together basic and clinical sciences, engineering, technology, biomedical innovation, and the medical humanities.

Such a curriculum would focus on patient-centred and personalised diagnosis and care, on healthcare that works across systems, on innovation in biomedical research, and on giving future doctors clinical training that makes use of engineering tools and approaches.

We believe doctors also need to be comfortable with digital health platforms, telesurgeries, and medical robotics. They will also need to know how to use personalised medicine for complex diseases, understand medico-legal rules and healthcare management, and provide distance-based palliative care to patients who cannot be treated in person.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Tell us about your project and the issues it seeks to resolve.

Prof Sandeep Verma: The Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology (GSMST) is designed as a blend of medicine, engineering, and entrepreneurship. It will be the first institution of its kind in India to fully integrate engineering with medical education.

Along with the medical school, it will also feature a 500-bed super-speciality hospital, a 100-bed cancer care centre, interdisciplinary academic programmes, and advanced R&D Centres of Excellence. The hospital is expected to serve over 4 million people living within a 150-km radius of Kanpur.

IIT Kanpur has set up the Gangwal School to use its strengths in technology and innovation for medical sciences. The aim is to be a global institution advancing human biology and healthcare through engineering and technology.

We plan to train the next generation of medical professionals for the country, apart from developing affordable devices and technologies, and create engineering-driven solutions for healthcare challenges. It would also be a hub for a knowledge economy focused on healthcare technologies.

We would be setting up R&D centres of excellence, which would bring together the expertise of IIT Kanpur faculty from science, engineering, humanities, and biomedical research, making the school a hub for medtech innovation. Students will be encouraged to use the institute’s innovation and incubation ecosystem to turn their ideas into products and startups.

It would also focus on academics with advanced postgraduate medical programmes such as DM and MCh in super-speciality areas, along with transdisciplinary research programmes at the interface of engineering, science, and medicine.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: How would it be different?

Prof Sandeep Verma: For the first time in India, medical students/professionals will have the option to pursue a minor degree in engineering and technology alongside their core medical programmes. This is meant to foster clinician-innovators who can actively connect medicine with technology.

This integration allows new medical solutions to be imagined, built, tested, and applied within the same space, removing the usual barriers between discovery and application.

It will also work in close alignment with initiatives such as the Jewar MedTech Park and Promote Pharma in UP. With the creation of the UP Digital Health Stack and research in AI-powered point-of-care diagnostics, Gangwal School will extend healthcare access to rural communities in UP.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: What are the challenges in this venture?

Prof Sandeep Verma: Bringing two very different professional fields — medicine and engineering — creates a unique set of challenges.

Asking doctors to take specialist training in engineering and technology, setting up governance systems and role definitions, and enabling collaborative biomedical research are all tasks that are untested in an Indian context.

Running a large hospital with advanced diagnostic equipment also requires significant capital investment. Ensuring long-term financial sustainability will depend on effective project implementation. There is also the question of clearances from regulatory authorities.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: What has been the progress so far?

Prof Sandeep Verma: The Phase I of the Gangwal School is progressing rapidly on a 30-acre site within the IIT Kanpur campus. Construction began in October 2023 and has since achieved major milestones. The project has an overall outlay of Rs 1,250 crore, and it began with a generous contribution from Rakesh Gangwal, an alumnus, and some of our other alumni donors and with CSR support. The hospital and academic facilities are expected to be operational by early 2027.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Globally, are there any models for hospital-engineering institute interaction?

Prof Sandeep Verma: Around the world, there are medical schools that have expertise in integrating innovation and engineering into medicine. We take our inspiration from them.

There is the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program (USA), which brings engineering, medical education, and clinical training together in a seamless manner. Stanford University benefits from the proximity of hospitals, academic schools, and a strong MedTech startup ecosystem. Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore) has a strong focus on translational research and patient-centred outcomes, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) emphasises themes such as precision medicine and the use of AI in healthcare. So there are quite a few examples.

The Carle Illinois School of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign stands out for its cross-campus model, actively connecting medicine with engineering to drive innovation.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Can you tell us about medical technologies/innovations that could take off with a hospital like yours at IIT?

Prof Sandeep Verma: We are currently engaged in several flagship projects that align closely with the objectives of the Gangwal School and make full use of the expertise and capabilities at IIT Kanpur.

There is the Hridayantra – Left Ventricle Assist Device (Artificial Heart) project, which focuses on developing a device to support the function of a weakened human heart. The device is like a tiny electro-mechanical pump, fitted inside the chest, that takes over the work of the failing heart. The goal is to make it lighter, quieter, longer-lasting, and much more affordable.

There is a project which is developing a wheelchair that can climb stairs and escalators, while also being able to navigate on its own. It uses advanced sensors and navigation software to detect and avoid obstacles, making it possible for users to move safely through different environments. A working prototype has already been built and is being prepared for real-world trials.

There is a project for a handheld, low-cost X-ray device developed by an IIT Kanpur startup in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research. It is designed for use in villages and remote areas, where patients often cannot travel to hospitals.

For patients with spinal deformities, the team is developing 3D-printed implants made from safe, biocompatible materials. These implants are carefully designed to match the patient’s spine, reduce complications, and speed up bone healing.

There is the Digital Health Stack Initiative in Uttar Pradesh, which is focused on affordable diagnostic devices, artificial intelligence for accurate disease prediction and diagnosis, and a patient-friendly telemedicine system. The solutions are being built and tested at IIT Kanpur with the state government, and the hope is that once successful, they can be scaled up across India under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: What are the themes/areas that MedTech startups in India focus on? What could be made better?

Prof Sandeep Verma: Indian MedTech startups are working to make healthcare in India more affordable, reduce the country’s dependence on imported medical equipment, and create homegrown solutions.

Many startups are building AI-based diagnostic tools, IoT-enabled devices for remote patient monitoring, and telemedicine platforms that allow online consultations and digital health record sharing.

Government support has played a big role in this growth. Initiatives like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the setting up of medical device parks have helped startups with research, prototyping, and manufacturing.

Thanks to these efforts, India is already seeing progress in early disease detection, point-of-care diagnostics, home-based care, patient management systems, and digital health data platforms. But the real challenge is scaling these innovations. The next step is for Indian MedTech startups to not just serve local needs but also compete globally.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: Name a few MedTech startups from India which have caught your attention.

Prof Sandeep Verma: There is Thermalytix by Niramai, a portable breast cancer screening tool that uses a high-resolution thermal camera and artificial intelligence to spot signs of cancer at an early stage. The AI looks at tiny heat patterns in the body, analysing nearly four lakh temperature points to create a risk score, helping doctors detect even very subtle changes.

There is a ventilator designed and made in India by Noccarc, which can be monitored remotely through WiFi and mobile phones, making it easier to manage critical care efficiently.

Venkatesh Kannaiah: AI in health. What do you foresee?

Prof Sandeep Verma: AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can be useful, but they still have limits and don’t always give fully reliable answers for doctors. In the future, combining these tools with smarter systems could make their responses more accurate.

As AI and digital tools improve, they can help cut down hospital readmissions, ease the workload of doctors, and give patients better ways to track their own health. These digital solutions could also support remote monitoring of both physical and mental health.