Monday January 5, 02:57 AM

Source: Indian Express Finance

Portable health tests

By BV Mahalakshmi
Microelectronics, which has led to the explosion of consumer electronics sales, could now bring its added value to the healthcare sector. Though the key challenge for microelectronics is to make complexity invisible and adapt it to the value chain and way of working of the healthcare sector, a little-known start up from Bangalore is showing the way. So far engaged in the design and delivery of technology enabled products and solutions to global companies with bioscience applications, Bigtec Labs has developed an innovative DNA-based diagnostics platform which doctors can use at clinics to accurately and rapidly identify pathogens. The company has set up a lab at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore under the institute s Society for Innovation and Design (SID) programme. Platform technologies, commonly known as laboratory-on-a chip, are finally gathering momentum with a strong indigenous effort in the devices industry. The affordable platform could be customised to detect a wide range of diseases, says Chandrasekhar Nair, director, Bigtec Labs. Interestingly, there are no competitors in this space and the market is open for more players, he informs. The affordable micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based diagnostic products will provide the much needed relief in the rural and urban healthcare sectors in India, besides developed countries. In fact, Bigtec has miniaturised advanced medical technologies to create a so-called lab-on-a-chip. By mid 2009, the company expects to roll out the first product a lab on the chip with bioMEMS or biomicro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for Hepatitis-B, thereby turning its indigenisation efforts into reality. The clinical trials for this handheld polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine are happening across the country. An indigenous handheld PCR machine is expected to cost Rs 100, compared to the imported ones which would cost about Rs 15,000 upwards. Analysts inform that microsystems technologies are changing the life sciences industry. New in vitro diagnostic systems, new therapy strategies, genetic diseases treatment, targeted and intelligent drug delivery, drug discovery processes are health improvement promised to the future generations, enabled by semiconductor and MEMS technologies. It is estimated that the number of clinics and hospitals has increased almost four times from that in the 1950s. This has also increased the demand for medical equipments, which has made the medical device sector one of the most promising markets in India. Even more alluring than the size of the market is its projected growth. The demand for medical equipment is rising annually at an impressive rate of 15%. The Indian healthcare sector has seen a progressive increase in investments in healthcare infrastructure and facilities, especially hi-tech medical devices. An analysis by Ernst and Young pegs the global medical equipment industry at $2.17 billion in 2006, growing at 15% per year to reach $4.97 billion by 2012. While it is difficult to gauge the size of the overall medical electronics market, largely because electronics technology is hooked into virtually every aspect of medical and healthcare, such technology spans prevention, therapy, surgery, pharmacology, hospitalisation, analysis, prosthetics, implants, and more, Nair points out. Potential large markets include drug delivery and therapy systems, as well as genomics and proteomics, where the technologies of electronics, chemistry, and biology interact closely with each other. The European Nexus Organisation estimated the bioMEMS worldwide market to be at least $10 billion last year. While the market for BioMEMS in India is estimated to be around $1 billion at present, it is expected to rise to $2 billion by 2012. Analysts inform that this might be conservative as the disruptive nature of bioMEMS may drive this even higher. Interestingly, it is learnt that there are no companies working on bioMEMS in India. Worldwide, there are a host of such companies, primarily in the US and a few in Europe and also a couple of them in Singapore. Majority of the work on bioMEMS still happens in the academia side globally.