SCTIMST director Dr Asha Kishore said it is the first substitute for Real Time PCR test and it is a path-breaking development as the country is struggling with mounting cases of the novel coronvirus. “Validation of our kit was done by the National Institute of Virology centre in Alappuzha as directed by the ICMR. The new kit allows confirmation in one test without the need for a screening test and at much lower costs, they said. At least 30 samples can be tested in a single batch in a single machine and the lower machine waiting time will allow large number of samples to be tested each day in a single machine in multiple shifts. The new device for LAMP testing costs Rs 2.5 lakh and the test kit for 2 regions of N gene( including RNA extraction) will be less than Rs 1000 test when RT PCR machine is 15-40lakh) and PCR kit test is between Rs 1900 and 2500, scientists said.

Source: Hindustan Times April 16, 2020 12:03 UTC