With the development of medical technology, treatment for jaundice has become both accessible and affordable in India. However, due to delays in identifying the disease, patients may develop serious long-term health problems such as neural dysfunction and the loss of hearing and vision. 

There are two main methods for identifying jaundice. The first of these, laboratory testing, can be slow as India does not have the infrastructure for large-scale blood tests. On the other hand, physical examination for jaundice is faster, but the results are less accurate. There is thus a gap in the diagnosis of jaundice in the country.

MedBlue Innovations of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, aims to fill this gap with a third option—non-invasive light-based testing. Founded in 2022 by Jitesh Pandey and Mansi Tyagi, this startup has built a device that use light emitters and AI algorithms to detect jaundice with high accuracy. The benefits include both accurate disease screening and lowered hospital costs.

How does MedBlue’s innovation work?

Jaundice is caused by the excess of the pigment bilirubin in blood. Thus, by visually detecting the levels of the pigment, one may predict the presence of jaundice. 

In MedBlue’s method for testing this disease, first, a specialized medical device shines different wavelengths of light on a patient’s body. The technology for this is similar to that used in infrared thermometers for COVID detection. Once a profile of the patient’s skin has been built, AI algorithms match this profile to a database of 50,000+ confirmed jaundice cases. Finally, the screening device outputs the probability of the patient having jaundice.

Similar devices have long existed in the market. However, most of these are expensive and have more limited usability. For example, one option costs INR 2.5–3 lakh per module and can only be used 500 times before needing replacement. In contrast, the production cost of one of MedBlue’s devices is merely INR 8,000–8,500. 

Additionally, the AI component of the MedBlue device is constantly being updated. Today, it can detect not only jaundice but also hemoglobin levels—and future plans involve adding pneumonia detection. From a hardware perspective, such expansion is possible because the device emits 12 light wavelengths rather than the standard 3–4, offering the potential for more detailed skin analysis. As an end result, each MedBlue device adds significantly more value than its competitors. 

Impact created so far

As per internal reports, MedBlue’s innovation has screened 1500+ infants for jaundice and saved over INR 60 lakh in hospitalization expenses. Most of the company’s operations are in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with new facilities being built in Telangana’s Hyderabad region. Beyond India, MedBlue has also conducted pilot testing in Malaysia and West Asia.

The jaundice screening device is nearly as accurate in diagnosis as laboratory blood tests and aligns with UNICEF’s criteria for an ideal bilirubin screener. In its current iteration, it can predict jaundice ~24 hours faster than most methods and thus save ~INR 25,000 in healthcare costs per infant. Every time the device uses its AI algorithms—the servers for which are locally hosted in India—and reports the results, the process costs merely two rupees. Jitesh estimates that with time, even as the device screens for more health conditions, this cost is unlikely to rise rapidly.

Research and incubation partners

MedBlue does not have direct investors, but it has received substantial aid from both public and private partners. Government programs such as Nidhi Prayas and the BIREC grant provided it with startup funding in the early years. Meanwhile, IIT Hyderabad and SGPGI Lucknow helped it build a jaundice database, secure ethics approvals, and deploy the device at a commercial scale. 

Other sources of financial support include Social Alpha, HDFC, Pfizer, and Venture Center. 

Scope for future expansion

While MedBlue does not aim to increase the cost of the device significantly, it does plan to make its AI algorithms accessible to other service providers via an API. This would be helpful for innovations that use IoT-based measurements in other sectors such as agriculture.

The primary challenge that the company faces is a dearth of research in the field of non-invasive jaundice testing. Due to this issue, there are no standards for commercial screening devices, and this in turn delays ethics approvals and access to funding. The Indian government offers ignition funding in the form of Nidh Prayas, Startup India, and similar schemes, but there is no nation-level framework for supporting innovation beyond the early stages. Attention to these gaps from policymakers would help make startups like MedBlue thrive further, expanding access to healthcare for millions of Indians.