Indian startup claims to invent stroke kit to slash paralysis risk

An Indian start-up claims to have come up with a high-end med-tech kit, a life-saving intervention, for patients suffering from for treatment of acute ischemic stroke (brain stroke) which reduces the risk of long-term paralysis and disability.

M/s S3V Vascular Technologies Limited said under its Integrated Manufacturing of Mechanical Thrombectomy Kit for Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke" a state-of-the-art upstream integrated manufacturing facility is proposed at the Medical Devices Park in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

The Indian Science and Technology Ministry has extended financial support to M/s S3V Vascular Technologies Limited, Mysuru (Karnartaka), for its project titled "Integrated Manufacturing of Mechanical Thrombectomy, seeking to boost transforming brain stroke treatment through indigenous med-tech innovation.

Compared to conventional thrombolysis, thrombectomy "offers significantly improved outcomes, reducing the risk of long-term paralysis and disability, thus making a difference between paralysis and recovery from brain stroke whose instances are high in India's tier-2 cities, the Ministry said in a statement.

S3V Vascular Technologies is set to become the first Indian company to indigenously design and manufacture the complete suite of neuro-intervention devices, including microcatheters, aspiration catheters, guidewires, and stent retriever systems in an upstream integrated facility.

The company also intends to file patents for critical innovations such as the clot retriever head design, braid-over-coil aspiration catheter structures and several advanced process technologies.

The Ministry said the indigenous kit can replace expensive imported devices with high-quality and locally-manufactured alternatives to enhance both affordability and accessibility of brain stroke care in India.

The company aims to integrate these devices into government's medical insurance reimbursement programme like "Ayushman Bharat," thereby unlocking a domestic market estimated at two billion USD.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, the government's Technology Development Board, said India's proposed first comprehensive neuro-intervention manufacturing ecosystem is aimed at making the country a global hub for affordable, high-end medical technology—especially in areas of critical public health need like stroke care.

Dr. N.G. Vijaya Gopal, Managing Director  of M/s S3V Vascular Technologies Ltd, said the integrated manufacturing facility near Chennai will not only reduce dependence on imports of the finished medical devices used in mechanical thrombectomy  but also on import of the raw materials used in manufacturing of these critical complex lifesaving medical devices.

"We have initiated the CE and USFDA approval process for these devices to expand our access to cutting-edge stroke care solutions across India, Asia, Latin America, Europe and USA," he added.