AIIMS Delhi doctors develop cervical cancer test kit with 2-hour results

New Delhi: Cervical cancer detection tests, which typically cost lakhs and take longer to deliver results, will now become more affordable and faster with a new low-cost nanotechnology-based visual diagnostic kit developed by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The kit is inexpensive, easily accessible, and offers results within just two hours.

Priced at under Rs 100, the test has already been tried on 400 patients and has demonstrated 100 per cent accuracy. The kit, based on nanotechnology, instantly identifies cervical cancer caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV).

What is more fascinating is that the kit does not require only doctors to detect the cancer. Instead, ASHA workers and nurses at primary health centres will also be able to use it. This will enable early cancer detection within a short time frame, thereby expediting the treatment process.

Also read- Understanding Facts and Myths around cervical cancer - Dr Thangarajan Rajkumar

However, the doctors clarified that this test is not meant for self-testing at this stage since the product has not been examined for the self-test aspect. Therefore, they recommend not to use the test by oneself.

The innovation, led by Dr Subhash Chandra Yadav, Additional Professor at the Electron and Microscope Facility, Department of Anatomy, along with Dr Neerja Bhatla, former Head of the Department of Gynaecology, and researchers Jyoti Meena, Shikha Chaudhary, and Pranay Tanwar, has been awarded a cash prize of Rs 6 lakh after it earned recognition at the National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition (NBEC) 2025.

As per the TNIE news report, the organisation declared the nanotechnology-based visual diagnostic kit as the best innovation in the country. It has also attracted venture capital support for launching the kit as a startup.

This breakthrough marks a significant advancement in medical science, with the potential to revolutionise screening for one of the deadliest cancers among women. In India, cervical cancer continues to pose a serious public health concern, particularly in rural regions where timely diagnostic facilities are scarce. Health experts point out that the introduction of a low-cost, quick diagnostic tool could significantly improve early detection and treatment outcomes, potentially saving thousands of lives annually.

Doctors at the premier institute said that the diagnostic kit gives accurate results in just two hours, something that machines costing around Rs 30 lakh used to do over several days.

"We aimed to make it affordable and accessible to everyone. If this current test is done at a private hospital, it costs nearly Rs 6,000," Dr Yadav told reporters. Even at AIIMS, which operates on a non-profit basis, the cost is about Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.