Problem: In the absence of an effective triage test for TB which can help narrow down the number of presumptive TB patients, health systems around the world have to undertake a large number of confirmatory TB tests – requiring more financial and human resources, and increased testing capacity. An accurate and affordable triage test for use at the point of care can help reduce the number of confirmatory tests required, and presumptive TB patients.
Solution: The world’s first point of care, biomarker and antibody based TB triage test, which will identify presumptive TB patients within 20 minutes at the point of care, for further confirmatory diagnosis,. This will significantly speeding up diagnosis and initiation of treatment. The test is accurate, targeting 90% sensitivity & 72% specificity and affordable, at a target cost of Rs 125 (~$1.7) per test. It will require no laboratory infrastructure, and minimal training of health care workers
Impact: This test will reduce the time to diagnose patients and initiate treatment, thus improving treatment and recovery while also reducing the resources needed for diagnosis and testing of patients.
