A former IIT Guwahati student has come up with a low-cost medical kit that not only dispenses medicine for tuberculosis (TB), but also educates the patient.

The plate-shaped device is called Parichaya which uses touch-responsive audio and visual interface.

As the medicine is dispensed, the patient hears an audio recording about why they need to take this particular medicine.

The kit has also won the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award this year.

Parichaya uses a gap of five to six minutes to interact with the patient for each medicine, where they can listen to around 14 segments of information. A new disc is provided at each treatment session.

India already has a national scheme to eradicate tuberculosis. Its Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme provides medicines for free and provides for healthcare centres to be set up across the country to monitor the disease.

Last year, the government made it legally mandatory for all doctors, private practitioners or otherwise, to report any case of tuberculosis they come across.