XLRI students create $3 disease diagnosis kit

Students of XLRI’s flagship One year MBA PGDM (GM) have created a Rs 200 (approx $3) disease detection and diagnosis kit for vector borne diseases. The kit that has 98% accuracy is now being incubated at the XLRI, Jameshedpur campus.

The right diagnosis at the right time is the secret to health.

Working on this premise, students of XLRI’s flagship One year MBA -(PGDM-GM) Sunny Kalsi and his friends Naresh and Vivek have come up with a portable multi-disease detection kit. Janch, as the product is called, will test patients for diseases like dengue, malaria, Japanese encephalitis and chikungunya.

At present, Naresh and Vivek are working on the model at their Pune lab.

But, a product like this needs proper marketing. It is here that XLRI steps in. The premier B-school will nurture this start-up and help students develop contacts with the right people in the health sector.

“When I heard about the product from Kalsi, it was just another bright idea. Now, we are looking forward to incubate the project. Though the research lab is in Pune, that won’t be a problem,” said Madhukar Shukla, chairperson, Fr Arrupe Center for Ecology and Sustainability, XLRI.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kalsi, who hails from Kashmir, has a background in engineering: he is an alumnus of National Institute of Technology, Srinagar (NIT, S) and has worked for 3 year as a scientist at Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in New Delhi where he worked on the 155mm Indian Artillery Gun.

Speaking to the Telegraph about the need for the product, Kalsi said: “There was a reason for coming up with something like Janch, which is an accurate test kit for vector-borne diseases at home. Wrong diagnosis is a common feature in our country. Janch will also financially help scores of people who otherwise keep on spending thousands on pathological tests.”

Priced affordably between Rs 150 and Rs 200, the advantages of using Janch are many: it will both save time and money, besides the portability factor is also crucial. Also minimal human intervention makes it more accurate.

According to the makers, the accuracy of the product is 98 per cent.

Priced affordably between Rs 150 and Rs 200, the advantages of using Janch are many: it will save time and money and offer a portable solution. Minimal human intervention also makes it more accurate.

Besides the trio, consultants Abhishek and Pons Marippan are currently working on the design of the kit.

Although the team has its patent, there is a lot more to do before it is ready to come out in the market.

As of now, the kit looks something like this. It has four channels connected with a needle. The four channels are filled with different kind of antigens to test different diseases. When a user pricks his or her fingertip with the needle, the blood sample automatically flows into the channels, displaying the results.

Adapted from The Telegraph. Hit this link for the original article