Current Impact

As on March 2024

33

Cilika digital microscopes deployed

Geographical Focus

• Pan India

Potential Impact

• Reach

  300+

  diagnostic labs

• 150

  Units/Months

Greeshma Unnikrishnan Co-Founder, Medprime

SAMRIDH’s financial support to Medprime has been instrumental in advancing our shared vision to mainstream AI-powered microscope solutions to improve health outcomes with precision diagnostics. As Medprime pursues its mission of ‘Accurate Diagnostics for Everyone,’ it also takes pride in contributing to India’s overarching goal of achieving ‘Affordable healthcare for every Indian’.

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Samridh support

SAMRIDH’s provision of a recoverable grant is enabling Medprime to expand access to advanced diagnostic services across remote locations in India. This initiative has supported Medprime to scale its manufacturing capacity from 35 to 150 units per month. Furthermore, it is deploying its technologies across a network of 300+ labs and hospitals in tier 2, 3 cities, and rural areas. SAMRIDH’s assistance serves as bridge financing for Medprime, which is concurrently raising INR 11 Cr in working capital through a combination of equity and debt. This synergy has resulted in an estimated leverage of ~15x the initial financial support from SAMRIDH.

Challenge

India has ~300000 medical testing laboratories, but only 5,500 certified MD pathologists. ^[1]

~65 – 75% of laboratory services are in urban areas, although nearly 65% of the country’s population resides in rural areas. ^[2]

~80% of India’s medical devices are imported from foreign suppliers, typically comprising diagnostic equipment. ^[3]

The shortage of practicing pathologists poses a pressing challenge to healthcare delivery in India. This scarcity leads to overwhelming workloads per pathologist, compromising report accuracy and potentially resulting in misguided treatments. Furthermore, the concentration of pathologists in urban areas leaves rural regions underserved, requiring patient samples to be transported to distant centers, causing delays and additional costs. Consequently, patients in rural areas often receive nonspecific treatments, leading to delayed or inappropriate care, prolonged illness, and heightened healthcare expenditure.

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^[1] Guruprasad S. 2023. “Digital Pathology, Eyesight to AI sight – Transforming lab workflows digitally through artificial intelligen.” ETHealthworld.com, April 21, 2023.

^[2] Gupta, Pallavi, and Sunil Nandraj. 2023. “Challenges and gaps in regulating medical laboratories in India.” Medical Law International 23 (4) : 351–67.

^[3] The Legal 500. 2023. “Import of Medical Devices into India: Opportunities and Challenges – Legal Developments.” The Legal 500. September 11, 2023.

Solution

MedPrime Technologies tackles shortages of pathologists in rural and tier 2 & 3 cities with its AI-powered telepathology solutions. Its smart microscopes, Cilika and Micalys, capture high-resolution digital images for remote analysis, reducing technician dependence and expanding pathologist reach. Micalys is an AI-powered microscopy platform with multifunctional capabilities, including whole-slide imaging, virtual representation, online sharing, and remote access. Cilika integrates smart devices to enable high-resolution image sharing. These innovations enhance efficiency and accessibility in diagnostics.