With ayurveda becoming a hit among foreign tourists, the ancient Indian system of medicine has gone hi-tech with a new machine being developed for the popular 'dhara' treatment, or the application of a continuous stream of mildly warm oil.

"The 'dhara yanthram', is a pioneering attempt in the markets of Kerala, while such experimental attempts are yet to hit the markets elsewhere," said Venu of the Poornima Panchakarma Equipment, the designer group of the automatic dharayanthram.

This product is now on display at the ongoing Ayurveda Festival being held here and has a price tag of Rs.20,000.

Recommended for maladies such as insomnia, mental disorders, neurasthenia, memory loss and certain skin diseases, the 'dhara' is a process by which herbal oil is allowed to flow on the forehead in a special method for about 45 minutes in a day for 7 to 21 days.

In the traditional manual 'dhara', the material used (oil, kuzhampu or thayilam) turns cold soon if it is not kept heated.

"The automatic machine has two major advantages over the traditional method. In the first place, it has the possibility of regulating temperature, as and when required," said Venu.

The other advantage of this machine is a considerable amount of material can be saved as the mechanism progresses through a recycling process and two people can undergo the process simultaneously.

"The 'oil' or 'kuzhampu' can be used the required number of times, without must wastage of material and then be recovered," added Venu.