Trial It in the Living Lab
Real health workers use your device in iKure's villages, and what breaks goes back into your design.
- Training for health workers
- Usability and data-quality reports
PROURGN
合同会社プロウン · TOKYO
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For Business Development Leaders at Medical-Device Companies
Medical devices used every day in India's villages — built with Japanese technology.
iKure Techsoft, a Kolkata healthcare startup, brings primary care to villages with no doctor. As a Japanese shareholder, Prourgn opens that frontline to Japanese device makers.
About iKure
If patients can't reach the hospital, healthcare goes to the village.
iKure Techsoft, founded in Kolkata in 2010 by CEO Sujay Santra, runs primary care where the nearest doctor is hours away.
The model fits in one line: a woman from the village makes the visit, a phone keeps the record, and a small clinic stands behind her.
Most of its income comes from the service itself, not from grants. Investors include Ratan Tata, Village Capital and CIIE (IIM Ahmedabad).
iKure official website ↗
People
iCHA — the village's own health worker
Women recruited and trained inside the village they serve, and paid for the work. 350+ are active today, on their way to 1,000.
System
WHIMS — the record that follows the patient
iKure's own platform. Readings from point-of-care devices, teleconsultation and follow-up sit in one record, on low-bandwidth mobile networks.
Hubs
10 asset-light clinics behind the doorstep
Each clinic is a hub and the health workers are its spokes. Specialist consultation, eye care, pathology and medicines sit one referral away from the house.
Where iKure Already Reaches
iKure's network already reaches deep into rural India.
Your device can travel with iKure's network — 11 states, 6,900+ villages, and a Living Lab in Maharashtra.
iKure HQ (Kolkata)
Living Lab (Maharashtra)
States where iKure operates
Other states of India
States shown are the ones iKure names publicly: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka and Nagaland. iKure states its total presence as 11 states.
Map: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-1 states/provinces (public domain). Activity states and Living Lab location from ikuretechsoft.com (checked 25 Sep 2026) and iKure's 22 Sep 2026 email about the November visit.
Track record
The work is counted, and an outside evaluator has checked the count.
Below are field counts for FY2024–FY2025, taken from an independent evaluation of iKure.
A device that enters here is not trialled beside the work. It is used inside it, at this volume, from the first month.
- Patient visits recorded
- 546,015
- Blood-pressure screenings
- 30,945
- Diabetes screenings
- 18,405
- Eye examinations
- 19,087
- Spectacles fitted
- 16,788
- Institutional deliveries
- 17,432
Figures: iKure Impact Evaluation Report 2024–2025, Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), and iKure's corporate presentation, March 2026.
Checked by an outside evaluator
The Indian School of Development Management assessed FY2024–FY2025 against the OECD-DAC criteria and rated the model relevant, coherent, efficient, effective, impactful and sustainable.
Recognised outside India
- 2024 · 2nd prize, MIT Solve Trinity Challenge
- 2024 · Keynote at the Raisina Dialogue — one of 12 enterprises chosen worldwide, one of two from India
- 2021 · 7th European Design Awards, for the Living Lab at Baruipur
- 2020 · World Economic Forum, Top 50 Last Mile Responders
Who already works with them
IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur and Waseda University on research. MSD for Mothers with the Government of Jharkhand on maternal care, ACT Grants in the Sundarbans, and the Swiss Capacity Building Facility on health cards.
Japanese devices already in the field
- Aug 2026Waseda University's Okazaki Lab hands iKure add-on parts that steady eye imaging. In trial use.
- Mar 2026Tokyo lens maker IZAWA signs an MOU with iKure for METORI, a portable eye camera.
- Mar 2026iKure hosts "Future of Healthcare" in Kolkata, 9 countries. Founder Rieko Yano on the panel.
- 2022Prourgn becomes a shareholder and joins iKure's board. Weekly contact since.
- OngoingWaseda (endoscopes), Santen Pharmaceutical and JICA (Jharkhand) also work with iKure.
SEE IT IN THE FIELD
Watch the device in use.
Filmed by iKure: health workers screening with METORI, IZAWA's portable eye camera.
- Founded in Kolkata
- 2010
- States of operation in India
- 11 states
- Villages reached
- 6,900+
- Health parameters tracked in WHIMS
- 60+
How the partnership works
One chain from your factory to the village — and the evidence comes back.
Prourgn
Introduces you to iKure and sits on its board.
iKure
Runs the field: health workers, villages, trial ground.
Device makers
Bring the product, its documents and training.
How Care Reaches the Village
The village health worker is the first to hold the device.
Japanese devices enter at step 2; everything after runs on that data.
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1The village household The hospital is far, so care waits.
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2iCHA visits and screens Blood pressure, glucose, images. This is where Japanese devices come in.
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3Recorded in WHIMS Held offline, synced when signal returns.
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4Teleconsultation & doctor visits A doctor reads it and visits if needed.
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5Hub clinic 10 hub clinics across 11 states back them up.
What iKure Is Looking For
Devices that meet four conditions.
High-end specs are not required. A stripped-down or smartphone-paired model is welcome.
Affordable
Priced against one village screening.
Usable Without a Doctor
Operable by a health worker after brief training.
Portable
Backpack-size, and tolerant of unreliable power.
Diagnostic-Grade Data
Readings a remote doctor can act on.
What Prourgn and iKure Offer
A place to trial it, people to use it, and the system to sell and service it.
iKure Buys It, and Uses It in Daily Care
Devices that clear the trial are considered for purchase and daily use by iKure.
- Usage and outcome data
- A foothold for other markets
03
Import Partners in India
Import, device registration and customs, handled locally.
04
Maintenance Providers
Repair, calibration and parts, lined up before you sell.
05
Hospitals and Doctors
Clinical evaluation and referral points for village patients.
* Introductions for 03–05 are chosen together with iKure.
Process
From First Contact to Deployment
- STEP 1 · Online meeting — your device, and where you stand.
- STEP 2 · Align with iKure — price range, use case, regulatory class.
- STEP 3 · Site visit & demo — in Kolkata or the villages.
- STEP 4 · Living Lab trial — agreed period and criteria, then real use.
- STEP 5 · Purchase & deployment — adoption by iKure, then import and maintenance.
Get in touch
Talk to us about working with iKure
Rieko Yano replies personally, and can set up a meeting with iKure's CEO. Still in development? Talk to us anyway.