TCELS/Thai innovation promotion

Editorial staff

Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) supports the development of medical innovations in the 30 baht scheme and drive the use of medical innovations registered on the Thai Innovation list.

Dr Jittiphon Thamchinda, director of TCELS, the first from left.

Dr Jittiphon Thamchinda, director of TCELS, an agency under the supervision of the ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said the agency has played a key role in driving research and development of Thai medical and health innovations to commercialization. TCELS has supported and promoted Thai innovations into the National Health Security Office (NHSO) privilege system or gold card scheme in order to improve the quality of patient lives.

She said the agency provides equal access to the use of effective innovations, along with its plan to increase the capacity of Thai entrepreneurs and reduce imports of medical and health products from abroad. Monitoring and evaluation is under its focus to help drive continued improvement.

Recently, TCELS joined forces with NHSO to visit Udon Thani Hospital and Nong Khai Hospital to observe the use “artificial anal sac”

“Artificial anal sac” is an innovation by Thai people that helps improve the quality of patient lives. It will help reduce its imports which will be boon for NHSO. Currently, Thailand has a big number of patients who require artificial anal sacs.

The report from the NHSO indicates that at present Thailand has approximately 54,000 patients under the 30 baht scheme who use artificial fistulas. If approximately 150,000 patients nationwide to use the device within one year, that means it will cost 2.25 billion baht.

However, an artificial anal sac made from rubber is priced at only 190 baht a unit. If all patients turn to use this product in one year, it will help save a lot of money because it will cost only 1.71 billion baht. That means we can save 540 million baht. This is considered as a good direction to save state budget and reduce imported medical equipment.

TCELS has also monitored and evaluated the results of use “dental implants” for the elderly. This is one of the innovations that TCELS supports and push into the NHSO benefits system.

Currently, there are 8,615 users of innovative dental implants invented by Thai people from 2022 to March 2024, or a total of 15,273 sets which helped save 45 million baht from imports.

Driving dental implant innovation, initially with the Chaloem Phrakiat Dental Implant project, it is one of many projects initiated from the royal speech of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.