Doctors develop app-based platform to predict cardio, renal risks in diabetes patients

Trivandrum / July 12, 2026

Thiruvananthapuram, July 12:  A group of medical experts have developed a web app-based unified tool capable of simultaneously predicting and evaluating cardiovascular and renal risks in people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

The International Cardio-Renal Risk Assessment and Stratification (ICRAS) tool was unveiled at the 14th edition of the three-day Annual Global Diabetes Convention held at Uday Samudra, Kovalam, here.

The July 10-12 conference is led by Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, who serves as the Organising Secretary of Jothydev's Professional Education Forum (JPEF) and is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centre. He is joined by Dr Arun Shankar, the Organising Chairman; Sunitha Jothydev, the Conference Director; Hariprasad, the Convener; and Anjana Basanth, the Scientific Coordinator.

The central theme of the convention, organised by the JPEF, is "Helping You Choose the Best in Care."

Presenting the ICRAS tool, Dr Jothydev Kesavadev said this evidence-based risk assessment platform can identify T2DM patients at increased risk of diabetic kidney disease, coronary heart disease, and major adverse cardiovascular events using clinically relevant, readily obtainable patient information. 

Most currently available models do not adequately capture the bidirectional relationship between cardiovascular and kidney disease in T2DM. 

“By combining clinically relevant biomarkers with key behavioural risk factors, the ICRAS tool offers a practical and tailored approach for timely risk stratification with the Indian T2DM population. The web app-based link, powered by the backend algorithm, automatically generates risk scores. It supports early prevention through informed clinical and treatment decisions. It also enables quick and effective identification of risk factors at the point of care,” explained Dr Kesavadev. 

The core committee behind the development of this tool are Dr Jothydev Kesavadev; Dr Sanjay Kalra, Consultant Endocrinologist, Bharti Hospital, Karnal; Dr Viswanathan Mohan, Chairman and Chief Diabetologist, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation; Dr Atul Dhingra, Consultant Endocrinologist, Tantia General Hospital, Ganganagar; Dr Dinesh Khullar, Group Chairman, Max Healthcare Institute, New Delhi; Dr Kirtikumar D Modi, Senior Consultant Endocrinology, CARE Hopsital, Hyderabad; Dr Manash P Baruah, Director, Apollo Excelcare Hospital, Guwahati; Dr Pramila Kalra, Sr. Consultant, Ramaiah Medical College, Bengaluru; Dr Shehia Shaikh, Consultant Endocrinologist, Saifee Hospital and HN Reliance Hospital, Mumbai; Dr Tiny Nair, Head, Dept. of Cardiology, PRS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram; Dr Deep Dutta, Director, CEDAR Super-speciality Healthcare, Delhi; and Dr Nitin Kapoor, Consultant Endocrinologist & Head, CMC Vellore. 

The model was evaluated using available real-world datasets comprising 5,000 patients and was further tested in a large virtual cohort of over 100,000 individuals. The virtual cohort was designed to reflect Indian age-and gender-specific population demographics and projected diabetes prevalence.

Dr Kesavadev said evaluating the ICRAS tool across such a large and diverse population helped ensure that the tool performed consistently across different patient profiles and risk categories.

“While existing models provide useful risk estimates, they are characterised by several common limitations. It triggered the need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach towards cardio-renal risk assessment in T2DM,” he added.

The prototype functions through a structured questionnaire that captures variables known to influence cardiovascular and renal outcomes in patients with T2DM. Information is collected across four major domains: Demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, family history and medical and laboratory parameters. Each response contributes to a weighted score generated through the validated algorithm.

The tool captures a broad range of clinically relevant risk factors, including metabolic, cardiovascular, renal, demographic, and lifestyle parameters such as HbA1c, SBP, LDL-c, Triglycerides, eGFR, UACR, age, BMI, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and duration of diabetes. Where available, advanced (optional) biomarkers such as NT-proBNP, lipoprotein (a), and hs-Troponin T, Uric Acid can further enhance risk assessment.

Using these inputs, the algorithm generates a composite score that stratifies patients into risk categories for developing cardiovascular and renal complications.   To simplify interpretation in clinical practice, all individual scores were combined into a standardised composite score ranging from 0 to 100. A higher score indicates a higher likelihood of developing future cardiovascular or renal complications.

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