Comparative Evaluation of Mobilab: A Portable Biochemistry Analyzer for Enhanced Healthcare

Accurate diagnosis is a fundamental element of any health system. The World Health Organization (WHO), highlights diagnostic tools as essential for addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the leading cause of global health-related disability. Diagnosing these chronic noncommunicable diseases relies on biochemical tests, but in low-income settings, inadequate laboratory infrastructure and the long distances to healthcare facilities pose major barriers to timely diagnosis and care. Mobilab, a portable battery-operated comprehensive solution developed by Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati in collaboration with M/S Primary Healthtech Private Limited, addresses the need for rapid and convenient diagnostics. Mobilab consists of several integrated portable battery-operated components: Mobicube (an external incubator), an Android smartphone installed with the Mobilab Connect application and an Analyzer that provide rapid analysis for several biochemical parameters when connected via an OTG cable to the android smartphone. The system also contains Mobimix for automated and uniform mixing of samples and reagents along with Mobifuge to separate serum from blood sample. Besides this, a micropipette is included for aspirating accurate volume of sample and reagents. The analyzer is also equipped with IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity for real-time data transmission and can determine multiple parameters, bringing diagnostics directly to door step. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Mobilab analyzer by comaparing its result with those of established biochemistry autoanalyzer, Siemens Dimension EXL 200 and hematology analyzer, Beckman Coulter DxH 900 at GNRC Hospital, North Guwahati. The testing and comparision was performed for thirteen parameters: Glucose (GLU), Total Bilirubin (TBIL), Albumin (ALB), Total protein (TP), Cholesterol (CHOL), Triglyceride (TGL), Uric Acid (UA), Creatinine (CRE), Hemoglobin (HB), Urea (UREA), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with 100plus samples. The comparitive analysis was performed by statistical methods such as Passing & Bablok regression, Bland-Altman plots and Paired t-test. The findings indicate Mobilab's potential to accurately diagnose multiple health parameters. Routine uses of Mobilab may provide significantly enhanced healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings, improving access to timely diagnostics and care.