Pune, 30th October 200 -A doctoral thesis on interactive streaming video by an Indian student, Narayanan Ram, at the university of Berkeley, US, in the 1990s is now being used by a Pune-based couple to develop a portal and provide a ayurvedic consultations worldwide.

City–based entrepreneur Bharat Junnarkar and his wife Rekha have entered into an exclusive arrangement with the Vijay Mallya headed UBICS Inc., Pittsburgh, to use the patented SeeItFirst software that enables video streaming on low bandwidth of 50 kbps. Junnarkar, who has set up a panel of 178 vaidyas (Ayurvedic doctors), specialized in treating piles, arthritis, asthma, bones and mental stress, plans to provide consultancy 24x7 through his e-ayurveda portal, which will have video-streaming facility.

The Junnarkars were amongst the first to be given an e-commerce license by the Reserve Bank of India in 1999. They were also deputed by the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s department of Indian systems of medicine and homeopathy in 2001 to the 53rd world health assembly in Geneva, to make a presentation on traditional Indian system of medicine.

“ We’re all set to go online from the third week of December,” Bharat Junnarkar, director of Ayurvedic Health Club (India) online Pvt. Ltd., said from his Koregaon Park office which will serve as the hub of the portal.
UBICS President (Global Solutions) Sunil Patil said, “ Video- streaming is normally associated with high bandwidth, but this patented product, referred to as SeeItFirst, can be run even with 50 Kbps connections.”

He said that the technology enables easy creation of interactive streaming media by synchronizing video, audio and text, and serving quality images to engage audience at any bandwidth, on any device.

“ Even though we have been running an online health club for the past six years, where Vaidyas reply to queries posted by registered users, the new technology would enable direct, face-to-face interaction with medical specialists,” Junnarkar said. An electrical and software engineer, Bharat started his online health club in 1999, offering 34 Ayurvedic products, besides consultation to members in 40 countries.

“ Now with this technology, all the 14,500 registered clients, as well as new users, can choose from the long list of Ayurvedic specialists, and have one-to-one consulting,” Junnarkar said, adding that in the pipeline are plans to set up kiosks in the countries where his members are concerned.