A Tata Trusts initiative, the India Health Fund (IHF), has funded two platforms that have been developed to help diagnose multiple diseases. The first innovation developed by Ameliorate Biotech is a fever panel to detect dengue, chikungunya, and malaria; the other by Medprime Technologies is a microscope-agnostic Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled diagnosis software that is applicable across diseases, a note on the development said.
d diagnostic test
“There is an immediate need for a real-time, simple-to-use, affordable, user-friendly, and equipment-free rapid diagnostic test (RDT). “Similarly, an algorithm that can quickly and accurately diagnose diseases like malaria without the subjectivity that comes with variation in microscopist skills and training is invaluable to remote communities,” according to the note. Cases of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya have increased between 2015 and 2021. While malaria prevalence has decreased over the last 20 years, absolute numbers remain high, according to the report, which also notes that the illnesses frequently present similar symptoms at an early stage, which can lead to misdiagnosis or even delayed diagnosis.
Ameliorate Biotech platform
The Ameliorate Biotech platform includes an accurate, multiplexed RDT for dengue, chikungunya, and malaria (with malaria falciparum and vivax differentiation), a simple 15-minute test that uses a single test kit and a single blood sample, and can be easily used by minimally trained primary-level workers. The process eliminates the need for serum/plasma samples, is instantaneous, does not require a cold chain facility or a biosafety lab, and generates minimal medical waste. The note elaborated. The IHF funding will enable prospective, multicentric performance and cost-effectiveness evaluation of the RDT, which will be made available for government procurements at a discounted price of $200 per piece. This is less than the current fever panel price of $3000-4000, according to the company. Medprime Technologies’ platform includes artificial intelligence-powered software for
