Now, test yourself for COVID-19 at home

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, led by Prof Shiv Govind Singh, has developed a low-cost Artificial Intelligence-powered COVID-19 test kit that can be used to perform tests at the comfort of one's house.

Hyderabad: A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, led by Prof Shiv Govind Singh, has developed a low-cost Artificial Intelligence-powered COVID-19 test kit that can be used to perform tests at the comfort of one's house. COVIHOME, the kit, generates results within 30 minutes for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, Singh said. The kit does not require an RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), an expert or a BSL 2 lab facility for the extraction of RNA, making it ideal for home use.

The Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research–Centre For Cellular And Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) has performed the validation of the rapid RNA electronic diagnostic device for detection of SARS-Cov-2 virus in the swab samples independently with in-house and hospital samples as advised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). These samples were confirmed for their positivity or negativity by the RT-PCR method. The validation report pegged the kit’s efficiency at 94.2%, sensitivity 91.3%, and specificity 98.2%. Each test costs around Rs. 400 now. However, mass production of these kits will help bring down the cost to Rs. 300 per test.

Speaking about the role of IIT Hyderabad in helping to tackle the pandemic, Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, "IITH has come up with many unique and 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 and fast diagnosis of COVID-19 and minimize its spread."

Highlighting the benefits of kit, Prof. Singh said, "A major objective of the research team for the development of the COVIHOME is 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 Transfer of Technology for mass production."

COVIHOME was developed by Dr Suryasnata Tripathy, Supraja Patta and Swati Mohanty among other research students, led by Prof. Shiv Govind Singh from the Department of Electrical Engineering. The initial clinical trial and testing of these kits were performed at ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Hyderabad.