India’s Niloufer Hospital now offers a first-of-its-kind AI blood test. In just 60 seconds and without a needle, a face scan yields BP, oxygen and more – no vials needed.
India’s First AI Blood Test
Afraid of needles? You’re not alone. A simple blood test often comes with the fear of a needle prick, a vial of blood, and the anxious waiting that follows. But what if you could skip all that?
Imagine that now you are sitting in front of a camera on your smartphone, then look into the camera for a few seconds and the application tells you immediately your blood pressure, heartbeat, oxygen level and so on, without drawing a drop of blood. It is not a sci-fi fantasy, but a fact.
In May 2025, Niloufer Hospital of Hyderabad gave India the first AI-powered needle-free blood test. Health-tech startup Quick Vitals has created a mobile application (called Amruth Swasth Bharath) that can scan your face and provide detailed health information within one minute.
From the moment the news broke, it felt like a turning point. “Think of it as a selfie that tells you your health status,” says Quick Vitals founder Harish Bisam. In other words, taking a health selfie: No needles, no pain, just you, a camera, and cutting-edge AI. This article dives into how this technology works, why experts are excited and a bit cautious, and what it means for patients and doctors alike.
AI health scan app (Amruth Swasth Bharath)
Blood tests are a common practice in healthcare and a universal point of pain (literally). This time, Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad has made a very risky move. One warm May morning, physicians and administrators attended a live demonstration of Amruth Swasth Bharath, a new application designed by Quick Vitals, in partnership with Sushena Health Foundation and with the support of the state government.
Simply, the application takes over your phone’s camera and uses advanced algorithms (deep learning) to scan your skin and observe minor color variations, as well as light patterns. This could pass the test of magic but it is established science which is known as photoplethysmography (PPG).
PPG is a new optical approach that does not require the use of any invasive tools. It involves an illumination of light into the skin and the subsequent detection of minute alterations of blood volume. With each beat of the heart, the heart pumps a little more blood into small capillaries in your face altering the amount of light absorbed or reflected. The app can obtain vital signs by measuring and examining these pulses.
Harish Bisam, the innovator behind Quick Vitals, puts it simply: their “mobile face scanning system provides access to essential health data in under a minute.” In other words, health monitoring becomes as easy as snapping a selfie. No lab technicians, no waiting rooms, no needles. At the launch, Dr. Ravi Kumar, Niloufer’s superintendent, marveled that the tool “delivers rapid, non-invasive blood test results in under a minute,” heralding it as the first such technology in the country.
How the AI Blood Test Works
So, what exactly happens when you use this app? First, a healthcare worker (or you) opens the Amruth Swasth Bharath app on a smartphone or tablet. The person looks steadily into the front camera for a few seconds. In real time, the app shines a gentle light (often infrared or visible) onto the face and records how that light is reflected. Inside, sophisticated AI algorithms analyze these video frames to extract your vital signs.
This is essentially, photoplethysmography (PPG). Imagine that PPG is a little light show every heartbeat causes a small rise in blood in the capillaries in the face, which captures some more light. The AI of this app interprets these pulses - already pulse oximeters and plenty of fitness wearables can do this (from a fingertip or a green light on your wrist). Thousands of faces have been trained on by Quick Vitals, and those signals have been combined with the standard medical measurements. Therefore, it understands how to translate a light and color pattern into an accurate health measurement.
According to India Today, the app can assess nine key parameters, all from that face video. In under 60 seconds, it reports things like:
Blood Pressure (BP) – Your systolic/diastolic pressure (like 120/80 mm Hg)
Oxygen Saturation (SpO₂) – How well oxygenated your blood is
Heart Rate (Pulse) – Beats per minute
Respiration Rate – Breaths per minute
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – The subtle variation between beats, which reflects stress and fitness
Hemoglobin A1c – A long-term measure of blood sugar (diabetes risk)
Stress Levels – An index derived from autonomic signals
Pulse-Respiration Quotient (PRQ) – A ratio linking heart and breathing rates
Autonomic Nervous Activity – Markers of sympathetic/parasympathetic balance.
This is based on the Niloufer launch details. All these would be standard independent equipment or lab tests. But here they are all pouring out your camera in one. As an illustration, the app illuminates the cheek and the forehead and records the amount of light reflected back. Minor color specks (even invisible) give each heartbeat, allowing the AI to calculate blood pressure and oxygenation without the use of a single needle.
In an easy to relate metaphor: It is like a fitness band that can view through your face. In the same way, a smartwatch is able to monitor your pulse through its green lights and camera, this application utilizes the camera to record a larger health fingerprint. Amazingly, the hospital team also showed that you can continuously track patients. A wearable sensor on the body can feed continuous PPG to the app to track in real-time, however, the essence of the “selfie scan” is on-demand.
Faster, Painless, and Accessible AI Health Checks
I had heard this first when I was thinking about my friend Priya - a young mother of two. Priya never wanted to undertake regular check-ups due to the fear of needles. Her toddler cried when she saw a syringe. Picture what Priya would think were a nurse could just scan her face at the clinic and immediately understand whether she is anemic, whether her blood pressure is normal or whether her oxygen is fine- all without pinching. Such a situation is no longer impossible.
The technology of Quick Vitals may be a game changer in regard to the health of the people more so in areas where traditional laboratories are limited. Our face scanning system is mobile and can be used to access crucial health information within one minute.
We think that this will close current disparities in the provision of healthcare, particularly in underserved communities, Bisam said. Indeed, analysts note that this accessibility is crucial in mass screening in rural or semi-urban localities where it is difficult to access the lab. Imagine picture village health camps using smartphones to check dozens of individuals per hour, something that would have taken them long queues in the city labs, previously.
Notably, maternal and child health is a massive position of the Niloufer team. The hospital specializes in care of women and children and doctors hope that this tool will aid in the early detection of problems. Dr. Ravi Kumar of Niloufer Hospital was very appreciative of the initiative as one that provided the most vulnerable groups with timely diagnosis. He included that Amruth Swasth Bharath is secure, quick and favorable among kids and pregnant women.
As an instance, anemia is an undiagnosed disease that is common in pregnant women and children. In this AI scan, a midwife might examine the hemoglobin level of a mother being checked in a clinic in a few minutes and prescribe iron supplements should the level be low - without blood being drawn.
According to another specialist, Dr. Santosh Kraleti of the National Medical Commission, conditions such as anemia are usually not detected in women and children; however, with this tool, can be diagnosed quicker and more people can be screened. He had a positive view that the app will guarantee that no one is left behind in health interventions. This brings out the equity side of the equation, in a region where it is difficult to access the lab, or where a patient is too fearful of having his or her blood sampled. AI screening would democratize the process of diagnostics. And the rapid results (20-60 seconds) guarantee no time was wasted by the phone or lab slips wasted, immediate health information.
Needle-free, pain-free: No syringes means less anxiety for patients (especially kids, the elderly, and needle-phobics).
Ultra-fast results: Health metrics in under a minute, compared to hours or days for lab tests.
Highly accessible: Uses just a smartphone or tablet – no lab equipment needed, so it can reach remote clinics and screening camps.
Comprehensive metrics: It bundles many tests (BP, SpO₂, hemoglobin, etc.) into one scan.
Better preventive care: Quick, painless checks mean people are more likely to get screened, catching issues early.
Data privacy built-in: The system is designed so that “patient data is shared only with authorised healthcare providers,” and it complies with medical data norms. Multiple users can even register (think whole family profiles) with secure storage.
In effect, a routine doctor’s visit could become as simple as a brief video call. Imagine a doctor hundreds of miles away telling you your blood pressure is fine, just from a selfie video.
Doctors on India’s First AI Blood Test
Doctors and tech enthusiasts buzzed when this app came into the news. The combination of relatability and technical ability was impressive. During the Niloufer launch, event developers demonstrated live to medical staff. It was tested personally by Ravi Kumar (superintendent of Niloufer) and Dr. Santhosh Kraleti (member of NMC) who posted thumbs-up reviews. Government interest came even in the form of attendance by political figures such as Karuna Gopal (Federal Women Policy Head).
Harish Bisam, the founder of Quick Vitals, stressed the fact that the technology is very high-tech, but the user experience is easily available. He stated that access to vital health information with our mobile face scanning system requires less than a minute. His comparison was not in vain, it is like taking a selfie. Indeed, the Deccan Chronicle gave a direct quote: "Imagine it as a selfie, which informs you about your health level," he told the reporters. Such an utterance creates credibility connecting the innovation to something that is familiar to everyone (selfies).
What this is in practice also came into focus as pointed out by medical experts. A check could be made in the field by a nurse, midwife or community worker who did not require special training. It will mean that no one is left behind in our health interventions as Dr. Kraleti observed. That is, the technology may break down conventional distance, costs, and logistics barriers.
That notwithstanding, professionals will desire evidence of correctness. The application is in pilot phase as indicated in listing and is still awaiting formal regulatory approvals. Quick Vitals publicly declares the following outcomes as non-invasive outcomes which can be compared with the classic testing, yet it could have some deviations (effectively stating that it is good results but not a reliable substitute yet). During the launch coverage, the developers were confident that data processing is safe and in accordance with the Indian Medical Standards. This covers a frequently raised issue, as one of the officials stated, data privacy and security form the heart of the design.
On the whole, this is a big step that is being taken but with great excitement and caution. The expert community is not yet ready to embrace this tool as the universal panacea, but it is a big step. In situations within the urban clinics to the rural health camp, it may significantly accelerate the diagnosis and minimise the invasive tests. Since one commentator on health policy noted, when the problem of lab backlog is real, a quick check at the point of care is priceless.
Living the Needle-Free Test Experience
Suppose that we have the following hypothetical situation: Sita is a 61-year-old grandmother in a village in Telangana, who usually does not attend check-ups in her village since the closest laboratory is reached by bus in several hours.
The introduction of this new technology is that the local health worker appears with a tablet, requests Sita to sit in a natural light, and, with a 30-second scan, examines her face. The tablet immediately displays her blood pressure, oxygen, and notifies her that her hemoglobin is slightly low, all of which is clarified by the community nurse. Sita is glad that she did not have to undergo a needle or walk to the city. Such a situation can be a reality in the near future courtesy of the Hyderabad rollout.
It is also exciting at the human level: Pain-free care tends to enhance trust. The fear of needles among patients may make them more inclined to undergo the routine screenings provided that they are convinced it is as easy as a video call. This may be regarded by tech enthusiasts as a blend of the mundane (a camera that you use to conduct video calls) and advanced healthcare. To busy doctors, using it is like a second pair of eyes, or more accurately, an additional application that can immediately highlight problems.
The analogy that I find myself returning to is some kind of health filter of our phones. Similar to the Instagram filters which add makeup or adjust the lighting. This application adds a health-report filter. It reads your vitals behind the scenes. It may well be that many of its readers already possess the hardware to execute smartphones with cameras of sufficient quality and internet access, so that the only obstacle is the software acceptance and regulatory clearance. Quick Vitals will next expand it to other states such as Maharashtra.
Future of AI Blood Tests in India
Niloufer Hospital is the first institutional adopter as of May 2025. The state of Maharashtra will become the second to introduce the system as announced by Quick Vitals. Suppose, should it be widely adopted, dozens of district hospitals and rural clinics would be able to do this check. The mass screening - a village fair, where everyone could have a quick health check by taking a tablet is the vision. Bisam remarked that the idea is to minimize preventive care barriers where preventive services are inaccessible.
Yet, all new technologies in healthcare have challenges. The developers observe that additional validation and formal approvals must be done. Physicians will be interested in experiments comparing the application with the current blood samples. The mere convenience may overcome the little differences that may be there even in routine screening. Any critical diagnosis may require confirmation by traditional tests, at least in the first instance.
Data security is also in the spotlight. The team guarantees that the app is, in accordance with the Indian regulatory norms regarding the processing of medical data, and the records can only be accessed by authorized medical personnel. Multi-user support implies that the records of a complete family may be on one device and password protected. These protections create confidence in a digital age in which privacy is the most important issue.
Lastly, this innovation would warrant wider change. Like telemedicine became more popular in India during the pandemic, AI diagnostic tools such as this may enter our health ecosystem. It can be a catalyst to similar products - non-invasive assessment of the risk of diabetes, heart disease or even the early identification of COVID or flu. Even the description of the app already foreshadows future features (such as cholesterol checks) when research is undertaken.
Our health data collection process can never be the same. According to Daphne Clarance who has written in India Today, these tools have the potential of democratising access to quality health insights. No longer will the rural clinics have to send off samples to the far-off labs in case of each patient. Rather, an immediate face scan could identify problems in advance, and time, money, and pain are saved.
Conclusion: A Selfie That Saves Lives
We’ve come a long way from the days when medicine meant only shots and scalpels. Today, a smartphone can peek inside your body without puncturing the skin. India’s first AI blood test is a powerful proof-of-concept: healthcare is becoming more human-centered. Patients who once clenched their fists at needle sights may soon be checking their health with a smile.
The story of Amruth Swasth Bharath is still unfolding. As it scales from Hyderabad to other states, all eyes will be on its real-world impact. Will it really catch anemia before kids fall ill? Will it empower rural clinics? Only time will tell. But one thing is clear: this needle-free test is a giant leap toward painless diagnostics. It’s a vivid reminder that the future of medicine could be as simple as taking a photo – a selfie that might just save your life.
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