In an effort to phase out medical devices that use mercury, BPL Health Management Solutions division inked a strategic alliance with Welch Allyn Inc introduce a range of mercury free medical devices.

Under the alliance, BPL will market and service Welch Allyn’s range of diagnostic products in India like Stethoscopes, lights and Blood Pressure measurement. The next phase of the alliance would focus on product development and manufacturing. These devices which are all US FDA approved are available at price points starting from Rs 2,000.

To begin with it will market the Energy-Efficient, LED (Light Emitting Diode)-based Medical Exam Lights, portable & electronic medical records-ready ECG and mercury-free blood pressure measurement devices.

The company kicked off the maiden mercury free educational awareness drive in Bangalore which was attended by doctors from the government medical centres, clinics and nursing homes in the private sector. Vijay Simha, COO and vice president, BPL Health Management Solutions division highlighted the harmful effects of using mercury-based thermometers and Blood pressure measurement devices.

The Green Series that are mercury free will enhance clinical practice in every healthcare environment, from diagnostic centre to a general practitioner clinic and Operation theatre. The new range of lights offer has life of 50,000 hours. The new LED-based lights products would be priced between Rs 30,000 to Rs 2 lakh based on the features and applications. BPL would use its extensive direct and dealer channel to market this product.

The CP 50 is a compact version hand held and economical ECG that could fit into a physician’s bag. The CP 50 was designed to withstand the rigours of the Indian conditions and because of its rugged build can be used in harsh environments such as in primary health centres and in military use. This device offers tangible benefits like a reliable touch-screen display, an instant-on feature and EMR ready formats. The device is targeted to be affordable and connectivity ready from hospitals to the remote clinics to the office-based physician. In addition to administering patient tests via touch screen, it can interface with the Welch Allyn CardioPerfect Workstation Software to connect patient data to an electronic health record (EHR), health information system (HIS), over the Internet. It is also equipped with an integrated high-resolution thermal printer that generates ECG reports in customizable formats. The MEANS interpretation programme provides a second silent opinion, be it paediatric or adult patients.