Needle-free anemia test to be launched in February, Guardian reports

The Guardian profiles Biosense Technologies, an Indian startup company, and its first product, "the world's first needle-free anemia scanner," called ToucHb, which will be launched in February. "Anemia, or abnormally low hemoglobin in the blood, affects more than half of children under five and pregnant women in the developing world, according to the [WHO]," and it is a leading cause of maternal mortality because of postpartum hemorrhage, according to the newspaper.

"Treatment, in the form of iron tablets or injections, is both easily available and subsidized" in India, but diagnosing the condition remains difficult because of the need for blood draws, the newspaper states. However, Biosense co-founder Yogesh Patil "believes ToucHb could solve the problem since it is portable, easy to use, and therefore ideal for places like rural India, where health centers are few in number and usually short-staffed," the Guardian writes (Alluri, 12/5).