A VIRTUAL DOSE
that two friends began 17 years ago has taken a new form and acquired relevance. At the turn of the century, space scientist and the then Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr K Kasturirangan, and Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, leading cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health, came up with a plan to leverage ISRO satellites to remotely provide healthcare services. Little did they know then that it would become the norm in a corona-ravaged world. “Kasturirangan wanted to revolutionise rural healthcare using telemedicine that could be made possible with an ISRO dish on a hospital roof-top linked via satellite to a small dispensary in rural areas at the other end. I
