UTI testing kit

Shivani Gupta

Flu, cough, cold, viral fever—these may seem to be the most common infectious diseases, but according to Shivani Gupta, they really aren’t. “Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common infection that troubles people. There are 10 lakh people that report a UTI at a hospital, clinic or healthcare centre each day," says Gupta. In addition to this, she says, 50-60% of people in India suffer from UTI once in their lifetime. According to the World Health Organization, more than 150 million UTI cases occur globally every year, leading to 7 million doctor visits.

Gupta always had interest in biotechnology, graduated with a degree in the subject, went on to do an MSc in it and finally enrolled as a PhD student at BITS Pilani. As part of the genomics lab, she was a member of the research team headed by Professor Suman Kapoor. In 2010, the Defence Research and Development Organisation called for research proposals in the field of infectious diseases. Gupta and her team decided to submit a proposal on UTI.

As Gupta explains, the existing problem for UTI patients is that from the time that they report a problem to a doctor to the time when they get prescribed the correct medicine, it takes two days—since the prescribed test for UTI takes two days to determine the exact bacteria that’s causing the infection. However, sometimes the patient is in too much pain and the doctor has no option but to use symptoms and clinical experience to prescribe medicines. Gupta and her team have created a solution by which the test results can be determined in just four hours.

The technology comprises a device and a kit. The patient’s urine sample is collected and put in a bottle with a growth medium (a solid or gas that supports growth of microorganisms) that is a part of the kit. This bottle is then fitted with a dropper and incubated for four hours. The kit contains two strips that are coated with seven antibiotics each. After the incubation process, the contents of the bottle are put on the strip. Four drops on each of the seven segments on the two strips containing different antibiotics. The strips are then placed on the device, which has optical sensors to detect the bacteria causing the infection.

In 2015 the team received a grant from the department of biotechnology of ₹ 50 lakh to develop its industrial design, and the product is expected to be market-ready by the end of this year.

The cost structure is broken into two parts. The device, which is a one-time purchase for hospitals and clinics, costs ₹ 50,000. The kit, which consists of the growth medium and strips, costs around ₹ 350. The team has applied for two patents and have also filed an application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (an international patent law treaty), which will allow sale of the product globally.