Scientists at Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) claim to have developed India’s first indigenous medical kit that may ensure protection from serious injuries and faster healing of wounds resulting from nuclear warfare or radioactive leakage.
TIME TAKEN FOR DEVELOPMENT: About two decades
CONTENTS OF KIT (MORE THAN 25 ITEMS IN ALL): # Radio-protectors that provide 80-90 per cent protection against radiation and nerve gas agents; # Radioactive Blood Mopping Dressing — a special kind of bandage that absorbs radiation; # an advanced form of Prussian blue tablets, which are highly effective in incorporating Radio Cesium (Cs-137) and Radio Thallium (among the most feared radioisotopes in nuclear bombs that destroy human body cells); # Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) injection, which traps uranium in the guts and blood of victims during a nuclear accident or warfare; # Ca-EDTA Respiratory Fluid, which is the inhalation formula for chelation, or grabbing, of heavy metals and radioactive elements deposited in lungs through inhalation at nuclear accident sites; # radioactive urine/biofluid collector which is cost-effective, easy to store and can safely dispose of urine of radiation affected person; # anti-gamma ray skin ointment that protects and heals the radiation damage on the skin; # amifostine injection, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved conventional radiopharmaceutical that limits damage from gamma radiation.
FORMER SUPPLIERS: US and Russia
EFFICACY: The Prussian blue tablets (Indranil) provide 100 per cent absorption of radioactive elements from the gut and other portals of entry to the human body. When EDTA is injected into the veins, it “grabs” heavy metals and minerals and removes them from the body. The medicine reduces the body’s burden of radioactivity by 30-40 per cent in controlled conditions and is highly useful for the rescue teams and victims after a nuclear accident.
# The urine collector has silk at its base that can jellify up to 500 millilitres of urine, which could be disposed of safely.
INTENDED USERS: Armed, paramilitary and police forces who are likely to get exposed to radiation first.
USP: Drugs in the medical kit are all entirely ‘Made in India’, and are cost-effective.
TEST RESULTS: Preliminary tests have shown that 80-85 per cent animals may survive at 100 per cent lethal gamma radiation if given as a prophylactic.