"We offer screening tests in a single package of Rs 15k, as compared to Rs 45-50k outside"
29 December 2021 | Interviews
NURA, a collaboration between Fujifilm Healthcare and Dr Kutty’s Healthcare, has opened its first-ever diagnostic centre in Bengaluru, equipped with high-end, state-of-the-art machines. It instantly brought to patients the best of Artificial Intelligence-assisted imaging and expertise in diagnostics and healthcare, vastly improving the screening experience in India.
In conversation with BioSpectrum, Dr Tausif Ahmed Thangalvadi, Medical Director & General Manager, NURA reveals more about the company's growth plans.
Edited excerpts-
What type of tests are being conducted at the centre?
NURA provides radiology-based screening services. Our goal is to help an individual, a healthy, asymptomatic person, identify health risks at an early stage and give them the best possible chance of treating them. We use Ai-enabled imaging technology from Fujifilm that allows our screening process to be safer and more accurate. Unlike a diagnostic lab, we do not do primarily test for disease in a sick person, on the recommendation of a doctor.One can walk in and avail screening at NURA without a doctor’s prescription and understand the status of their health. In addition, our Centre is designed to make you feel at home, in a comfortable, luxurious environment.
For Men, we screen for - Blood pressure, BMI, Lung cancer, Coronary Heart Disease, COPD, Visceral Fat Analysis, Osteoporosis/ Bone Mineral Density, Sarcopenia, Full Body Composition, Colon Cancer, Oral Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, Heart & Liver Health, Kidney Health, Gout, Anemia & General Well-being.
For Women, we screen for - Blood pressure, BMI, Lung cancer, Coronary Heart Disease, COPD, Visceral Fat Analysis, Osteoporosis/ Bone Mineral Density, Sarcopenia, Full Body Composition, Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Colon Cancer, Oral Cancer, Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, Heart & Liver Health, Kidney Health, Gout, Anemia & General Well-being.
How cost effective are the tests?
NURA packages are quite cost effective. If same set of tests and scans are done outside NURA, it might cost anywhere between Rs 40-50K. Whereas, at NURA, we offer it as a single package costing Rs 15K.
In which other cities do you plan to launch your centres?
Nura Ai-enabled health screening is currently available only in Bengaluru. But we do plan to open up centres in other cities in the next 1-2 years.
What will be your investment plans for the next five years for the Indian market?
Our mission is to provide affordable, accessible and accurate health screening services globally through NURA. In coming 5 years, we would focus more on expanding our presence in prominent cities of India and few other countries.
What are your expectations from Budget 2022 with regards to the diagnostics sector?
In last budget, the government has announced a budget outlay of Rs 2,23,846 crore for health and wellbeing in 2021-2022, an increase of 137 per cent from the previous year, with Rs 35,000 crore earmarked for COVID-19 vaccine in the upcoming fiscal. This shows government is not only focused on COVID-19 fightback but is also planning to build strong and resilient healthcare system.
Preventive screening is the need of the hour to decrease disease burden on Indian healthcare system. Awareness programs and funds allocation by government for preventive aspects of healthcare would drastically reduce disease incidence rate.
Sanjiv Das
