Tuberculosis (TB) continues to infect approximately 8 million people per year, particularly in resource-limited areas. Current diagnostic solutions require training, are expensive, or are time consuming, limiting the techniques and products viability in such zones. Affordable and accurate diagnosis and treatment can lead to saving hundreds of thousands of lives and helping to eliminate the disease.

Detailed description of the solution

Phillips is working to develop a polymer reagent that will detect proteins secreted by tuberculosis from sputum (mucus) samples. The reagent will indicate TB-positive samples by changing color. This reagent is placed in the bottom of a small paper cup. The simple test equipment and procedure increase the likelihood of this process to be cheaper than traditional methods, to require less training, and to provide point-of-care diagnostic to resource-limited areas.

Designed by

• Designed by: Scott Phillips, Pennsylvania State University (main researcher)
• Manufacturer (if different): n/a
• Manufacturer location: n/a

Funding Source

Received grant from Grand Challenges in Global Health (2009).

References