IIT Guwahati Along with Shri Sankaradeva Nethralaya Develop Device for Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) and Shri Sankaradeva Nethralaya Guwahati, have together developed a testing device to detect diabetic retinopathy at an early stage without the need for invasive testing. 

The team of IIT Guwhati and Shri Sankaradeva Nethralaya have also filed an Indian Patent for the idea and device. The device comprises a small plate containing microchannels for the guidance of fluids.

This research was funded by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Indian Council of Medical Research and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was led by Dr. Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Head of Center for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati.

Diabetic retinopathy is a serious non-communicable disease in India. It is caused by abnormal growth in the retinal blood vessels in people with diabetes and is usually worsened when the person is on insulin for diabetic treatment. As per a conservative estimate, 11-20 million Indians will suffer from this ailment by 2025

The team of IIT Guwahati, as per a statement, wondered if there was a simple test such as a blood or urine test, to detect retinopathy even before symptoms are seen in the eye. This induced the researchers to look for appropriate biomarkers of retinopathy – chemicals that are found in body fluids, that can indicate impending or ongoing retinopathy.

The statement issued by IIT Guwahati said: “Researchers found that β-2-microglobulin (B2M), a protein found in tears and urine, is a reliable indicator for retinopathy. Armed with this knowledge, they set out to develop a device that can detect this protein in these body fluids.”

The team of IIT Guwahati has designed a microfluidic system, in which the body fluid or urine – was drawn into very thin tubes or capillaries, where they came in contact with the gold-antibody nanoparticles, and the change in color was assessed to detect B2M.

For Biomarker detection in cancer and other diseases, several microfluidic devices have already been developed. But until now, no such device has been developed for the detection of diabetic retinopathy. The development by IIT Guwahati’s team is among the first in this area.

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