Chennai: IIT-M partners with Ricovr for research on medical device

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) on Friday announced that it is going to collaborate with Ricovr Inc. -- US-based oral diagnostics medical device company, for research on point-of-care medical device development.

Point-of-care diagnostics, or near-patient testing, is a type of medical diagnostic test that enables accurate, real-time, laboratory-quality diagnostic test results within minutes.

Testing at the point of care in this way increases the efficiency of diagnostic and testing process, and helps to ensure that patients are receiving the highest-quality care by freeing up invaluable time normally occupied by waiting for test results.

"Point-of-care diagnostic devices are an important need of the hour to provide a reliable and convenient means for a rapid and timely diagnosis," said V. V. Raghavendra Sai, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras.

"Although the existing technologies such as lateral flow assay strips are very user-friendly, there are difficulties associated with respect to quantifying of analyte of interest at necessarily a very low concentration for identifying certain pathophysiological condition," Sai said.

He added that IIT Madras researchers have discovered a highly sensitive optical sensing phenomenon and developed a plasmonic nanomaterial based sensing platform that can aid in affordable and more efficient diagnostics.

Point-of-care diagnostics market that the company operates in is expected to generate US $50.51 billion in revenues by 2026 in the US alone.

Ricovr is currently working on building a cutting-edge medical device for point-of-care testing using saliva.

This strategic partnership will bolster cutting-edge research and development by bringing together some of the most talented and experienced professionals in the biosensor industry.

"IIT Madras has been in the forefront for providing viable technological solutions to many challenging problems faced by industries at the local, national and international level," said Professor Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT-M.

"I am confident that this cooperation with Ricovr Inc. will lead to a fruitful outcome in the form of cutting-edge point-of-care devices for oral diagnostics," Gettu said.

"This partnership will help us attain our goal of developing and commercialising point-of-care medical devices for diverse markets," said Dr. Himanshu Bhatia, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ricovr Inc.