Kharagpur: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in West Bengal has invented a rapid diagnostic device capable of testing and detecting COVID-19 infection in an hour’s time and will cost only Rs 400.
The patients will get the test results — COVID positive or COVID negative — on their mobile phones through a smart phone app.
IIT team unveiled the ready-to-market device at the institute and has already filed for the device’s patent. The institute said that it was the first of its kind across the world. Though the machine would cost Rs 2000, the cost can be brought down with mass production.
An RT-PCR machine would normally cost Rs 15 lakh and the cost of a test is in the range of Rs 2000 and 2500.
“Pool testing is possible. The same portable unit can be used for a large number of tests, on mere replacement of the paper cartridge after each test. At least 10 different samples can be tested every hour,” Suman Chakraborty, a professor of mechanical engineering at IIT Kharagpur, said.