October 21, 2020 1:32:22 pm
‘COVIRAP’ is a diagnostic machine developed by researchers at IIT Kharagpur. (Official YouTube / IIT Kharagpur)
‘COVIRAP’, a diagnostic machine developed by researchers at IIT Kharagpur, has been successfully validated for its efficacy in detecting COVID-19 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Professor VK Tewari, director of IIT Kharagpur told the media in a virtual conference that several business units have already approached the institute for technology licensing to enable rapid reach of this innovation to ordinary people.
This new test method implements a highly reliable and accurate molecular diagnostic procedure, performed on a very low-cost handheld device unit, and costs around Rs 500 per test, Tewari said.
After rigorous testing with patient samples by an authorized ICMR laboratory, following their strict guidelines, ICMR has now granted certification for this COVID-19 diagnostic test. This test has been designed to ensure that it is easy to perform, affordable, and can produce results in one hour.
The research team was led by Professor Suman Chakraborty and Dr. Arindam Mondal.
Referring to the validation process for the ‘COVIRAP’ diagnostic test, Dr. Mamta Chawla Sarkar, an internationally renowned virologist who supervised patient trials on behalf of the ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), said: “ A detailed scrutiny of the tests The results have clearly shown that this assay has the ability to detect extremely low levels of viral loads than any other method based on similar test principles, even those of the most famous research groups around the world. could not come until now.
“In practice, this means that very early stages of infection can be detected, thus isolating the patient and stopping the uncontrolled spread of infection in the community through asymptomatic patients,” added Sarkar.
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