No impact of active tracker device on sex ratio: state team

The state research team examining the efficacy of the Active Tracker software – being used to record ultrasound images from sonography machines in Kolhapur – has stated in its report that the machine has had no impact on the sex ratio of the district. The report was submitted to the state health department last month.

The state research team examining the efficacy of the Active Tracker software – being used to record ultrasound images from sonography machines in Kolhapur – has stated in its report that the machine has had no impact on the sex ratio of the district. The report was submitted to the state health department last month.

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The device is an improvised version of the Silent Observer software, used to deter doctors from performing sex determination tests on unborn children. A report submitted by the state team in March 2011 mentioned the shortcomings of the Silent Observer, stating it could be tampered with.

“The data obtained from the competent authority after about one year of intervention in Kolhapur district does not reflect any appreciable change in sex ratio at birth, although there is certainly improvement in the processes and the gadget,” stated the report, which was submitted to the health department on January 13.

“We compared the sex ratio of Kolhapur city and other places in the Kolhapur district. We didn’t see any difference in the last two years,” said Dr Prakash Doke, executive director, State Health System Resource Centre, Pune.