IIT Roorkee develops cancer detector and transfers its technology to Tata Steel

A team of researchers at IIT Roorkee has developed a simple, easy-to-use breath-based detector (BLO Detector) for early detection of breast, lung, and oral cancer. The research team includes Prof. Indranil Lahiri, Prof. Partha Roy and Prof. Debrupa Lahiri.

The device, which works on the principles of colorimetry, can detect the presence of breast, lung and oral cancer. BLO Detector will be important for screening a large pull of the population, who are susceptible to any of these three types of cancer. A positive result in this test will ensure a quick visit to a doctor for a detailed diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This will have a huge impact on increasing the survival rate of cancer patients, specifically of these three types of cancer. The device has undergone an initial clinical test in a Cancer Research Institute at Dehradun, with a sensitivity and specificity of 96.11% and 94.67% respectively.

Also, in an endeavour to make the non-invasive early-stage cancer diagnosis an affordable reality, IIT Roorkee has signed a Technology Transfer Agreement with Tata Steel’s New Materials Business.

Talking about the development, Dr. Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President, New Materials Business, Tata Steel, said: “Tata Steel is constantly working towards fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement to drive excellence. We intend to leverage this opportunity with IIT Roorkee to develop and deploy the BLO detector.”

Tata Steel would further improve upon the design and use efficiency of the prototype on commercial terms, re-evaluate the efficacy in collaboration with Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata and thereafter commercialise the device under Medical Material and Devices, New Materials Business.