Researchers in India have developed a new blood testing device which is world's first AI based portable device for instant diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia. This gives results in less than 5 minutes, that too in 1/10th of the time and cost of presently used test for diagnosis, according to Prof Dr Nisanth KM Nambison from Government Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Bhopal, who happens to be one of the mentors of the researchers.
Sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited disorder of the red blood cells, is a major public health problem which is characterised by repeated episodes of debilitating pain, which are a common and repeated cause of illness and hospitalisation, says a note on research.
This HPOS (High performance optical sensing) device has been developed by team of researchers of the Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-Rajesh Srinivasan, Eugene Christo V R, Prateek Katare, Aravind Venukumar under the mentorship of Prof Dr Sai Siva Gorthi from the department and Prof Dr Nisanth KM Nambison from Government Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), as per the note.
According to Dr Nambison, the AI (artificial intelligence) based revolutionary indigenously developed portable palmtop rechargeable device uses mere 1/4th of a drop of blood and can be deployed even in the remotest village for testing at the PoC (Point of care) thus bringing down the cost of transportation and curtailing the turnaround time in reaching diagnosis which proves to be lifesaving.
In India, Madhya Pradesh has the highest burden of sickle cell anaemia. Dr Nambison said he faced lots of hardships in the diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia in the deep tribal villages of MP.
"I faced challenges not only in the turnaround time taken for the diagnosis but also the amount of blood drawn from the already anaemic patient that was much difficult and painful. This is when I met Prof Dr Sai Gorthi at IISc Bangalore. Through the mutual collaboration and hard work of the researchers world's first AI Based portable device was invented for instant diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia. This invention will not only make the process easier but also save time. It is also very economical," said Dr Nambison.
According to Dr Nambison, as of now USA tech based imported HPLC machines used for the diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia costs Rs 10 lakhs upwards with high recurring and high operational cost. These machines are bulky, needs 3-5 ml blood of the patients, and are only available in sophisticated air-conditioned labs. Therefore, remote blood collection needs transportation in 24 hours, temperature maintenance of 2 to 8 degrees and requires a team of 4-5 skilled people. This adds up to the cost and delayed turnaround time.
The new technology used in the device makes it portable, mere 1/4th drop (5 ml) of blood is required for diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia and the test can be performed at patien's doorstep. It is 10 times cheaper than the currently used HPLC machines priced at around Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000. The health worker does not need any special skill to operate this device. This invention is a wonderful example of Make-in-India & Self-reliant India.
"While it takes 25 to 30 minutes to get the test results from an HPLC machine, we get the results of the test with HPOS Device in less than 5 minutes with this newly invented device," said Dr Nambison.
