Revolutionizing Diabetic Care and Prevention
It’s vital to address the global diabetes epidemic affecting 537 million people, with 75% in low- and middle-income countries. Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), a significant complication of diabetes, results in nerve damage in the extremities. Unfortunately, about 30% of diabetics in these countries suffer from DPN.
DPN, involving nerve damage in hands, arms, and legs, poses severe consequences, making patients susceptible to diabetic foot ulcers. If untreated, this condition can escalate to amputation. Shockingly, every 20 seconds, a leg is lost globally due to diabetes.
Early diagnosis is key to preventing DPN in the foot. However, conventional screening devices are often bulky, non-portable, expensive, and require trained healthcare professionals to operate.
Yostra Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based organization is dedicated to changing this narrative with their innovative solutions — NEURO TOUCH and VELOX Care.
Vinayak Nandalike, the Founder of Yostra says, “These solutions represent our commitment to early diagnosis and effective treatment, ensuring better care and improved quality of life for those who have diabetic foot conditions. Together, we’re taking significant steps towards a healthy and better management of diabetes.”
A Revolutionary Solution: NEURO TOUCH
Addressing critical challenges, NEURO TOUCH, a revolutionary Point of Care, battery-powered diagnostic device by Yostra, stands out as a comprehensive solution for professional doctors. Tailored for medical practitioners, NEURO TOUCH conducts essential tests, including the Tactile Threshold (Monofilament) Test, Vibration Perception Test, Hot Perception Test, Cold Perception Test, and Infrared Skin Thermometer, all within a portable and cost-effective package.
Physicians using NEURO TOUCH can seamlessly conduct screening tests for Peripheral Neuropathy. The smartphone-based NEURO TOUCH app ensures secure data transfer to an online server, generating detailed screening test reports. This data is securely stored, providing physicians with convenient access, thereby streamlining the diagnostic process.
With over 1000 devices distributed nationwide from 2020 to 2023, Yostra has facilitated the screening of 100,000 patients across India.
Insights from an independent survey highlight NEURO TOUCH’s positive impact: 97% recognized its substantial contribution to early diabetic foot condition diagnosis, 68% noted a competitive advantage by integrating NEURO TOUCH, and 90% observed an enhancement in patient care post-integration. Impressively, 90% rated NEURO TOUCH’s diagnostic accuracy as ‘good,’ confirming its efficacy in delivering reliable and precise results.
Villgro supported Yostra in commercializing their product in this niche market with incubation support in the form of investment, mentoring, technical assistance for product patents and follow on funding.
Savitha Ananth, Lead Market Partnerships & Technology Commercialisation Healthcare, says “We are also aiding Yostra in expanding its market access nationally through Villgro’s GTM focussed program called ‘MAP-Health’.
Global Approvals and Market Exploration:
Having secured approvals from both CDSCO and the FDA, NEURO TOUCH is poised for global impact. Its participation in a key podiatry event in Nashville, USA, has generated promising leads, indicating significant demand within the American healthcare industry.
The primary objective is to explore and evaluate NEURO TOUCH’s alignment with the needs of American doctors and podiatrists, strategically expanding Yostra’s presence in the healthcare sector. The FDA approval serves as a crucial milestone, validating the device’s safety and efficacy, and instilling confidence in healthcare professionals and patients.
Case Study:
In a strategic prospective study, the scalability of the NEURO TOUCH device in Indian primary healthcare was assessed. Twelve facilities (six urban and six rural) in Rajasthan were chosen, with six in urban areas and six in challenging last-mile rural settings, including tribal areas. Some of these facilities face significant remoteness and limited resources, providing diverse settings for evaluating NEURO TOUCH’s feasibility. Over the study, 1542 patients (53.3% men, 46.7% women) underwent Peripheral Neuropathy screening with NEURO TOUCH in these twelve facilities.
The study confirms the applicability of NEURO TOUCH in last-mile primary healthcare in India. Current market devices for diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy screening are cumbersome and non-portable, requiring trained professionals. NEURO TOUCH, as demonstrated by this study, stands out as an affordable, portable diagnostic tool for screening diabetic patients for Peripheral Neuropathy symptoms. It’s user-friendly and suitable for frontline healthcare workers with minimal training.
NEURO TOUCH stands as an innovative solution for diabetic care and prevention, aiming to leave a lasting impact by providing efficient diagnostic solutions for diabetic patients worldwide, with global approvals and a strategic U.S. entry.
Treating Chronic Wounds
Yostra’s VELOX Care is an advanced wound care device utilizing Topical Warm Oxygen Therapy. This therapy involves placing the patient’s limb with a chronic wound inside a disposable SMART Therapy Bag, where warm oxygen is continuously delivered at a controlled temperature of 39–42°C. The limb is treated for up to 90 minutes, depending on the ulcer size, with repeated sessions based on the healing progress.
The therapy promotes capillary dilation, enhances oxygen and antibiotic delivery to the wound, and accelerates the healing process.
