New Delhi: Fecal incontinence (FI) is a medical condition marked by inability to control one’s bowel movements, causing stool (feces) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum. It affects nearly 100 million bed ridden patients worldwide. Furthermore, about 50 percent of the psychiatric ward patients have FI due to long-term neurological diseases.
While the absorbent pads and fecal drainage catheters are the only available solutions for this condition, a need for a better solution was so far absent globally.
Now in a major step in that direction, the Consure Medical founded in 2012 by Mr Nishith Chasmawala and Mr Amit Sharma, has developed the novel technology ‘Fecal Incontinence Management System-Qora’ to address the clinical and economical implications of fecal incontinence by expanding indications for use, reducing skill level required to use a device, and introducing a new level of care for patients outside the ICU.
The indigenously developed ‘Qora’ was launched by Minister of State for Science & Technology Mr Y S Chowdary in New Delhi on Thursday, 19th May, 2016 in presence of the DBT Secretary, Dr K VijayRaghavan.
The product was clinically validated at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. After nearly two years of intense development, the Consure Medical has developed the Qora Stool Management Kit, the world’s first FDA 510(k) approved indwelling fecal drainage device for the management of fecal incontinence that can be used across a continuum of care facilities from ICUs to nursing homes. In select markets like India, caretakers of bedridden patients at home can use the device.
The intellectual property for the company’s core Qora technology under DBT’s ownership has been granted in key markets, including US, EU, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and Japan. As a result of its elegant and versatile design, the Qora technology has the potential to expand globally and benefit more than 100 million fecal incontinent patients each year.
Aimed to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in India to develop innovative and affordable medical devices to augment unmet clinical needs of India, this innovative medical device has been developed under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology supported Bio design Programme.
A spin-off from the Program Bio design is a Med-Tech innovation Program of DBT. This Program is implemented at AIIMS and IIT, Delhi in collaboration with International partners such as Stanford University, USA, Queensland University of Technology, Australia and Tottori University and Japan.