Rethinking Tuberculosis Diagnostics in Low-Resource Areas

Abstract

Advancing technologies ensure that we have medical devices to diagnose and treat diseases once considered incurable. For larger reach, however, it is also necessary that they fit different demographics such as that observed in Indian markets. For this, design is a critical facilitator. This paper discusses a design for tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic device called ‘MycoKit’, which quickly and accurately conducts a molecular analysis of sputum to detect the presence of Mycobacterium-TB. Its design keeps systemic considerations of rural areas and human-error minimisation at its core. An intuitive interface and easy operation have been prioritised to enable people with basic literacy from local communities to perform molecular testing on-site. MycoKit has a combination of manually driven and battery-operated components which make it ideal for electricity-scarce remote areas. Single-use containers are designed to prevent exposure of healthcare provider and patients to potentially infected samples and cross-contamination of samples during testing. The process is tracked and recorded, end to end, to minimise errors in the test conduction. The benchmark for new diagnostic devices in rural India is usability and reach in remote low-resource areas. Thus, this paper also discusses comparison of MycoKit with existing devices and methods. It is seen that designing a device from the perspective of a user at the grassroot level is more efficient than converting sophisticated technologies from their perspective as an afterthought. Equipping the community with such devices can ensure that diseases like TB, that go unnoticed and unnotified, be diagnosed and treated.