NetHealth 2019: Networking Humanitarian Technology for Healthcare

The NetHealth 2019 Networking Humanitarian Technology for Healthcare workshop was held during the 11th International Conference on COMmunication Systems & NETworkS (COMSNETS 2019) on the 11th of January 2019 in Bangalore, India.

Background

Healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. The Indian government has aggressive plans to develop India further into a global healthcare hub, leveraging its relatively lower-priced treatment options. It presents an excellent opportunity for the growth of the entire health industry – medical devices, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. However, a gulf has been identified between the high-quality healthcare that makes India a hub for medical tourism and at the other extreme, Indians struggling to access essential health services. However, affordability is not simple to implement; it requires creative, out-of-the-box thinking. To deliver affordability, we need innovation— be it through devices, drugs or services. It is only by creating innovation in technology, strategies, practices and policies that we can take on local and global healthcare challenges.

Every year, the NetHealth Workshop brings together a multi-disciplinary audience from across the healthcare spectrum to share their ideas and break the conventional silos that exist in this field. NetHealth is centered around people and technology that are changing the face of healthcare.

Theme & Focus Areas

The theme of NetHealth 2019 was “Networking Humanitarian Technology for Healthcare.” The workshop covered an array of healthcare topics like Artificial Intelligence, Bio-entrepreneurship, Tele-medicine, Nanotechnology, and 3D printing. Over 100 delegates were in attendance, and live streaming reached an additional 200 online viewers.

Keynote Speakers

The workshop included a number of well-rounded and knowledgeable speakers.

  • Pramod Varshney, Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, USA
  • David Kotz, Professor of Computer Science, Dartmouth College, USA
  • Gopalakrishnan, Aarogya Seva, USA
  • Dr. Dhruv Joshi, Cloud Physician, India
  • Dr. Geeta Manjunath, Niramai, India
  • Dr. Manish Arora, IISc, India
  • Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi, CEO & Co-Founder HiiiH Innovations, India
  • Dr. Aravind Kumar Rengan IIT, Hyderabad, India

Academic Research

This year’s NetHealth had a record number of research paper submissions. Out of 30 paper submissions, expert reviewers shortlisted 20 to be presented. Subjects extended across diagnostics, IoT, medical simulation, social media in population health, and more. The top three papers received awards at the end of the conference. We also had a book launch by representatives from The Affordable Inventions in MedTech Research Fellowship on their Unmet MedTech Needs database for India.

Conference Outcomes

The event organizers hope that platforms like NetHealth can bring about innovation in every facet of healthcare so that no one in India lacks access to the latest medical technology. For more pictures from the event, visit this page.