Device that detects cardiac ailments within minutes | Fusion - WeRIndia

Heart attacks are one of the leading causes of deaths in the country. Due to the changing lifestyle and sedentary work, several people fall prey to serious condition.

The number of deaths can be reduced if heart attacks are identified beforehand.

In this context, IIT Hyderabad built a device to detect a heart attack, cardiac arrest and other cardiac ailments within minutes.

A team of researchers led by Professor Renu John developed biomarker-based biosensors to detect cardiac problems.

Biomarkers are biological molecules that represent health and disease state of a human. In other words, they are certain chemicals that are released in response to certain physiological conditions.

For instance, Cardiac troponins or cTns are biomarkers of heart problem. They can be detected in the blood using certain antibodies to bind them.

Biosensors combine the sensing elements like antibodies and with a transducer which converts the interaction of an antibody into a measurable electrical or optical signal.

Research on biosensors is being conducted by several scientific institutions.

One startup at IIT-Bombay is working on developing kits to detect glucose levels in the bloodstream.

Similarly, the research team at IIT-Hyderabad is developing a kit of biosensors to detect critical cardiac conditions.

They developed portable analytical devices to provide the instant result on cardiac ailments. The team verified the high sensitivity and low detection limit of troponins.

The patient just needs a drop of blood on the sensor to know the result. Troponins are released into the bloodstream if the heart is damaged.

Thus, critical cardiac ailments can be known instantly without waiting for hours.

The team verified results by collecting serum samples from various patients and confirmed the working of the prototype.

However, it takes some time for it to be available in the market.

Image Reference: Thebetterindia