IISc team develops low-cost diagnostic test for Sickle Cell Disease

The diagnostic test developed by the researchers is a low-cost alternative to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC test is time-consuming and costs between Rs 400 and Rs 700.

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), led by Professor Sai Siva Gorthi along with his collaborator Dr. Nisanth Nambisson at Government Homeopathy medical college (GHMC) Bhopal, has developed a new low-cost diagnostic test that can detect Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and Sickle Cell Trait (SCT).
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder of the red blood cells, which is characterised by repeated episodes of debilitating pain. Other symptoms include chronic anemia, acute chest syndrome, stroke, splenic and renal dysfunction, pain crises, and susceptibility to bacterial infections, the IISc said.

The diagnostic test developed by the researchers is a low-cost alternative to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC test is time-consuming and costs between Rs 400 and Rs 700, it said.

The HPOS test developed by the IISc team can be performed in 15 minutes. It is an “absorbance spectroscopy-based test” that uses a machine learning-based algorithm for classifying the samples, the institute said.

India is estimated to have over 50 per cent of the world’s patients with SCD. “The disease is most prevalent in tribal communities across the central Indian belt extending from south-eastern Gujarat to south-western Odisha,” IISc said in a statement.

“Over a million people have sickle cell disease in India today. There are nearly 2,00,000 babies born with the condition every year. The sickle gene is widespread among many tribal population groups in India with the prevalence of the sickle cell trait (SCT) varying from 1-40%. Hence, it is important to screen the population for SCT to lower the prevalence of SCD,” the IISc said.

The institute has informed clinical trials of the new diagnostic tests are being carried out with the help of GHMC, Bhopal and ICMR National Institute of Research on Tribal Health, Jabalpur.

IISc incubated company Shanmukha Innovations Private Limited has licensed the technology and a patent has been filed for the technology, it said.

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