Nuzhat Mahjabeen

ID: 201000502

One Example of Frugal Innovation in Bangladesh

Cancer in its early detection, emphasizes on recognizing symptomatic patients as soon as

possible so that they can receive the best treatment possible. Shahjalal University of Science and

Technology’s (SUST) researchers have found a low-cost method for early detection of cancer.

This low-cost technology for early cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly a frugal innovation. (Frugal

Innovation: A Prerequisite For A Technological Revolution In Bangladesh? - LightCastle

Partners, 2020).

When cancer treatment is delayed or inaccessible, there is a reduced likelihood of survival, more

treatment complications, and higher treatment expenses. Early detection improves cancer

outcomes by allowing patients to receive treatment at the earliest conceivable stage and is thus

an important public health approach in all settings. This was a disruptive growth strategy in the

healthcare business since it focused on an outcome-driven approach and tapped into patients'

unmet desire to learn about cancer at an early stage.

This innovation also reduces the use of scarce resources like capital and time. All they'd need

is blood samples and a cancer-detection device they'd created to execute the procedure. Blood

samples would be exposed to powerful laser beams and the results would be analyzed to detect

cancer. The test would just take five minutes and cost Tk 500.
From the given discussion, SUST's low-cost method for early cancer detection has achieved the

four core attributes of frugal innovation: affordability, simplicity, quality, and sustainability.

● Affordability: The group of researchers created a system for detecting cancer for about

Tk 500, whereas cancer diagnosis is currently exceedingly expensive, costing somewhere

between Tk 8,000 and Tk 10,000. (New Age, 2018).

● Simplicity: This procedure may complete a blood test in less than five minutes, whereas

current diagnosis is a lengthy and difficult process that requires six to seven days to

complete (New Age, 2018).

● Quality: According to one of the team members, who is also an associate professor of

physics, they tested blood samples from 40 people — 30 cancer patients and 10 healthy

people — and the results were spot on (The Daily Star, 2018).

● Sustainability: This innovation has the potential to be long-lasting due to the method's

low cost and simplicity.

As a result, this is a frugal innovation.

 Reference
LightCastle Partners. 2020. Frugal Innovation: A Prerequisite For A Technological

Revolution In Bangladesh? - LightCastle Partners. [online] Available at:

https://www.lightcastlebd.com/insights/2020/05/frugal-innovation-a-prerequisite-f

or-a-technological-revolution-in-bangladesh/#:~:text=The%20most%20important

%20frugal%20innovation,which%20are%20being%20imported%20currently.

New Age, 2018. Bangladeshi researchers invent low-cost cancer detection tech. [online]

Available at:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/49900/bangladeshi-researchers-invent-low-cost

-cancer-detection-tech

The Daily Star, 2018. Detecting cancer in 5 minutes. [online] Available at:

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/science/cancer-diagnosis-low-cost-technology-i

n-bangladesh-invented-by-sust-1629505