The technology aims to provide an affordable and efficient solution to screen large populations as a point of care test for Sickle-Cell Anemia
Shanmukha Innovations and health-tech startup incubated by the Society for Innovation and Development (SID) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed SickleCert, indigenous diagnostic kit for Sickle-Cell Anemia. A screening test kit called SickleFind has also been developed. The technology aims to provide an affordable and efficient solution to screen large populations as a point of care test for Sickle-Cell Anemia.
The technology called High Performance Optical Spectroscopy (HPOS) consisting of test kits (SickleCert), portable analyzer (HaemoCube) was developed by researchers at the IISc. The technology has been licensed to a spin-off from IISc, ShanMukha Innovations Private Limited for commercialisation. A companion smartphone application enables digital data recording, analysis and integration with various registries, Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and other cloud-based patient health record systems.
Prof. Sai Siva Gorthi, Principal Investigator, lead inventor of the technology and Associate Professor, Instrumentation and Applied Physics Department, Indian Institute of Science said, “The technology we have developed provides an affordable and efficient solution to screen large populations as a point of care test. With a tiny amount of blood from a finger prick, the test provides highly accurate results in 15 minutes. In batch mode over 40 samples can be tested in an hour enabling a large volume of screenings to be completed in a much shorter time span.”
Arun B, Director, Shanmukha Innovations added, “This solution is a shining example of collaboration between IISc, ShanMukha Innovations, ICMR, DHR CDSCO and Ministry of Health to nurture an indigenous technology and shape it to align with the National Mission. Success of these efforts would truly demonstrate a fully Atma Nirbhar Bharat supporting Anaemia Mukt and Ayushman Bharat.”
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had approved the manufacturing license for SickleCert kits for ShanMukha Innovations Pvt Ltd as a Class C in-vitro diagnostic medical device in November 2022. In February this year, multi-centric field studies were successfully carried out as prescribed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) across tribal districts in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The tests yielded an accuracy measure of 97.6 per cent, with a sensitivity of 96.9 per cent and a specificity of 98.6 per cent.
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