Mega Scope launched by IIT Alumni Council for personalized health care

November 11, 2020

IIT Alumni Council has launched “MegaScope” for personalized healthcare. MegaScope has been launched to include testing, data analysis and genomics to precisely diagnose infections and to prescribe personalised medicines.

Highlights

  • MegaScope will add host genome data mapping along with Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and data backbone to the MegaLab initiative.
  • The main aim of MegaScope is to improve accuracy of testing, prediction of likely disease severity and progression, enhance efficiency of treatment and avoid casualties.
  • As per the president of the council, use of the same medicine for all or same test for all is coming to an end now. COVID-19 has shown that pathogens can react differently from one person to another and that is why there is a need of personalized medicine. This need will be fulfilled by MegaScope.
  • The complete paradigm will be re-invented under the MegaScope initiative. Girish Mehta, a diagnostics and genetic testing expert said that RT–PCR only tests the presence of virus; it does collect any data on the human body. If host genome data is added and correlated then it will be possible to find which person requires hospiltalisation, which requires quarantine, etc.

What is Mega Lab Initiative?

In July 2020, the IIT Alumni Council announced to set up a mega COVID-19 testing laboratory. The laboratory is to be set up in Mumbai. Under the initiative around 10 million RT-PCR tests are to be conducted per month.

What is COVID-19 Test Bus?

Earlier, the IIT Alumni Council launched COVID-19 test bus that were used to collect swab samples and conduct X-rays, especially in slums. The test bus was used to detect COVID-19 patients. The bus is conducting 5 million tests per month.

About IIT Alumni Council

IIT Alumni Council is the nodal global body of students, academicians and alumni, across all the 23 IITs of the country and partnering Institutes of the India Innovation Network (I2Net).

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