IIT Madras Researchers Devise Instrument for Early Diagnosis of Sepsis, Know How it Works

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology IIT-Madras have come up with a device that can minutely predict the onset of the sepsis by monitoring and measuring disease indicators.

The functionality of this device is already done with animal testing. The team of researchers at IIT Madras is currently looking forward to filing a patent as well as industry collaboration for the prototype manufacture of this Diagnostic Device of Sepsis.

This promising project funded under the ‘IMPRINT’ Scheme by IIT-M and the ministry of education has already bagged the 'SITARE- Gandhian Young Technological Innovations Award 2020’.

Diagnostic Device for Sepsis Creates a Difference from Traditional Methods

The current methodology of diagnosing Sepsis involves blood cultures upon a manual intervention that can delay the diagnosis up to 48 hours.

With this new IIT-Madras device technology, there is the scope of continuous monitoring of gaseous biomarkers to predict the onset.

This method is going to be specifically beneficial for patients undergoing complicated surgeries.

Diagnostic Device for Sepsis: How Does it Work?

Prof. Ashis Kumar Sen, Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT-M, has explained the mechanism of the device in simpler terms.

Sepsis causes a systemic inflammatory response in patients.
As soon as the inflammation starts, it alters the levels of specific components called ‘Gasotransmitters’ like Hydrogen Sulphide, Nitric Oxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Carbon Monoxide of the plasma fluids of the patient.
This device monitors and measures the levels of these components, who act as the ‘Biomarkers’ for the Sepsis onset.
These biomarkers are measured through laser, sound waves, chemical probes, and microfluidic mixer, and reactor.
The main mechanism involves a microfluidic-based chip technology.
This device can successfully trace minute changes in the biomarkers.
With the continuous monitoring of the levels of biomarkers, onset can be easily predicted and averted.

Diagnostic Device for Sepsis: Stepwise Mechanism

Below is mentioned the detailed stepwise mechanism of this device.

Step 1: The Sound waves of the device separates the opaque blood cells from the clear fluid plasma.

Step 2: In the Microfluidic mixer and reactor (or in a microchannel), the gases then bind to the specific chemical components within the Gasotransmitters to produce chemical compounds.

Step 3: Lasers then excite those gaseous compounds to emit fluorescence.

Step 4: The detector then captures the intensity of the emitted fluorescence.

Step 5: The intensity is directly proportional to the levels of gases in the patient’s plasma.

Step 6: The level of the gases in the plasma directly associated with the level of inflammation caused by sepsis.

During the animal testing phase, IIT-M has collaborated with the Institute of Biomedical Studies and Apollo Hospital in Chennai to build the device.

Supporting the work of this device from its starting days, Dr. Paul Ramesh Thangaraj of Apollo hospital has stated that the hospital aims to improve the prospect of interdisciplinary research.

He explained that these researches will improve bedside diagnostic tests as well as help in predicting the early onset of diseases.

As a result, it will be reducing mortality as well as disability rate.

Sepsis is the extreme bodily reaction to an infection or surgery related inflammation, causing septicemia and death.

Globally, the death rate ratio is 1:5. The Diagnostic Device for Sepsis as developed by IIT-M is surely going to improve the disease morbidity significantly.

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