Team:IISER Mohali/Proposed Implementation
Proposed Implementation
PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION
According to our
and simulation studies, we expect that on fully implementing our diagnostic kit with the biomarkers X,Y, and Z we can correctly differentiate a healthy patient from one who has OSCC with an accuracy ofTARGET GROUP - Who?
We intend it for use by habitual cigarette and/or tobacco consumers, as well as users facing occupational hazards. However, any user might benefit from the use of this kit.
Further, we also intend this kit for usage locally (within a country) as biomarker levels might be affected by epigenetic and environmental factors.
TARGET AREA - Where?
Our kit can be best utilized at hospitals, medical camps, and dispensaries. Since we do not claim to diagnose cancer with it, we want users to be helped on how to interpret the results. Thus, we do not plan to make this available to retail customers, but only to organizations and NGOs who can demonstrate access to medical professions.
PROCEDURE - How?
While we haven’t been able to create a standarding operating protocol for our kit, we have researched and discussed in depth on these criteria. These are briefly discussed as:
- Quantity of saliva and reproducibility of test results
- Since we had to rely on the concentration of MMP9 in saliva from literature, we saw a consistent trend in the relative concentration of MMP9 from different parts of the mouth. We chose to collect saliva from the floor of the mouth (FOM). This was also consistent with our proposed saliva collection device targeting the FOM, for which we won the Frederick Cottrell Impact Grant.
- Volume of saliva: Our results from fluorescent proteins at 300 uL yielded accurate results.
- Frequency of test
- We have yet to standardize the tests. But after consulting doctors at PGI, we realize that this test will have to be repeated multiple times before a conclusive result can be drawn.
- To ensure multiple tests can be performed, a larger collection of saliva will be drawn at the time of collection.
- Results
- To deliver the results, we have built an app that analyses the spectra and reports the concentration of the biomarkers, then feeds these into a ML model to calculate the percentage risk a user has of developing OSCC. More on this can be found on our We have also built a user manual for the app, which can be found here.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Our product was designed and built using our in-house 3D printer. The details of the kit and renders are available on the
.The ray tracing simulation helped us calibrate distances and get an idea of how to develop the optics of it. The entire procedure can be found
.