Hemex Health, an early stage medical diagnostics enterprise, announced the selection of Tata Elxsi as the product design and engineering partner of its latest Lab-in-a-Box diagnostic device.
Hemex Health is designing a cost-effective and easy-to-use, point-of-care device that helps health workers provide quick and accurate diagnosis of malaria and sickle cell disease. The Lab-in-a-Box diagnostic device can diagnose malaria and sickle cell disease in just minutes, more quickly and affordably than any other point-of-care diagnostic on the market today. The new device integrates both malaria and sickle cell diagnostics inside a single unit.
“Access to quality and affordable health care is still a challenge across the world today, especially in rural settings. Lack of facilities and suitable clinical tools for the rural and economically challenged areas of the world means that diseases such as malaria and sickle cell often go undiagnosed with devastating impact on families and communities,“ said Patti White, CEO, Hemex Health. “In our strategic mission to develop and launch this Lab-in-a-Box product, we have been actively looking for a partner that understands the challenges of these markets and possesses comprehensive capabilities from concept development to engineering and launch of medical products that meet regulatory standards. We are delighted to have found the right partner in Tata Elxsi.“
According to the statistics provided by WHO, it is estimated that up to 3.4 billion people (half the world’s population) are currently at risk for malaria, especially in developing countries. Sickle Cell, on the other hand, is genetic in nature and known to cause recurring long-term health issues such as anemia, bacterial infections and stroke. As of 2015, it was estimated that up to 7% of the world’s population carry this gene. International agencies acknowledge that progress on these diseases is hampered by the lack of affordable diagnostics at the point of care.
“The social impact that technology can bring in delivering health care to the underserved and unserved sections of the society, especially in the emerging markets, is tremendous and multi-fold,” said Nitin Pai, SVP – Marketing and Strategy, Tata Elxsi. He continued, “Intelligent engineering and the use of next-gen technologies can help make healthcare accessible and cost-effective — the main challenges that many in the developing countries of the world face today. We are pleased to be supporting Hemex in the development of this novel and innovative technology.”
