IIT Kharagpur’s low-cost COVID-19 testing device gets ICMR nod

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A new low-cost portable unit for rapid diagnostics of coronavirus named COVIRAP, has been developed by a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Kharagpur. This cuboid shaped device produces results in under an hour and shows an accuracy level slightly lower than the gold standard RT-PCR method.

According to the team, COVIRAP has been ‘vigorously’ tested and validated by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). Various commercial units have started approaching them for technology licensing. The team added that, COVIRAP can also check for other diseases such as dengue, malaria, influenza among others.