Researchers at IIT-Hyderabad develop low-cost test kit that can detect Covid-19 within 20 minutes

Team Udayavani, Jun 8, 2020, 10:01 AM IST

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad have developed a Covid-19 test kit that can deliver results within 20 minutes

It is said that the alternative test method is not based on the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) which is the current used method for Covid-19 testing.

Shiv Govind Singh, professor,  IIT-Hyderabad’s Electrical Engineering Department, said, “We have developed a Covid-19 testing kit which can deliver the results in 20 minutes for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The uniqueness of this test kit is that it functions sans the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction”

The team has filed for a patent for the test kit and sent a model to ICMR for approval. Also, it has conducted clinical trials at ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Hyderabad and sought approval from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

The testing  is said to cost around Rs 550, which could get reduced to Rs 350 if produced in bulk