IIT-Kharagpur Develops A Device Which Detects COVID-19

Sangareddy: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-K) have developed a portable rapid diagnostic device to detect COVID-19 infection. Test with this first-of-its-kind device will cost just Rs 400.

Addressing the media during a web launch on Saturday, Prof Suman Chakraborty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-K said the entire test can now be conducted in an ultra-low-cost portable enclosure as an alternative to specialised laboratory equipment. The same portable unit can be used for a large number of tests, on mere replacement of the paper cartridge after each test. The device has been proven to produce no false results with remarkable accuracy and sensitivity compatible to standard RT-PCR tests.

The research team has successfully validated the detection procedure, taking time of approximately 60 minutes to run each test. This obviates the need of an expensive PCR machine, by means of a set of innovations such as a portable automated pre-programmable temperature control unit for viral testing, introduction of a special detection unit based on genomic analysis, and a customised smartphone application for dissemination of test results without requiring manual interpretation. While the Institute can produce the testing kit up to a certain scale, patent licensing will facilitate commercialisation opportunities for medical technology companies.

Under the guidance of the Professors, the device design and fabrication work was spearheaded by doctoral student Sujay Kumar Biswas, and the bio-analytical protocol has been standardised by doctoral students Saptarshi Banerjee and Nandita Kedia. Aditya Bandopahyay has further helped in developing the thermal unit.

Prof Chakraborty pointed out that RT-PCR based tests require an elaborate laboratory-infrastructure and support system including the operational and maintenance cost, to perform the test. The alternative existing approaches to these tests, on the other hand, are either invasive (blood tests) and non-indicative of early stage of development of the infection, or dependent on reagents that are extremely unstable and cannot be implemented in resource-limited settings.

The Equipment developed by IIT-K researchers will cost about Rs 2,000, if a pilot facility is used. Use of a large-scale commercial facility will further reduce with increase in the production scale. This compares very favourably with the RT-PCR machine costing Rs 15 Lakh.

The results from this new technology have been strictly validated by following all established laboratory controls against the benchmarked results obtained from RT-PCR machine, using synthetic viral RNA. The synthetic RNA is exactly the same replicate of the viral RNA extracted from infected patients, as per accepted scientific benchmarking procedure, and is used for validating laboratory tests to avoid undue contamination and danger due to spreading of infection while handling sensitive body-fluid samples.

IIT-K is ready for commercialisation of the product. Any corporate or start-up can approach the Institute for licensing and commercial scale of production. The Institute is open to tie-ups, including a mode where the government intervenes with regards to meeting our low-cost healthcare objective for the under-served community as a policy measure to protect the interest of public health amidst the pandemic situation, instead of merely developing a strong profit-oriented model, he added.