The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Research centre set up to diagnose lung problems

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Research centre set up to diagnose lung problems

Staff Reporter

GAIL has released Rs. 20 lakhs as grant for the centre

BANGALORE: A city with over 23 lakh vehicles cannot escape from air pollution caused by vehicle exhaust. With the ambient air quality deteriorating, problems related to lungs have emerged as a major cause for concern. Often, the effects of pollution on lungs largely go undetected.

Addressing this concern is the new Air Pollution Related Diseases Diagnostic and Research Centre on the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases premises on Hosur Road. The centre helps people to find out the condition of their lungs at affordable costs. "We will show people the report on the condition of their lungs as a result of smoking or inhaling toxic gases. This will prompt them to stop smoking or change their working environment," Superintendent of the institute Shashidhar Baggi said.

The institute has set up the centre with a grant of Rs. 20 lakhs from GAIL. The public sector company has contributed towards setting up similar diagnostic centres in 22 other cities in the country.

The Bangalore centre was inaugurated by Medical Education Minister V.S. Acharya on Monday.

According to Dr. Baggi, the centre uses state-of-the-art equipment to conduct five different non-invasive tests. This includes the "Spirometry test" for knowing the capacity of the lungs; lung volume test; diffusion lung capacity test for knowing the residual capacity of the lungs; maximum voluntary ventilation test; and "Inspiratory and expiratory test" to know the working of the respiratory muscles.

"We study the amount of toxic gases in the lungs and also expansion and contraction of lungs," Dr. Baggi said.

This is the first government hospital in the State to have this facility, he added.

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