A multi-centre pan-India clinical study has started across six centres in the country  to assess the accuracy of MammoAlert– a rapid, low cost, accurate blood test to detect early breast cancer in just 45 minutes as compared to painful and tedious procedures required in conventional mammography.

The pan-India validation study will generate India specific data towards making it accessible to the remote areas of the country having no screening facilities.  The clinical study centres are KIMS Hospital, Hyderabad, Indo American Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, AMI, Cochin, HCG, Ahmedabad, MAMC, Delhi and TMC, Kolkata.

California-based POC Medical Systems has conducted clinical studies in US and breast cancer expert Dr Raghuram is the principal investigator for conducting clinical studies in India.

Government of Maharashtra has shown interest in adopting the technology on a pilot mode and gradually make it scalable across the rural areas of the country. The portable breast cancer screening test, which runs on Pandora CDx technology, uses a simple drop of blood to generate results in 45 minutes and uses multiple cancer markers for high accuracy.

Developed by POC Medical Systems, MammoAlert is a patent-protected, path breaking point of care testing product for breast cancer in India with over 1.5 lakh women diagnosed and almost half i.e. 70,000 reported deaths every year.

With MammoAlert on Pandora CDx platform, the technology makes cancer screening within the reach of common man across geographies considering the fact that a woman succumbs to breast cancer every seven minutes in this country.

The underlying process behind the breast cancer screening through this technology works on a microfluidics disk where a reaction takes place between the blood and the reagent.

The chemistry which consists of various reagents already prepared and loaded on the disk so no human interaction is required in the field except for loading of blood. The software which records and analyses the data and gives a report automatically post the test. The instrument which is called the Pandora CDx runs on rechargeable batteries that can be taken to any village or can be run in any lab or doctor’s office with minimal training.

The lab technician or operator enters patients information on a tablet, pricks the patients finger with a lancet, applies the blood to the inlet in the disc where the blood has to be inserted and finally selects the test and presses ‘Enter’. The test is then performed on its own and the results are displayed and printed within 45 minutes. The disc is then removed from the Pandora CDx and disposed with all the results being maintained on cloud.

MammoAlert has an edge over mammography which is the current gold standard.  Because of geographical accessibility, easy to transport to the rural areas, convenience, for women during MammoAlert as it requires a simple prick on the finger and the blood test is done and test to result time is 45 minutes with high sensitivity and specificity.

Recently, POC Medical Systems showcased the technology to scientific world at the prestigious MEDLAB, Dubai, UAE. International organisations appreciated the technology and the impact it will have as a disruptive product for early breast cancer screening.

The technology has garnered responses from potential partners in Iran, Turkey, India, Africa, UAE, Pakistan and Europe who have come forward to understand the unique technology for curtailing the dreaded diseases like cancer.