Quantum Sensing for Healthcare in India: Opportunities, Readiness and a Translational Pathway

Quantum sensors use quantum properties of atoms, ions, spins or light to measure physical quantities — magnetic fields, time, temperature, rotation — with very high sensitivity. Several of these sensors are now moving from physics laboratories into biomedical research, most visibly in wearable magnetoencephalography based on optically pumped magnetometers and in nanoscale sensing using nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond. For India, which combines a large disease burden, uneven access to advanced diagnostics and a new national commitment to quantum technologies, quantum sensing raises a practical question: which applications could reach patients, and what would it take? This paper reviews the main classes of quantum sensors relevant to health, assesses their technology readiness, and identifies application areas that fit Indian health-system needs, including neurological diagnostics, cardiac monitoring and point-of-care testing. It then proposes a five-stage translational pathway — from need definition to health-system adoption — and highlights enablers that Indian institutions would need: clinical partnerships, regulatory pathways for novel devices, affordable shielding and engineering, health technology assessment and skills. The paper is a perspective and does not report experimental results or describe any proprietary device.