IIT Guwahati Develops 3D Printed Device To Detect Urinary Tract Infection

The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have developed a 3D printed cost-effective device to detect specific bacteria that causes urinary tract infection (UTI).

It is a fast, accurate, and reliable device that can measure and identify the type of bacteria in a UTI suspected patient, the institute said in a statement.  

The estimated cost of manufacturing this device is Rs 608, while testing a single sample will cost Rs 8 only, it said

The institute said it is cost-effective and can also be used by people in rural areas, where most UTI cases remain undetected due to lack of adequate testing facilities.

This device can measure and identify the type of bacteria in a UTI suspected patient in 5 minutes while other testing devises use urine culture that requires a few days.

While explaining the significance of their Research, Dr Partho Sarathi Gooh Pattader, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati said, "Early-stage detection of UTI is important to provide timely treatment. The Point-Of-Care Testing (POCT) prototype developed at IIT Guwahati is a photodetector that detects and quantifies a specific UTI-causing bacteria called 'Klebsiella pneumoniae' within five minutes from a patient's urine sample."

He said the detection of 'Klebsiella pneumoniae' is important not only because this bacteria is responsible for UTI, but also for pneumonia and for the infection of soft tissue.

Elaborating on the mechanism, Dr Pattader said, "We have used gold nanoparticles with specifically-engineered aptamers. An aptamer is like a 3D puzzle piece that fits only on the surface of a particular bacteria. The gold nanoparticles thus get agglomerated on the surface of the target bacteria giving out a unique signature that can be detected by a UV- Visible Spectrophotometer."