The scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana have developed COVIHOME, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered COVID-19 test that allows self-testing at home.
While the kit is yet to be commercialised, once it will receive ICMR approvals, the product will be available at a reasonable rate of Rs 300 in the market.
The kit is able to give a result in half an hour for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Since this is a self-testing kit, there is no need for expert supervision for an RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), or a BSL 2 lab facility for the extraction of RNA.
The COVIHOME testing kit was developed by the research team of Dr. Suryasnata Tripathy, Supraja Patta, Swati Mohanty, and other students led by Shiv Govind Singh, Department of Electrical Engineering.
Explaining the benefits of the testing kit, Shiv Govind Singh said, “A major objective of the research team for the development of the COVIHOME Test Kit was to break the transmission chain through affordable testing. We have already filed a patent for the device and are now looking for industry partners for ToT of technology for mass production”.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) has undertaken tests for the product’s validation independently with the in-house samples and hospital samples as advised by ICMR. The results have been impressive so far – the kit’s efficiency is at 94.2%, Sensitivity is at 91.3% and Specificity is at 98.2%!
Speaking about the role of IIT Hyderabad in helping tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, “IITH has come up with many unique & novel socio-technological initiatives and delivered remarkable results during this pandemic. Prof Shiv Govind’s “COVIHOME” is one such admirable milestone. I am confident it will play a significant role in the safe & fast diagnosis of COVID-19 and minimize its spread”.
Source: indiaai.gov.in
