Indian Company Develops Cost-Effective Portable Diagnostic Device that can Test for Range of Diseases

Even as companies dealing in medical device technologies stumble upon new business opportunities in low-income and emerging economies, a diagnostics company based in India hopes to break a barrier with the introduction of its new device, which it terms a ‘lab-on-cartridge’. The device has been developed using inexpensive technologies that carry the capability to instantly scan samples for a list of diseases and infections.

According to market analysts, the Indian company, DiaSys Diagnostics, has in its hands a product that carries several advantages over those of its counterparts. The device hopes to solve a larger problem that’s characteristic of developing countries – a lack of equipment that can perform quick and accurate tests. There is a massive white space when it comes to offering cost-effective diagnostic equipment to labs in such countries, where clinics (especially those in rural areas) are not adequately equipped. This is where the importance of point of care devices comes to the fore.

Point-of-care devices such as this can be effectively deployed in rural areas where patients need access to better diagnostics but clinics aren’t able to provide them at affordable prices. With the new ‘lab-on-cartridge’ device, a single finger-prick blood sample can carry out a bevy of tests. The product, which is being sold under the name brand QDx InstaLab, makes use of easily available and affordable microfluidic cartridge technology, coupled with nanomaterial-based biosensors (made of special grade plastic). With a single blood sample, the device is able to effectively able to check whether organs are functioning as required. 

The device can effectively check for conditions such as liver diseases, diabetes and kidney diseases. The device also offers details on cholesterol levels and can identify risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases. These results are provided in a span of less than 10 minutes. DiaSys plans to target this device at rural, semi-rural, third- and second-tier cities.