Mapping Infections: RAMJA GENOSENSOR
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RAMJA GENOSENSOR is a med-tech start up based on creating a state of art technology for an early detection of infection. The team consist of 5-10 people, all from diverse field. The startup has received BIRAC and Pfizer grant and is currently incubating at Foundation for Innovation and technology transfer ( FITT) , IIT Delhi. It has also been incubated at NEXUS, American center at US embassy.
Pooja Goswami, the cofounder of the company talks to Vanita Srivastava of the Communication Cell about her startup journey and future plans.
Edited excerpts:
What does your startup deal with?
Infection is a critical issue, especially in the ICU where almost 60-80% patient develop infections, such as catheter-related bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Because of the high infection rates, 100% of all patients are tested in the ICU. A one-hour delay in treatment, can increase mortality rates by up to 16% in critical patients. However, the normal tests take 2-5 days to produce results and since time is so critical, physicians are bound to treat with generic antibiotics which is harmful. The emergence of multi drug resistance is primarily because of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. RAMJA Genosensor is providing a rapid, easy and cost effective solution to this problem- a novel paper based device to detect microbial infection and antimicrobial resistance in less than 2 hours. Our device is almost 99% sensitive, specific, portable and user-friendly. Unlike the other existing tests, the results are ready in two hours. It is also very cost effective. We have filed 3 Indian patents for this technology. Our team has over 14 years of experience in clinical testing and microbiology. and we are partnering with the top hospitals in India like AIIMS . Delhi and Fortis Gurgaon.
The existing tests cost almost Rs. 1000-16000 and hospitals invest almost Rs 2-3 crores for the staff and the necessary laboratory infrastructure. With Genosensor, the testing cost will be faster, more accurate and will not require an expensive lab.
How and when did it all start?
I lost my father due to an infection while he was battling cancer,. He defeated cancer but succumbed to the infection and passed away in Oct 2014 . Since then I am working towards providing quick and effective solution for an early detection of infection. We kickstarted in April 2018 and since then have been steadfastly working on it.
What are your future plans?
We will be launching the bacterial panel detection of uropathogens to detect UTI (urinary tract infection) in pregnant women, surgical patients, cancer and other immunocompromised patients. This device which will soon be made available n the market will be able to detect infection and produce results within 2 hours. We are also foraying into a new area related to COVID-19, and are developing nano spray, which will be anti-bacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal.
Team Members:
- Company co-founders: Rajrani Goswami and Pooja Goswami
- Team Lead: Pooja Goswami . (Management of whole project, from designing experiment, funding, team recruitment)
- Annapurna Goswami: B Tech Electrical engineering (Experimental, technical work)
- Sumit: Microbiological work
- Dibyangna Ganguly: MSc Researcher
- Manisha Shakya : MSc Intern
- Shailesh
Advisor role:
- Dr. Ajay Gogia (Medical Oncologist, AIIMS, Delhi)
- Dr. Raghavendra K. Giri (Critical care specialist Fortis Gurgaon)
Mentor:
- Dr. Anoop Saraya (AIIMS, Delhi)
- Dr. Harpal Singh (IIT Delhi)
For more details, you can visit our site