Product/Service Development

The idea is to prevent Grade I pressure ulcers in bedridden patients. The proposed solution is an overlay which can be retrofitted to any bed and ideally sits below the mattress and above the bed. The solution will be capable of automatically turning / repositioning the patient to different stable sleep positions mimicking the body’s natural motion such that it re-establishes blood flow to compressed tissues. This results in pressure shifting and redistribution, without the aid of caretakers and prevents development of pressure ulcers.

Current methods for detection of malnutrition use physical attributes but not nutrient level. Proposed device relates to technique for rapid quantification of multiple clinically important nutrients in biological fluids for timely interventions. The 3-tiered solution proposes: 1. Colorimetry based estimation of multi-nutrients on single test strip 2. Accurate quantification by a smartphone app 3. Cloud based data collection and analytical reporting for establishing PoC diagnosis.

Old age makes geriatric population vulnerable to non-communicable disorders like kidney disorder, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes nephropathy. Micro-albumin concentration in urine is a well-established biomarker for early diagnosis and management of these comorbidities. To address this gap, the current proposal aspires to deploy a novel self-monitoring Point-of-care (PoC) device to bring independent living with minimum health care support in resource limited settings.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with a high risk of death. Majority of the critically ill patients suddenly die due to AKI, Hypovolemic Shock, Septic shock due to unrecognized disorder with no symptoms in early stage.

The team proposes to develop a highly sensitive Point-of-Care bacteria detection kit from small amounts of blood samples (< 1 ml) to identify pathogen in blood. This technique will be used primarily to detect early stage sepsis for neonates where extremely low amounts of bacteria (10-100 per ml) have to be detected. For this purpose, the team will use a novel format of camelid antibody fragments that have a simple structure, are stable and specially engineered to have a high specificity, affinity and avidity.

The team aims to develop a non-invasive, molecular diagnostic tool for oral cancer. This novel diagnostic platform, PARPCytometry, aims to provide a cost-effective solution for diagnosing oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Another key innovation of the technology is that it can overcome the time delay that is typically associated with pathological evaluations. With this platform the team would be able to provide patients with a definitive, diagnostically accurate diagnosis at the point-of-care.

The team has proposed to develop an intelligent, potable easy to use fetal monitoring system based on the principle of non-invasive fetal ECG analysis and a custom consumable for low skill application of the device The final outcome is a CE certified next-generation fetal monitor and a custom low-cost consumable which can be used by low skill staff in low resource settings.

The team proposed to integrate systems biology based-network reconstruction approaches with quantitative gene expression experiments for the detection of circulating miRNAs as early biomarkers in different neonatal septicemic conditions.

The scope of the project proposed by Prof Bikramjit Basu, Professor, Laboratory for Biomaterials, Material Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, is to develop "Novel alloplastic neo-bladder for bladder replacement in patients with bladder cancer". The team aims to design and develop a non-degradable, non-absorptive, inert and cost-effective synthetic biomaterial, which can replace the use of the intestine as an alternative for urinary diversions, applicable in case of bladder cancer. This work will be done in collaboration with Dr. Anil Mandhanj frpm Medanta.

The present study proposes to develop a low-cost paper based microfluidic device (paper machines) for conducting NAATs (Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests). A novel paper-based integrated device will be developed for conducting DNA extraction and paper based lateral flow assays for detection of nucleic acids. Two portable battery-operated units will be developed: the first unit (PM-PREP) will be designed for DNA extraction from crude samples (sputum, blood, urine etc.) and the second unit (PM-NAAT) for amplification and detection of nucleic acids.