Qora, indigenous faecal incontinence management device

The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology YS Chowdary on 20 May 2016 launched Qora. It is an indigenously developed faecal incontinence (FI) management system. The affordable device is primarily aimed at patients outside the intensive care unit. Qora was developed by the Department of Biotechnology in partnership with AIIMS and IIT Delhi. The international partners of the programme include Stanford University, US, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and Tottori University, Japan. What is faecal incontinence? • FI is a medical condition marked by inability to control one’s bowel movements. • It causes stools (faeces) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum. It affects nearly 100 million bed-ridden patients worldwide. • As per an estimate, 58 per cent of patients in hospital intensive care units suffer from this condition, as well as another 27 million patients who live at home and are cared for by their families.