IISc doctoral student Ayushi Chauhan breaks down ‘wall’ raised by high costs of diagnosis, quickens process.
Published Nov 30, 2022 | 8:29 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 30, 2022 | 11:45 AM
IISc doctoral student Ayushi Chauhan receiving the award at the Falling Walls Science Summit. (Supplied)
An Indian doctoral student has successfully designed a portable kit to detect drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), and in the process, won a prestigious science award in Europe.
Designed by Ayushi Chauhan, who is pursuing her doctorate in chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, the pocket-sized diagnostic kit was adjudged the third-best innovative idea presented at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin earlier in November.
As part of her PhD programme, she has developed point-of-care diagnostic devices for various applications; her low-cost TB detection kit was an offshoot of this exercise, Chauhan told South First on the sidelines of the summit.
The announcement of the award – and the success of the kit – come at a fortuitous time; they coincide with India’s ongoing mission to eradicate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the UN’s targeted date globally.
According to the Indian government’s data, some 21 lakh TB cases were notified in the country in 2021, representing 26 percent of the global incidence of the disease; it includes both drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) and HIV TB cases.
IISc doctoral student Ayushi Chauhan explaining her device at the Falling Walls Science Summit. (Supplied)
An independent study in the US puts the reason behind India’s high infection and death rates to “delayed diagnosis due to a lack of modern testing equipment” among the key reasons.
Chauhan, who believes 56 percent of India’s DR-TB cases are undiagnosed, could address this problem with her device, feel the organisers of the Berlin meet.
“Ayushi’s project addresses the lack of an accessible tool for proper monitoring of DR-TB cases,” a media statement released by the organisers said. “She is working on a new generation of portable devices that will enable the rapid detection of point mutations responsible for DR-TB.”
The Falling Walls Conference is an annual science event in the German capital coinciding with the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, 1989.
The summit, which attracts leading researchers and thinkers, seeks to discuss breakthroughs in science, politics, business and media, and find an answer to its core question: “Which are the next walls to fall in science and society?“
This year’s summit — held over 7-9 November — decided that among the “walls” to fall was the one posed by drug-resistant TB.
IISc doctoral student Ayushi Chauhan with her award at the Falling Walls Science Summit. (Supplied)
The awards are divided under three verticals: Science Engagement, assesses projects that seek to include society into scientific processes; the second, Science Start-Ups, is for start-ups that best combine research expertise and entrepreneurial excellence, while the third, Emerging Talents, is dedicated to students and early-career professionals for their innovative ideas.
Chauhan’s kit fell in the third category; while she won the India leg of the competition, it was the third place for her in the global finale.
Yet, her success cannot be under-valued: The extent of the competition can be gauged from the number of entries, albeit across categories: 193 projects from 66 countries vying for six awards.
“I was totally blank when they announced my name. Took me some time to understand it. Such recognitions are hugely important for someone from India since it encourages the entire scientific community,” she said.
Chauhan’s innovation needs to be viewed against the extent of the TB problem in India. Traditionally one of its biggest public health challenges, the disease can spread rapidly through coughing.
As a result, it has become the cause of the largest number of deaths among all infectious diseases in the country, with an estimated 400,000 people dying of it every year on average.
A doctor examining a tuberculosis patient at a TB hospital in India (WHO website)
In 2021 alone, India screened more than 22 crore people for the disease, according to the Union Ministry of Health.
But delay in diagnosing the lung infection and timely delivery of treatment continues to plague TB eradication programmes in the government. As of now, antibiotics are the key weapon to treat the disease.
What is alarming, WHO figures suggest, is that the number of drug-resistant TB cases is increasing in the country.
This is because the TB-causing bacteria undergo mutation in specific regions within a patient’s body and develop resistance to a first-line drug. Technically, it renders the treatment ineffective.
Early diagnosis is essential to halt the progress of TB infection in a patient.
“We’re currently targeting four mutations which cause resistance to the first-line drug, rifampicin. When a bacteria make minute changes in its DNA structures, these are five orders of magnitude (100,000 less than the thickness of human hair). We’re trying to capture that mutation which resists TB treatment,” said Chauhan.
It is here that Chauhan’s kit can come into play in a big way; it proposes to detect drug-resistant TB at its early stages.
Moreover, the device — the prototype of which is similar in size to pregnancy kits available in pharmacies — is inexpensive compared to the equipment currently used. The present gold standards for diagnosing TB infections in India involves expensive equipment. Their cost ranges between Rs 18 lakh and 34 lakh, usually.
“With 70 percent of the Indian population in rural areas, diagnosing every TB case with expensive equipment is an unrealistic goal in a country like India,” Chauhan told South First.
The number of certified laboratories to offer test results are just in the dozens – an inadequate number for a country with a population of about 1.4 billion people.
At present, the diagnosis of TB infection largely relies on conventional X-rays and laboratory tests. Molecular diagnostic machines have also been rolled out across the country for faster detection in hinterlands. Still, such measures remain insufficient and call for faster and better efforts.
What Chauhan’s prototype device does is heavily minimise diagnostic costs and quicken the diagnosis.
“Currently, the kit requires an instrument, a portable PCR which costs about ₹60,000. Once it’s scaled up and industrialised, I hope it will be less than ₹10,000.”
“The Indian government is making its level best to eradicate TB. Our device complements these efforts. Why not use two hands to detect more? We’re combining two major steps in the diagnosis – detecting infection and drug-resistant mutation,” Chauhan said.
