induRATE
2024-2025
Embedded Files
induRATE: Enhancing Screening Capacity for Pediatric
Latent Tuberculosis (LTBI) Infection in India
Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design
Presented at:
Johns Hopkins Healthcare Design Contest (Finalist)
Johns Hopkins Global Health Day Symposium 2025
APSA (American Physician Scientists Association) 2025
Johns Hopkins Design Day 2025
This is from my 1-year accelerated Master's program, which was entirely project-based. This consisted of a field immersion in three cities in India analyzing tuberculosis workflows in schools, conducting meetings with researchers, learning about the Indian healthcare system. Our team gathered hundreds of clinical needs, analyzed them, and eventually developed a project.
Clinical Needs Finding
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Project Selection
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Prototyping
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V&V Testing
Clinical Background
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading infectious causes of death worldwide, with India bearing the highest burden. While national efforts have improved detection and treatment of active TB, identification of latent TB infection (TBI), especially in children, remains under-addressed. Among India’s 250 million school-aged children, over half of pediatric TBI cases are estimated to go undetected yearly.
Current Solution & Problems
This undetectability is due to a lack of scalable, field-deployable screening tools and limitations of the current standard: manual, clinician-dependent measurement of induration after TB skin testing (e.g., Mantoux or Cy-TB). This process is subjective, error-prone, and impractical in schools or homes without trained personnel.
Our Solution
InduRate is a low-cost, user-friendly solution designed to transform pediatric TBI screening through objective, accessible measurement of TB skin test results. Any user—regardless of training—can press a deformable material against the forearm 48–72 hours post-test to capture an impression of the induration. Paired with a smartphone app, the system automatically determines if the test is positive or negative, removing user variability and clinician dependency.
Early validation with porcine skin models was performed on clinicians at the Baltimore City Health Department and untrained users. Findings have shown strong accuracy and usability. By enabling screening in schools and homes, InduRate addresses key barriers: subjectivity in measurement and limited access to care. It’s now being integrated into a school-based protocol with the JHU Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII) and is designed to pair with antigen-based tests like Cy-TB, with the goal of increasing detection and preventing progression to active TB.
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