NeoDocs launch smartphone-based health test kit, results in 30 seconds

Three alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) — Anurag Meena, Nikunj Malpani, and Pratik Lodha — have developed a smartphone-based health test kit using a urine sample that gives results in 30 seconds. The three alumni are founders of the health startup NeoDocs.

According to a report by the news agency PTI, a person has to dip a card supplied in the test kit in urine for a second, click a photo of it on his/her phone using the NeoDocs app. “The photo gets uploaded on our cloud server, where an algorithm uses computer vision to scan the card and gives results within 30 seconds,” Manasvi Shah, the strategic partnerships manager of the startup, said.

Nashik Zilla Parishad health officer Dr Harshal Nehete told PTI that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NeoDocs for using these instant test kits at their public health centres (PHCs) in Trimbak taluka.

“We have been using these instant tests at seven of our PHCs for antenatal care of mothers. We are also using their UTI (urinary tract infection) test kits and wellness kits,” Dr Nehete said.

NeoDocs presented the test kit during an exhibition at the recently held Indian Science Congress in Nagpur. Nikunj Malpani, one of the startup founders, said that it was during the Covid lockdown that they realised the importance of the quantification of health and the value of diagnostics.

Malpani said they began their venture with five basic instant urine test kits catering to their customers in a personalised manner. Besides the test kit, NeoDocs is manufacturing chronic kidney disease and elderly test kits, and there is also a maternity care kit for women to be used throughout pregnancy, he added.

Anurag Meena, meanwhile, said these test kits will help bring healthcare to every doorstep and reduce the overall cost of testing significantly, no matter the socio-economic background. And according to Pratik Lodha, the startup is further working on researching and developing instant test kits for various human bio-fluids such as blood, vaginal discharge, semen, etc. WioNews