Egyptian boy undergoes a heart surgery using a virtual reality model developed by IIT Madras.

Among thousands waiting for international travel curbs to be lifted is an 11-year-old Egyptian boy for whom spending the lockdown time in India has come with a new lease of life as he underwent a crucial heart surgery using a virtual reality model developed by the IIT Madras.The child underwent the life-saving surgery at Chennai’s MGM hospital using the virtual reality model to implant a heart pump, after he was turned down by several hospitals in the US and Europe.According to Dr KK Balakrishnan, Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant, MGM Healthcare, this was a first of its kind implant surgery successfully performed in India, while similar procedures have been performed twice in the US.