Safe, accurate, affordable and automated sample collection and diagnosis of TB at point of care
Problem
Sputum samples for diagnosis of TB are currently collected
from patients at healthcare centres in plastic bottles. This
process exposes healthcare workers to the risk of infection
while collecting samples. Diagnosis of TB with these
samples is done through sputum smear microscopy — a
time consuming process with low accuracy which also
requires skilled lab technicians. These result in delayed
diagnosis & initiation of treatment, missed cases of TB and
increased risk of infection to healthcare workers.
Solution
AutoGene enables safe capture of sputum samples from
patients in specially designed bottles, which protect the
healthcare worker from exposure to pathogens. It
provides rapid, accurate and affordable TB diagnosis
without the need for skilled technicians at primary
health settings. The device includes an RT-PCR
diagnosis capability with an automatic gene detection
feature (AutoGene T B) which can be used for a broad
range of applications including DNA isolation &
extraction enabling faster sample processing. The
platform is completely automated platform right from
sample processing to report generation. Autogene can
also be used for the diagnosis of several bacterial and
viral diseases including T B, COVID-19, Typhoid, and
Sepsis.
IMPACT
Autogene will potentially de-risk healthcare providers by minimizing their exposure to
infectious bacteria. The AutoGene test has demonstrated more than 90% diagnostic
accuracy in lab settings which will be further validated in real world settings. At one third
the cost of comparable tests, Autogene has the potential for widespread use in primary
care settings around the world.
“The core idea was to make the best healthcare technologies accessible to everyone and
we started from diagnostics. India is highly burdened with infectious diseases like typhoid
and tuberculosis which cause high mortality and morbidity every year. A major number of
these diseases come from underprivileged locations so there is a need for technology that
can reach such locations and also cost-effective.”