THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Researchers at BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) Thiruvananthapuram have secured a Rs 7 crore grant to develop an automated diagnostic device to detect early signs of cervical cancer from a blood sample, potentially reducing the need for invasive procedures and specialised technical expertise.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with two startups -- Thiruvananthapuram-based IndZita Biotech Pvt Ltd and Karkinos Healthcare Pvt Ltd (KHPL) in Mumbai -- and is supported by the MAHA MedTech Mission, launched by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Gates Foundation.
“Cervical cancer is an important public-health concern in India. Although screening and early detection can help identify cervical abnormalities before they progress to invasive disease, access to screening can be limited by the availability of trained personnel, laboratory infrastructure and appropriate diagnostic facilities.
Our idea is to make a technology to be used beyond specialised laboratory settings. Once the device is fully developed and validated, a patient would only need to provide a blood sample, after which the automated system would perform the analysis,” said Dr Jackson James, the project’s lead researcher.
The proposed device is designed to detect piRNA-based biomarkers in blood and analyse them using nanopore technology.
