A new period invention: A Novel Thread Device for UTI detection

Menstruation : The Taboo

Despite the fact that menstruation is a natural and biologically controlled phenomenon of every woman’s life, there are still taboos, beliefs, creeds, and social standards around monthly bleeding that have a negative impact on women’s lives and to some extent, their psychological health. Policies to address or improve menstruation health and other associated women health issues have been established in the areas of education, infrastructure, sanitation and hygiene and understanding.

According to the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016, over 121 million (about 36%) of India’s 336 million menstruation women use sanitary napkins, either locally or commercially produced. It is frequently advertised that unsanitary health and improper disposal habits during one’s menstruation can cause severe women health issues. But what exactly is at risk? Everyone, male or female, should be aware of the problems that might result from a woman’s lack of access to menstrual hygiene products. Cervical cancer, Reproductive Tract Infections, Hepatitis B infection, numerous types of yeast infections, and Urinary Tract Infection, to name a few, are all risks that a woman is susceptible to due to poor menstrual hygiene awareness.

Pads/Tampons/Menstrual Cups : What to use?

Pads are made of cotton and are available in a variety of sizes and forms. They are attached to the underpants with sticky strips. Tampons, on the other hand are more handy for many girls compared to pads, especially when participating in sports like swimming. A tampon is a cotton plug that is inserted into a woman’s vaginal canal. The applicator on most tampons helps to guide the tampon into position. The blood is absorbed by the tampon. However, menstruation cups are preferred by some women. Majority of menstrual cups employ the use of silicone. A girl slips a menstruation cup into her vagina to use it. It will store the blood until she is ready to empty it.

Color changing tampons and pads that can help you detect yeast infections :

A team led by Naresh Kumar Mani from the Manipal Institute of Technology and collaborators from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, has developed an inexpensive method that could be integrated into menstrual hygiene products. The researchers via applying basic biochemistry principles have developed a procedure so effective that it can save lives of almost 75% of women in world. They coated ordinary multifilament cotton threads of the sanitary napkins and pads with a molecule called L-proline β-naphthylamide (PRO), which is a substrate for an enzyme secreted by C. albicans. Using such colorimetric techniques, it becomes easier for women to self detect the possibilities of UTIs.

Candida albicans is commonly thought to be a harmless pathogen. The research further explains, “symptoms do not appear until the disease has progressed to the later stages.” Furthermore, many are apprehensive of intrusive diagnostic treatments. But it’s a tragedy for immunocompromised people.

Earlier this month, the researchers published their findings in the journal ACS Omega which stated that a group of researchers from India’s Manipal Institute of Technology are developing tampons and pads that can detect Candida albicans, a fungus that causes vaginal yeast infections (Prabhu et al., 2021).

How it works?

The team studies, tampons and pads to be made of cellulose-based materials such as threads and sheets. Tampons and pads must be extremely absorbent in order to be useful. As a result, producers use a technique called mercerization to eliminate the hydrophobic elements in the pads and tampons, making them more absorbent. Mercerization basically is a process where textiles are treated with a caustic (NaOH) solution to improve properties such as fiber strength, shrinkage resistance, luster, and dye affinity. Further a heptane wash is done to preserve the pH of the body fluid while allowing the product to react when it recognizes a fungus-secreted enzyme. This reaction causes the pad or napkin to change color from white to pink.

It has been claimed that the heptane wash can identify the presence of the C. albicans fungus within 10 minutes of contact with the enzyme secreted by it. This is comparatively faster than the clinical sample tests, which generally take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. The researchers concluded that, while this method won’t replace the conventional diagnostic procedures and is surely not economically viable to rural women but will complement physicians as a pain site tool.

Future aspects :

This research evidently establishes the utility of thread as a viable substrate for microbial detection essays, with intrinsic desirable properties such as low cost and ease of disposal. A completely novel device has been developed for the detection of a globally significant disease, vulvovaginal candidiasis, which relies on enzyme and substrate reaction. This would reduce the possibilities of major women health issues.

Currently, it costs between Rs. 16-20 per item to produce these hygiene products. Mani says that he hopes to bring down the cost of the product through supplementary funding from government agencies and mass production. He expects to bring it to market in the next three to four years. Overall, providing opportunities for women to self-diagnose could make them feel more comfortable seeking care, which could have significant ramifications for those who suffer from infection-related complications.