Origins
The Background
Mr Kuman Gopaldas Chhatrala, father of Dr Pankaj Chhatrala, was forced to leave his clerical service at a local school and take up farming in order to support the financial needs of a large, joined-family. It was purely to the credit of Mr Kuman’s hard work, commitment and perseverance through farming that empowered the Chhatrala family to own land and flourish financially into a stable and supportive household.
Value for education in the growing independent India was not a surprise for anyone, especially for the family of Mr Kuman. This sincerity for learning came to fruition as a deep-seeded curiosity for Dr Pankaj Chhatrala since his childhood.
In early 2000’s Junagadh, in a semi-urban town of Gujarat, Dr Pankaj Chhatrala completed his schooling. Innate curiosity of an innovator always kept his proclivity towards research and development alive and thriving. Dr Pankaj’s appreciation for the vital nature of medical sciences and its immense appetite for innovation achieved mainstream prominence in his life as he took M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) study at Shree M P Shah Medical College, Jamnagar.
In 2011, after accomplishing his medical foundation and ignoring the mundane nature of a financially lucrative career as a physician; Dr Pankaj focused his attention towards exploring the scopes of medical innovations. His goal was to explore the exponential possibilities of causing change and improving lives through innovation as compared to what regular practice in multinational healthcare chains, government health-centers or independent consultation might typically allow.
The Foreground
In 2012, advancing his learning further, Dr Pankaj started his Master’s program in Medical Science & Technology (MMST) at IIT Kharagpur (one of the most prestigious engineering institutes in India). During this program, he was exposed to the basics of various technologies such as medical biotechnology, bio-materials, healthcare IT, medical electronics, nanotechnology, etc. Apart from routine curricular study, the program also introduced him to several research projects and activities; one of which was an internship in medical device innovation. This internship and the innovation that emerged from it changed Dr Pankaj’s life along with countless orthopedic patients’ in a very profound manner.
In the Summer of 2014, during an Internship Program by the School of International Biodesign (previously known as Stanford India Biodesign or SIB) at AIIMS - Delhi; Dr. Pankaj (physician), along with a product designer and an engineer were assembled into an interdisciplinary team. With an objective to find an innovative solution towards addressing some of the most pressing issues in orthopedics, this team explored and stratified about 160 observations.
What profoundly guided the team’s interest was the problems occurring with traditional orthopedic immobilizer casts such as POP cast, glass fiber cast, etc. Many collaterally unsolved and unaddressed problems in traditional orthopedic immobilizer casts emerged such as:
The Founder
Dr Pankaj Chhatrala is an innovator, inventor, researcher and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of OrthoHeal and also the inventor of the revolutionary FlexiOH® technology that allows washable and ventilated orthopedic immobilization for post-fracture healing. His curiosity, passion, and enthusiasm for medical innovations that can improve lives at large scale outrank any other accreditation to his persona. Dr Pankaj is a medical professional with Bachelors in Medicine (MBBS) and a Masters in Medical Science & Technology (MMST) from IIT-Kharagpur (a leading technological institute in India with significant global recognition).
His entrepreneurial venture OrthoHeal based in Gujarat (India) & Dallas (USA) is constantly engaged in newer innovations and research to help human lives get better, free from pain and profoundly healthy.
The Company
Mr Kuman Gopaldas Chhatrala, father of Dr Pankaj Chhatrala, was forced to leave his clerical service at a local school and take up farming in order to support the financial needs of a large, joined-family. It was purely to the credit of Mr Kuman’s hard work, commitment and perseverance through farming that empowered the Chhatrala family to own land and flourish financially into a stable and supportive household.
Value for education in the growing independent India was not a surprise for anyone, especially for the family of Mr Kuman. This sincerity for learning came to fruition as a deep-seeded curiosity for Dr Pankaj Chhatrala since his childhood.
In early 2000’s Junagadh, in a semi-urban town of Gujarat, Dr Pankaj Chhatrala completed his schooling. Innate curiosity of an innovator always kept his proclivity towards research and development alive and thriving. Dr Pankaj’s appreciation for the vital nature of medical sciences and its immense appetite for innovation achieved mainstream prominence in his life as he took M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) study at Shree M P Shah Medical College, Jamnagar.
In 2011, after accomplishing his medical foundation and ignoring the mundane nature of a financially lucrative career as a physician; Dr Pankaj focused his attention towards exploring the scopes of medical innovations. His goal was to explore the exponential possibilities of causing change and improving lives through innovation as compared to what regular practice in multinational healthcare chains, government health-centers or independent consultation might typically allow.