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The Breakthrough and What It Means for Healthcare
Researchers at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) have obtained a patent for an autofocusing microscopy system powered by Artificial Intelligence, which will change the way diseases such as blood cancer and malaria are diagnosed in India. This technology has been patented in the name of a member of the Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela (NIT Rourkela). The patent is titled "A Method for Autofocusing in Optofluidic Microsystems and Processes" (Patent No. 589270; Application No. 202431080016).
The system uses a microscopy platform that employs an Optofluidic Digital Microscopy deep learning-based optical imaging and an automated Motion Control system. Compared to traditional microscopy, which requires a lab technician to adjust the focus manually, the platform is able to continuously and automatically adjust the focus of the images being analysed on the micro scale through an intelligent feedback mechanism and process control. This results in a system that provides diagnostic imaging in a quick, accurate and reproducible manner and with minimal human effort.
During lab-based testing, the technology was able to reliably detect Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (blood cancer) and malaria and perform complete blood cell counts as well as 5-class and 7-class blood cell classification. The cost of developing the entire system was a mere Rs. 1.20 Lakh, from which it is evident that this system is a low-cost solution in comparison to high-priced diagnostic systems available in the market.
Researchers’ Collaboration with Industry
The instrument was developed in partnership with Glowvista Instruments Private Limited, a start-up based at the First Technology Business Incubator (FTBI) of NIT Rourkela. This collaboration between the industry and the university is an example of the contemporary practice in Indian higher education, where academic research is integrated into innovations and product development for start-ups.
This core research team is supplemented by Prof. Earu Banoth, Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering at NIT Rourkela, and Non-Executive Founder/Director of Glowvista Instruments Pvt. Ltd. While Dr. Shaik Ahmadsaidulu was a Research Graduate of NIT Rourkela, Mr. Amol Lalchand Salve (Design Engineer, Glowvista Instruments), and Mr. Padmanaban Selvakumar (Product Manager, Glowvista Instruments) were the developer members of the start-up.
Prof. Earu Banoth explained the vision of the project, stating, “Our goal is to create an easy-to-use, portable system which can be as effective as the sophisticated imported automated microscopy systems. Also, the system can cater to a broader range of uses in place of Flow Cytometers and Imaging Flow Cytometers.” This vision of the team is to cater to the healthcare needs of resource-constrained environments in India, where expensive laboratory infrastructure is not feasible.
The Importance of Technology and Its Applications
To understand the importance of this patent, one must understand the role of microscopy in diagnostics in the healthcare sector. Physicians, healthcare professionals, and researchers use microscopy to diagnose tissues, cells, microorganisms, and other biological structures that are otherwise invisible. Tuberculosis, cancer, malaria, and many other conditions that are related to pathology are routinely diagnosed through microscopy. It is also central to drug discovery and to point-of-care diagnostics.
The major drawback of traditional microscopy systems has been manual operation. This has made them time-consuming and has made them vulnerable to the variability of human error, which can lead to incorrect diagnoses, inconsistent readings, and delays in the treatment of patients. When an emergency situation is in play, and the patient is suffering from a complex biological sample, these delays can prove to be fatal.
The system developed by NIT Rourkela solves all of these problems. Some of the features of this system are: AI-based intelligent autofocus with real-time image processing, automated motion control for microscale focus adjustment, imaging of complex biological and microscale samples, and a user-centric design that increases performance efficiency and operational efficacy. The cloud-based learning, which is incorporated in the design, is also quite advanced for this system. It allows the system to improve its performance in every diagnostic cycle and improve its accuracy without the need for manual training.
Funding, Future Plans, and What Students Should Know
The research received funding from three different Government of India entities: the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The institutional support indicates that the government believes this technology is strategically important to India’s healthcare ecosystem.
Regarding future plans, Prof Banoth said: “Our goal is to collect complete ground truth data to build a robust data set. In parallel, we will be deploying the data set field to various locations to collect data and receive information from diagnostic centres and research laboratories. The data set will help us obtain the necessary approvals to build a product that we could one day sell in the market. For this project, we are looking for support in funding research and in diving into the startup data.”
The technology can be used for a multitude of applications in biomedical diagnostics and disease detection, digital pathology and tissue imaging, AI-assisted automated microscopy, point-of-care healthcare devices, microfluidic analysis and biofluid monitoring, life sciences, smart laboratory automation and portable remote diagnostics. The rapid advancement of this technology is by and large great news for biotechnology/biomedical engineering/healthcare researchers. It’s exciting to see how the theories of academic research and engineering can be brought to practice at institutions like NIT Rourkela. They have the 2025 NIRF Ranking in the Engineering category puts NIT Rourkela at 13th and in the overall country at 34th. They are one of the premier institutes in India to provide education and conduct technical research.
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