India News | COVIHOME: IIT Hyderabad Develops Country's 1st Rapid Electronic Covid RNA Test Kit

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 27 (ANI): India's first Rapid electronic Covid-19 RNA Test kit that allows self-testing at home called 'COVIHOME' has been developed by a research group at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH).

According to the Project Incharge, Govind Singh, the kit has been validated by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and can be used to check for Covid-19 trace at the comfort of home with no harm, in about 20 minutes.

"We have named it 'COVIHOME' as the test can be conducted easily at the comfort of your home," Singh told ANI.

Explaining the process, Govind Singh who is a professor in IIT Hyderabad said, "The principle behind the kit is that it measures the electrical current before and after of immobilisation of RNA on the sensor platform of the kit. The result is then calculated using an algorithm in the mobile app.

"It is very simple to conduct a test. All you need is this kit and a mobile phone," he added.

Singh said, "The beauty of this kit lies in the fact that it combines the abilities of rapid antigen test's speed and RTPCR's accuracy."

"It is completely safe and after rigorous testing with many samples provided by ESI hospital, we have achieved around 94 per cent efficiency," he added.

He further mentioned that the kit is ready for technology transfer and is looking for a manufacturer to mass-produce it so that the invention reaches everyone. He stated that the approximate cost of the kit could range between Rs 350 to Rs 450. (ANI)

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