Calcutta, Dec. 17: Helicopters rushing in patients to hospitals ? Calcutta is set to take its healthcare standards to a new plane.

Private hospitals in the city are on a mission to introduce innovative ideas and technology to lure patients from abroad.

Taking the lead in this drive is BM Birla Heart Research Centre, which has finalised plans to start its air ambulance facility. The helicopters will carry patients from places like Haldia, Siliguri and the Northeast, said Suyash Borar, the hospital’s chief operating officer.

BM Birla’s officials are holding talks with authorities of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, where it wants its choppers ? two will be hired initially ? to land. “We have held informal talks with them and it went off very well. We are also looking at the possibility of the helicopters landing on our terrace,” Borar said.

New equipment like a 64-slide cardiac CT Scan, valued at over Rs 10 crore, are also on its menu.

AMRI Hospitals, on the other hand, has set its sights on NRI doctors who come to the city for holidays every year. “Recently, we had a cancer specialist from MD Anderson. He was very impressed with our cardiac and oncology facility to be inaugurated soon,” said S.B. Purakayastha, the president of the hospital.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dilip Roy from England has decided to set up a special cell in the hospital.

AMRI also has plans of importing high-tech machines. An ultrasonic aspirator, costing around Rs 45 lakh, will help doctors pinpoint brain cell and liver tumours and remove them without surgery. A Co2 laser machine for accurate treatment of cancer is also set to be installed.

Having acquired the tag of the first super-speciality hospital in South Asia to get accreditation from Joint Commission International, the Wockhardt group of hospitals is not lagging behind on the highway to high-tech healthcare.

“We are introducing cutting-edge laser technology for state-of-the art equipment to not only minimise hospitalisation expenses but also ensure faster recovery in kidney stone and prostate cases,” said Rupali Basu, general manager of Wockhardt Hospitals and Kidney Institute.

The group has plans of investing more than Rs 1 crore in new equipment in the coming year, Basu said. “This is another step in establishing our eastern region as a major medical travel destination. The role of information technology has also become very important for achieving this objective and all relevant information pertaining to treatment options, rehabilitation and communication with doctors shall be now available at the click of the mouse from any place and can be accessed by anybody.”

Wockhardt has tied up with Harvard Medical International, she added.

For the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI), the aim is to develop a tertiary eye hospital with the focus on research and training. It has collaborated with the Hyderabad-based L.V. Prasad Eye Institute ? the first tie-up of its kind in eastern India.

“It will have all the latest technology in equipment and trained manpower,” said Amit De, CMRI’s chief operating officer.

Doctors will cover sub- specialities in eye care like cornea, glaucoma retina, oculoplastics and paediatric disease. There will also be an eye bank, facilities for cornea grafting and laser surgeries for age-related macular degeneration as well as care for diabetic eyes. Separate units will deal with ocular infections and trauma.

The paediatric ward will handle complicated diseases like developmental cataract glaucoma and retinopathy of prematurity.

The other hospital in the race is Bhagirathi Neotia Woman and Child Care Centre. It has tied up with Asia CRYO-CELL Pvt Ltd, a Chennai-based healthcare agency which stores cord blood from newborns to produce stem cells.

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital has recently introduced the carto system for patients suffering from abnormal heart rhythm. It provides a three-dimensional view of the heart whose image can be rotated on the computer screen as the doctor works.

Apollo also has a laser clinic with LHE, a combination of light and heat energy for treating acne and removing unwanted hair permanently.