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Innovate • Diagnose • Transform Lives

Genetic tests that work beyond the specialised laboratory.

Lightening Lives is an innovation-driven healthcare technology company in Hyderabad. We develop REASSURED genetic tests for inherited disorders, so molecular diagnosis can reach everyone, including underserved communities.

Explore a partnership See the tests

For hospitals, laboratories and public health programmes. We supply institutions only.

Scroll to see the model from every side
A model of a double helix seen from the side: two brass rails twisting round a central rod, joined by glass rungs with a brass bead at each end.
Innovate

Designed the other way round.

Genetic tests have traditionally needed large equipment, specialised laboratories and trained staff, so they rarely reach the people who need them most. We start from where the test has to work.

Sample
A dried blood spot: a few drops of blood on a card
Preparation
No separate DNA extraction step
Laboratory
Minimal infrastructure, no large equipment
People
No specialised training to collect, process or read
A close view of three glass rungs of the model, each ending in a brass bead on the rail and a pointed brass finial.
Diagnose

A test for any inherited condition a programme needs.

Five so far, each developed because an institution needed it. LitLife™-SCA, our flagship test for sickle cell anaemia, is validated by ICMR. The next rung is open.

  • Sickle cell anaemia
  • Thalassaemia
  • Spinal muscular atrophy
  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy
  • Blood coagulation disorders
  • Any other, on request
See the tests so far
The whole model standing on its round brass base. Five of its glass rungs are lit in amber, one for each test developed so far, and the rung at the top glows pale yellow: the place open for the next.
Transform lives

Made for programmes that screen at population scale.

Our tests were developed for Government of India health programmes, including the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission. Alongside them we run awareness and counselling programmes, mostly on behalf of the government.

The same model, seen from directly above: the sun in our logo.

Explore a partnership
The same model seen from directly above. Its base is a yellow disc inside a ring of sixteen brass rays, and its amber glass rungs radiate across the disc, so that it looks like the sun in the Lightening Lives logo.

How it works

Faster, simpler, affordable, accessible, scalable.

That is how we sum up our technology. Here is what stands behind each word.

Faster
No separate DNA extraction step, and a rapid turnaround from sample to result.
Simpler
A dried blood spot is simple and minimally invasive to collect. The tests are designed so that collecting, processing and reading them doesn't call for specialised training.
Affordable
Designed to be affordable for the people tested and for the health system.
Accessible
Minimal laboratory infrastructure: no large equipment or specialised laboratory needed, so molecular diagnosis can reach underserved communities.
Scalable
An automation-friendly workflow for high-throughput screening, designed for large-scale public health programmes.

Tests

Developed to order, for any inherited condition.

These are the tests so far. Each began with an institution's requirement and was developed for use in national health programmes.

Condition What the test is for Notes

Sickle cell anaemia

Inherited blood disorder

LitLife™-SCA, our flagship. A simple dried blood spot test for detecting sickle cell anaemia, developed for the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

  • Validated by ICMR
  • Dried blood spot

Thalassaemia

Inherited blood disorder

Supports carrier screening, diagnosis and family counselling. Carriers are usually healthy and often unaware of their status.

Spinal muscular atrophy

Inherited neuromuscular disorder

Adaptable and affordable for large-scale newborn screening. Treatments work best when started early, ideally before symptoms appear.

  • Dried blood spot

Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Inherited muscle disorder

An earlier genetic diagnosis allows timely care, and lets families find out whether relatives are carriers.

Blood coagulation disorders

Inherited bleeding disorders

Confirms the diagnosis, identifies carriers and supports family counselling and care planning.

The condition you need next

Tell us what your programme needs to screen for. We develop the test, to the same REASSURED standard as the five above.

Tell us what you need

The standard

REASSURED, criterion by criterion.

A published set of nine criteria for diagnostic tests that work in low-resource settings. Developing genetic tests that meet them is our distinguishing strength.

  1. Real-time connectivity

    Results can be read or shared digitally with decision-makers.

  2. Ease of specimen collection

    Samples are simple and minimally invasive to collect.

  3. Affordable

    Affordable for the people tested and for the health system.

  4. Sensitive

    Few false negatives.

  5. Specific

    Few false positives.

  6. User-friendly

    Simple to perform, with minimal training.

  7. Rapid and robust

    Quick results; tests survive transport and storage without special conditions.

  8. Equipment-free or simple

    No special equipment, or only simple devices.

  9. Deliverable to end-users

    Reaches the people who need it most.

Source Land et al., Nature Microbiology (2019). REASSURED updates the earlier ASSURED criteria from the World Health Organization's tropical disease research programme.

Evidence

What stands behind the claims.

  • Validation

    ICMR

    LitLife™-SCA is validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

  • Collaboration

    CSIR-CCMB

    An MOU with the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for developing and commercialising the sickle cell assay.

  • Programmes

    Government of India

    Tests developed for national health programmes, including the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

  • Manufacturing

    Certified partner

    Our tests are made by a third-party manufacturer that holds a quality certification.

Field work Our work in the field has taken us to Nandurbar, Kothagudem and Jharkhand.

A monsoon-green gorge with a thin waterfall dropping down red basalt cliffs at Toranmal, Nandurbar district, Maharashtra.
Nandurbar, Maharashtra
Still water of the Kinnerasani reservoir with a forested island, Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana.
Kothagudem, Telangana
A hill road winding through forest above the Patratu reservoir, Patratu Valley, Jharkhand.
Patratu Valley, Jharkhand

Who we work with

Institutions, and the programmes they run.

Most of our work begins as a collaboration. Tests are supplied in bulk, to institutions and government programmes.

  • Hospitals, laboratories and clinicians

    Genetic tests for inherited conditions, designed to need minimal laboratory infrastructure and to suit an automated workflow.

  • District health officers and government programmes

    Tests developed for national health programmes, for screening whole populations.

  • NGOs and CSR funders

    A technology partner for large, population-level screening.

Awareness and counselling, alongside the tests

Awareness programmes explain inherited conditions and screening to communities. Counselling helps people and families understand results and carrier status. We run both, mostly on behalf of the government.

For individuals

Looking for a test for yourself or your family? We supply institutions only. Please speak to your doctor or visit your nearest government health facility.

Start here

Tell us what your programme needs.

Choose where you would like to begin. Each option opens an email to our team.

Write or calladmin@lighteninglives.in+91 91825 88191

Order details are discussed per request, based on your institutional or regulatory requirements.