Haemoglobin A1c (or HbA1c) is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels over a 60-to-90-day period. Point-of-care testing provides immediate results at the place of testing without sending samples to a laboratory. These portable testing systems allow healthcare providers to make quick diagnostic and treatment decisions.
Currently, most peripheral health centres in India rely heavily on random blood glucose testing using finger prick devices for both diagnosing and managing diabetes. Unlike HbA1c, random glucose only assesses glucose levels at the time of measurement. More robust tests such as fasting and postprandial blood glucose requires multiple/long patient visits and precise scheduling, which can be difficult in remote or resource-poor regions. Consequently, large numbers of patients remain undiagnosed or improperly monitored, leading to severe medical complications and overwhelming healthcare resources.
India’s rural communities, where logistical barriers make even simple follow-up tests challenging, are the main stakeholders. Individuals living far from well-equipped labs have difficulty arriving on time for appointments that require fasting or to stay longer for postprandial blood tests. Healthcare providers in these settings likewise struggle with limited infrastructure, insufficient funding, and a general shortage of temperature-stable diagnostic tools. In turn, families bear significant economic strain as they attempt to manage chronic conditions without reliable data. The financial burden of poor diabetes monitoring on both families and healthcare systems is profound: repeated hospital visits, lost wages, and the high cost of late-stage treatments collectively cost far more than preventative care would.
Random blood glucose testing, the most widespread assessment of diabetes control, is fast, cheap, and easy, making it seemingly ideal for peripheral centres, but it fails to provide clinicians with the complete data they need for accurate treatment decisions. Furthermore, the performance of these devices can deteriorate in extreme temperatures, compromising their reliability.
HbA1c measurement is often present only in private clinics and for paying patients because the most reliable methods require laboratory infrastructure.
Testing Made Simple: A low-cost, reliable, and accurate point-of-care device for facility-based assessment of glucose and HbA1c in diverse geographic and seasonal settings.
Additional Considerations:
Reliability and accuracy are a major challenge for point-of-care testing, which can be affected by high-temperature and high-humidity environments
Costs are currently a leading barrier to using existing point-of-care tests
HbA1c is sensitive to factors that affect blood haemoglobin levels, such as iron deficiency, sickle cell, and thalassemia
