Needlestick injuries (NSI’s) are more common among healthcare workers. Infected needles can transmit bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the USA alone reports around six million needle stick injuries.
The World Health Organization statistics show that 16,000, 66,000, and 1,000 cases of HCV, HBV, and HIV ailments are seen among healthcare workers per year due to needle stick injuries, which highlights the importance of dissuading such injuries to prevent the diseases. 1
Dr. Nikhil Mamoria, who studied at B. J. Government Medical College, is working as a medical officer at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune. He developed SutureSure, a cutting-edge automated wound closure device, and also founded a startup named ‘De Novo Bio Innovations’. This 28-year-old doctor’s patented SutureSure will help doctors, surgeons, and healthcare workers by deterring needlestick injuries.
In 2020, IIT Bombay organized a MEDHA (Medical Device Hackathon), in which Memoria's idea of SutureSure was conceptualized. He said that SutureSure will help doctors and surgeons by deterring needlestick injuries with its inventive suture cartridges and needle-driven mechanism. Furthermore, it will empower doctors to complete suturing with just two clicks, and it works quicker and more precisely in understaffed environments.
De Novo Bio Innovations, the startup of Dr. Nikhil Mamoria, is performing clinical studies for the prototype, and pan-India trials will begin after that. He expressed that the device is the fruition of three years of devoted dedication. It will be available on the market once it is clinically validated.
De Novo Bio Innovations has received support in the form of government grants, private funding, and CSR support, and this startup was also a winner of the NITI Aayog 1 crore grant and the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) 2.0 by the Atal Innovation Mission. De Novo is developing advanced wound closure and laparoscopy instruments. This startup is also a part of assorted accelerator programs like Stanford Seed Spark, AIM Prime, and Maha60 Cornell.
Reference:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7181946/
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina)