Health Diagnostics

M-Ultra is a low-cost ultra sound scan system targeting first referral units of government health systems, rural clinics and mobile/outreach healthcare initiatives which cater to base of pyramid population in low-resource countries. As a point-of-care diagnostic tool aiding early diagnosis, M-Ultra can lead to saving a millions of lives each year. Follow Emprenure Labs on Twitter @EmprenureLabs"

A lack of simple, reliable biomarkers for bacterial infections – a major cause of infant mortality – leads to frequent misdiagnosis of malaria, the incorrect prescription of antibiotics and eventually reduced drug effectiveness.  This project’s rapid test for bedside diagnosis of bacterial illness will help improve misdiagnosis of non-malarial fevers.

WHO estimates almost half of 46 million blood donations in low-income countries are inadequately tested; in Africa up to 10% of new HIV infections are caused by transfusions. A University of Toronto-developed yeast-based blood screening tool will detect combinations of diseases. Like baking yeast, it can be stored dry, and can be grown locally with minimal equipment and training, improving accessibility in rural areas. We will create a ready-to-use, yeast-based blood screening tool, for simultaneously detecting combinations of diseases.

The aim of this project is to develop point-of-care disease diagnostic devices capable of identifying multiple biomarkers for a single disease. This device will be cost effective, and easy to use by people with minimal or no training, in environments with minimal or no infrastructure, and will address disease overtreatment, which will ultimately prevent unnecessary deaths. Follow Michael Serpe on Twitter @SerpeGroup"

Novel paper based diagnostics device which does not require power. It can serve as a platform for cell culture in environments with limited resources because cells grow in paper just as they do in a culture dish. Paper-based tests that use bacteriophage instead of antibody can be produced on-site to diagnose diseases like malaria, HIV or TB"

Misdiagnosis of diseases due to the lack of microscopical examination capacity has taken its toll: high mortality rates, drug resistance, economic burden and distrust in local medical practitioners. While microscopes are available to most clinics, there is a lack of trained lab technicians who can process the images. Leveraging recent advances in mobile phone camera-based microscopy, automated lab testing to be carried out with existing microscopes and ubiquitous smartphones would be available.

To develop a cost-effective remote diagnostic device that performs automated microscopy & colorimetry-based biochemical tests, requiring limited operating skills, making diagnostics affordable & accessible to 90% of rural patients within 3-5km reach lower middle income.

Drug-resistant microorganisms are a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Timely monitoring is the first line of defense to control their proliferation. We are developing a rapid, low-cost pathogen detection system for initial deployment in under-resourced settings in India to help drastically reduce the spread of disease. Follow Institute for Optical Sciences on Twitter @iosuoft"

Developing countries afford to have haematology analyzers in a handful of large hospitals. The project will develop low-cost devices for blood cell count and white blood cell differentials to enable wide availability of routine blood testing to large populations.

The need for rapid, sensitive and reliable pathogen detection is key for safe and effective treatment against infectious diseases. We propose to develop a highly sensitive, low-cost, hand-held electricity-free device for rapid infectious pathogen detection in various samples, which can be easily operated in under-resourced settings.