Scientists and engineers from all over the world have been working to make the health and medical sector better day by day. Using the latest technology in this industry is very useful and helps to provide better health care to people. With discoveries being turned into inventions, this sector has come a long way and has a bright future. One such invention is the machine that can perform 8 tests using just one drop of the patient's blood or urine.

This multi-analyte device is built by PathShodh Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., a medical device research and development startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

[caption id="attachment_104939" align="aligncenter" width="700"]The multi-analyte point-of-care device that can perform 8 health tests The multi-analyte point-of-care device that can perform 8 health tests[/caption]

The 8 tests that the machine can perform are:


  1. Glucose: Checking blood glucose level


  2. Hb1Ac: Check sugar level in haemoglobin


  3. Hb: Haemoglobin test


  4. Serum albumin: Check for albumin content to know how liver is functioning


  5. Glycated albumin: To find glucose in albumin to know about kidney


  6. Microalbuminuria: To check increase in albumin in urine, indicating bad condition of kidney


  7. Urine creatinine: To check kidney functioning


  8. ACR: Checks for both albumin and creatinine




It is not just more accurate and efficient, but also saves a lot of time and manpower in an industry who is already short staffed.

This multi-analyte medical device can be used to check the proper functioning of a patient's liver and kidneys. Moreover, it is useful for diabetics as well, as it can even detect basic blood sugar level and also helps keep diabetes in control. The tests done by this machine are done in labs using machines costing more than around 1crore itself. This is a very cost effective and convenient option in comparison. As far as its reliability and accuracy go, this machine has been meeting the standards and codes of the US Food and Drug Administration. So the reliability of the device is not in question. When the tests are done, the device gives the results and provides the patients with an acceptable range and also tells the patients how much they are affected.

Pathshodh, the startup behind the innovative device, is a brain child of Vinay Kumar, Navakanta Bhat and Gautam Sharma. Before starting Pathshodh, Vinay was a chip designer with two master's degrees and two gold medals, while Bhat is a professor at the Nanoscience Centre at IISc and an electrical engineer with a PhD from Stanford University.

Gautam, on other hand, has been associated with the semiconductor industry for over a decade working with many well known names in the industry – Sasken communications, Texas Instruments, Synopsys, Freescale Semiconductors, ST Ericson.

The creation of this innovative point-of-care device was born out of the pain of one of the co-founder of the startup - Vinay Kumar, who had been living with insulin-dependent diabetes for 13 years. After his near-death experience, he understood the complications of diabetes. He learned that the disease progresses quickly, and it is necessary to stop damage to vital organs early.

After exploring diabetes research in Indian institutions, he wrote to Navakanta and then moved to IISc as a project assistant, started a PhD on the topic of sensors, and finished his degree in just two years. Now, Bhat and Vinay — along with Gautan — running Pathshodh to make diabetes monitoring point-of-care devices which aims to expand for more biomarkers. Navakanta wants to aim at the US market as well as the Indian market, for its point-of-care devices.

This device has been shortlisted by the National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHSRC) as a very important and useful device. Once the formalities are done, the device will be certified by the organization and can be used by doctors and patients alike. This device is hoped to help a lot of people across the world.
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