India Health Fund (IHF), a part of the Tata Trusts initiative, announced that they will be funding and supporting the development of a lollipop- and chewing gum-inspired sputum collection device for testing tuberculosis (TB) among children. The device is shaped like a conch, which only needs children to chew, blow, or cough for easy sample collection of oral fluids. Moreover, owing to its simplicity, the tool will be ideal for low-resource settings, including primary healthcare setups. The sputum collection device, dubbed Blow-Pop, is being developed by 221B Biomedical Pvt. Ltd. and will be rolled out in the next two years.

The collection device will aid in the treatment of thousands of under, mis-, and late-diagnosed cases of tuberculosis in children. Every year, 1–1.15 lakh children get affected by TB in India, out of which 96% of deaths among pediatric TB patients are due to a lack of bacteriologic confirmation and early treatment. Several experts have pointed out that these missed cases not only contribute to higher mortality but also increase the transmission of infection in communities.

Another factor attributed to this high number of TB cases is the insufficiency of current sample collection methods, which are time-consuming, painful, and inconvenient for children and often require the expertise of healthcare workers.

As a result, to address this unmet need and keep children at the heart of the innovation, India Health Fund’s latest grant to 221B Biomedical will pave the way for developing and clinically validating 221B Biomedical’s simulated method. The innovation is a low-cost device that will improve the safety, efficacy, and ease of sputum collection for TB in children. 

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/medical-devices/ihf-to-fund-development-of-lollipop-chewing-gum-inspired-tb-sputum-collection-device-for-children/96196680 )