| Health topic | Tuberculosis |
|---|---|
| Classification | Diagnosis |
| Scope | Commercialized |
| Manufacturer location |
California, United States |
Fast, affordable, and accurate diagnosis is key to fighting tuberculosis, which infects around 8 million people every year. In resource-limited settings, access to traditional tests are time consuming, expensive, or non-existent, leading to a need for medical devices that can be used effectively in these places.
The MTB/RIF device can deliver test results in 2 hours, without making additional demands on laboratory expertise beyond what is generally in most peripheral laboratories that perform direct smear microscopy and cost approximately 10 US dollars per cartridge. It takes sputum (mucus) samples and adds a reagent to liquefy and inactivate the sputum sample. This liquid sputum is transferred into one of Cepheid's disposable plastic cartridges, where DNA extraction by ultrasonic cell lysis, real-time PCR, and flourometric monitoring all take place automatically to indicate whether or not the patient is infected with TB.
The device was tested on 1730 patients in Peru, Azerbaijan, South Africa, and India.
| Authors | Dhodg |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Dhodg (2014–2026). "Global Health Medical Device Compendium/MTB/RIF-Cepheid". Appropedia. Retrieved September 30, 2026. |