Guwahati: The researchers of the IIT Guwahati have developed a 3D printed cost-effective device for rapid diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) which is fast, accurate, and reliable.
The device can measure and identify the type of bacteria in a UTI-suspected patient within five minutes compared to conventional detection, which uses a urine culture that requires at least a couple of days.
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The Prototype device is cost-effective and will be useful for rural areas where most UTI cases remain undetected due to a lack of adequate testing facilities. The developed prototype is generic and hence, the process is tunable to identify different types of bacteria.
The estimated cost of manufacturing the device is Rs 608 but while testing a sample it will cost Rs 8 only.
An UTI is a common health issue worldwide including in India. It is prevalent in females, especially during pregnancy and is caused by various bacteria.
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The most common symptom of the disease is burning or pain when urinating along with a strong urge to urinate frequently. It can result in serious health problems if the infection spreads to the kidneys.
In many rural areas, UTI cases remain undetected due to lack of adequate infrastructure, high cost of testing and time.
The conventional way to diagnose and detect the specific bacteria is by urine culture, which takes a minimum of two days. Without knowing the specific bacteria responsible for the infection, doctors cannot administer antibiotics to treat the UTI.
This delay in detection creates a problem as the patient has to suffer till the cause of the disease is detected and the situation could be fatal in some cases.
This research was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.