Global Good and JP Selecta Launch New Life-Saving Microbiological Incubator that Ensures Timely, More Accurate Diagnoses

Global Good and collaboration partner JP Selecta of Spain announced the commercialization of the INCUDIGIT-SV 30L microbiological incubator at a launch event in Lagos earlier today. The device is now available for purchase from Nigerian distribution partners ImedReads and Astra Instruments.

The accurate detection and surveillance of some infectious diseases involves studying bacteria by growing it in an incubator – a device that maintains constant optimal temperatures for growth. Timely and accurate, culture-based tests and diagnoses are a critical step in managing diseases like tuberculosis, sepsis, enteric and diarrheal diseases, and sexually transmitted bacterial infections.

In Nigeria, access to reliable electricity is a major national challenge. Approximately 95 million Nigerians—a little more than half the population—have no access to electricity. And those who are connected to the grid face more than 60 power outages every week across the country.

Microbiological incubators are very helpful for creating cultures and detecting pathogen growth from tissue samples. But electricity-powered incubators may not perform well in health clinics with an unreliable electricity supply. The INCUDIGIT-SV 30L incubator overcomes this constraint by operating with unreliable electrical grids even in extreme ambient temperatures. Its innovative design broadens the access of microbiological culture in low-resource health systems, enabling better diagnosis and treatment.

"Bringing the INCUDIGIT-SV 30L incubator to market is all about widening access to the clinical lab - getting the ‘lab out of the laboratory,’” said Maurizio Vecchione, Executive Vice President of Global Good. “It illustrates Global Good’s overall commitment to increase access to high value laboratory and diagnostic capabilities by inventing technologies that bring those capabilities closer to the point of care. In low-resource settings, where access to reliable power is a problem,” Vecchione continued, “the incubator increases a frontline health worker’s confidence in the accuracy of culture-based microbiological tests and decreases the time to effective treatment for the patient.”

Global Good’s contributions leveraged Intellectual Ventures Laboratory’s invention of electronic power management systems that do not rely on access to a constant power supply, and thermal management expertise in products like the Arktek vaccine container. With more than 70 years of experience developing, manufacturing and distributing precision lab equipment, JP Selecta provided perspective on best practices for adopting these innovations into a product line at scale.

“The experience of working with Global Good on the product prototyping and development process for INCUDIGIT-SV 30L opened up exciting new possibilities for our broader portfolio that could prove useful across multiple markets,” said José Antonio Ejarque, Commercial Director of JP Selecta. “We are now exploring the idea of applying the same principles of power-management to make other products immune to electricity outages and weighing the usefulness of phase-change insulation materials for other cold and warm-chain products.”

The INCUDIGIT-SV 30L can operate without a reliable power supply or ambient climate control capabilities. Its internal sample chamber compartment capacity is 31 liters to support the need of a mid-sized microbiology laboratory. It has removable, adjustable shelves; an optional temperature data logging system; a user-adjustable temperature setpoint of 35°C, 36° C or 37° C; and a LED temperature display.

Global Good recently donated three INCUDIGIT-SV 30L devices to support field-testing to the Governor’s office of Lagos State.

Sales Inquiries
Laboratories and health centers in Nigeria interested in purchasing the INCUDIGIT-SV 30L can contact IMEDReads sales representatives on the IMEDReads website or Astra Instruments sales representatives at info@astrainstruments.com. Please direct all other inquiries to the JP Selecta website.

About Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good Fund
Global Good is dedicated to inventing technology for humanitarian impact. Millions of people suffer and die each year in poor countries from causes that humanity has the scientific and technical ability to solve. Funded by Bill Gates and focused on a shared vision with Nathan Myhrvold, Global Good invents technology to solve some of humanity's most daunting problems. Global Good does this by collaborating with leading humanitarian organizations, forward-looking governments, research institutions, and corporate and private sector partners that bring our inventions to market. www.globalgood.com

About J.P. Selecta
JP Selecta is a family owned company which was founded in 1950 by Mr. Joaquim Puig. The mission of the company is to satisfy the materials and laboratory equipment needs of laboratories.

Mr. Jordi Puig is the General Director, who directs THE SELECTA GROUP. www.grupo-selecta.com/en

The SELECTA group consists of three companies:

• J.P. SELECTA, S.A.U. – Designs and manufactures laboratory equipment

• COMECTA, S.A.U. – Laboratory equipment wholesaler

• AQUISEL, S.L. – Specializes in the manufacturing of disposable blood sample collection products