Cheaper, quicker and, accurate - This IIT Kharagpur professor is trying to change how anaemia is diagnosed in India.
(Photo: Garima Sadhwani/FIT)
Video Editor: Rajbir Singh
In India:
67 percent children under the age of five,
57 percent women,
and 25 percent men
Suffer from anaemia, according to data from the National Family Health Survey-5.
But when 23 crore people in India earn less than Rs 375 a day, paying Rs 150 for a blood test to diagnose anaemia isn’t an option for everyone.
But an IIT Kharagpur professor is claiming that he can bring down the cost of getting a haemoglobin test done from Rs 150 to Rs 1.50.
While it's not difficult to get a blood test done in India, it isn’t also freely accessible to everyone. Not every village or town in India has a pathology lab. And not everyone can pay what a test costs.
What sets Professor Chakraborty’s test apart, in that case, is that-
It eliminates the need for a lab infrastructure. All you require is filter paper, a smartphone, and a syringe.
Test results are instant.
It makes it cheaper to get tested for anaemia.
The test doesn't compromise on accuracy.
Here is how the test works:
Take a filter paper.
Soak it with anhydrous glycerol completely.
Place the paper in a glass enclosure.
Prick your finger with a lancet.
Place the drop of blood on the paper.
Take a picture of the pattern it creates.
Upload it on Hemo-App.
So far, the test has been used in 45 clinics in Bihar with 98 percent accuracy recorded.
The team is now trying to set this up on a bigger level by collaborating with government agencies to make diagnosing anaemia quicker and easier.
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