What’s the basis of MAPNA’s policies and strategies in the field of health, and where did MAPNA Healthcare Company enter this field?

The formation of this company is the first instance of the integration of industry and medical treatment in Iran, however, this had in some American, European, and Asian companies. For example, Siemens and General Electric, which have been producing industrial products, entered this field and became very successful.

MAPNA’s association and partnership with the Ministry of Health began when the minister of health visited MAPNA Group in 2013. After seeing the facilities and potential of MAPNA as an industrial giant in the Middle East, he concluded that this company with such potential should enter the field of manufacturing medical equipment.

As you know, entering this field requires special requirements and standards, and a company cannot enter the field just because it is industrial. It is probably easier to enter the auto or generator industry, but in a field that directly deals with people’s lives, the capabilities of industrialists are greatly challenged.

Therefore, launching such a production line needs special certificates. We had a special mission, and initial steps were taken correctly, but determining who should provide help on this path is also very important. Despite challenges, important decisions were taken for the company’s progress through correct leadership, which not only did not stop the project and activities but also provided infrastructure for the company’s progress during this and the coming year.

Along with our valuable experiences and efforts, we, fortunately, have the support of the Ministry of Health. Considering the rapid development of medical imaging equipment in the world, we must keep up with these developments.

Some believe that the change in the macro policies of the health sector was due to the fact that the COVID-19 crisis had put the country’s healthcare system under immense pressure as some former officials thought that they could not count on the production capacity of domestic companies. What is your take on this?

COVID-19 could be an opportunity for our company. During the COVID era, we were able to provide CT scan services to about 2 million people with the governmental tariff. Our CT-scan devices were active round the clock in 35 hospitals. We saw the situation as that of a war in which we have to work day and night without any expectations. Our devices were rarely turned off, and we helped the Ministry of Health a lot. Our staff in MAPNA Healthcare Company was at providing services to patients round the clock. We fastened our belts tightly to just serve the patients, and we did that. The company’s activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination period were honest moves in line with our social responsibility.

An infrastructure called tele-report has been created by MAPNA Healthcare Company that makes it possible to transfer radiology data in the country. Can you explain this platform and its capabilities?

One of the company’s achievements is this tele-report or teleradiology. As you know, this has been done for years in developed countries. When we do not have access to a specialist doctor, this platform can deliver the data to the specialist.

We realized that due to the lack of specialist doctors in the country, when a patient has a problem, radiology data is used without consulting a specialist. Imagine that a patient has gone to the surgery room and now has abdominal pain, but there is no specialist nearby or even in their province. Teleradiology can send the information to a specialist anywhere in Iran and receive the doctor’s report.

As a social duty, we have installed imaging devices in cities where there were no such devices at all, but this image must be interpreted by a specialist, and there is no specialist in those cities. In fact, this platform is a software attachment for installing devices all around the country.

Of course, this is done through Pax devices. In telemedicine, we increase the speed and quality of delivering the images by increasing the bandwidth. Therefore, we have the possibility to send images and interpretations of doctors all over the country, especially in areas where we are facing a shortage of doctors.

How do you evaluate the company’s future prospects?

We hope to cover more centers throughout the country. According to the talks we had with the Ministry of Health, we were supposed to cover 142 hospitals. We seek to equip these hospitals with our own products. It should be noted that when we are able to produce medical equipment, the total price will be reduced and as a result, both the Ministry of Health and the patients will receive services at a lower price, and thus they both benefit.

Our vision is to become the leading company in Iran and in the region.

Do you see such a technological capability in the company?

Absolutely. CT scanners currently produced by the company have more than 16 slice counts. While the 16-slice CT scanner is the base of the world countries, we are working on the production of 32-slice scanners. The company is also considering the production of an MRI device that does not need helium, which is the latest technology in Europe. We are not recreating the technology that Europe had 5 years ago. This is an important achievement of MAPNA.

During the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the country, we produced a container-based oxygen plant for hospitals with the cooperation of MAPNA Boiler and Equipment Engineering and Manufacturing Co. This measure was only aimed at helping the patients and financial benefits were not the priority of the company and was made based on the request of the Ministry of Health from MAPNA Group. However, we encountered many obstacles and difficult administrative rules at the stage of providing the devices in medical centers and no proper support was provided from the relevant organizations.

Did you deliver the oxygen plant on time?

There was some delay because some of its parts had to be imported from abroad. Furthermore, the challenges that the company faced such as the long process of obtaining permits, administrative bureaucracies, and the lack of support in installing the device in medical centers caused delays in our plans.

Despite this delay, the importance of producing oxygen generators at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis and round-the-clock efforts will not be diminished.