AutoTB

More than one-third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis (TB), a disease that kills over 2 million people annually. Improved diagnostics are desperately needed to combat this growing epidemic. AutoTB plans to create a device to automate sputum microscopy, which will decrease analysis time, increase sensitivity and eliminate the human error present in current procedures, while integrating into the existing infrastructure and remaining inexpensive and accessible to developing countries. The medical and economic benefits of this device will provide a competitive advantage over existing technologies and make it very marketable to non governmental organizations (NGOs) for both rural and urban clinics in developing countries. Furthermore, due to the inexpensive nature of the device, users will purchase replacement devices rather than pursue maintenance options, providing long-term sustainability for AutoTB's sales and profits.