Tamil Nadu has become medical tourism hub of India : Venkaiah

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has become the medical tourism hub of the country,Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday. Inaugurating the Indian Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery Convention-2018 here, he said the younger generation in the country was being affected by various eye problems. Observing that this was because of increase in the usage of electronic gadgets likephones and video games, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said parents should guide their children about the ill-effects of geting hooked to such gadgets.

Noting that one-third of 45 million blind people in the world were from India, he said as the studies warn that the number of blind people was set to triple, it was time for ophthalmologists to look in to the concept of artificial intelligence, which was not new,but growing exponentially over the past several years.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu also said lack of physical movement, including exercises, has led to increase in number of diseases in the last decade.

'''Conferences like this will help improve the present treatment methods and will bring in new ideas to solve the existing problems,'' he added. He also said Tamil Nadu has become the Medical Tourism hub of the country with people from across the globe visiting the State for treatment of various ailments.

In his address, State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said the Tamil Nadu government has taken various measures that could prevent and control blindness. ''We have initiated various programmes to eradicate preventable blindness,' he added. Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society of India (IIRSI) Secretary General Dr Amar Agarwal said the aim of the convention was to promote advancements in ophthalmology among the medical fraternity and make the country a sought-after destination for eye care in the world.

''Over 2,000 ophthalmologists from around the world were participating in the two-day event organised by the IIRSI to showcase their skills and present the latest advancements in the field of ophthalmology, especially cataract and refractive surgery. A book titled, "Pre Descemets Endothelial Keratoplasty" and written by Dr Amar Agarwal,who is also the Chairman of Dr Agarwal's Group of Eye Hospitals, was released by the Vice President on the occasion.