IIT Delhi launches affordable Rapid Antigen test kit for rupees 50
Union Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre on Friday(25 June) launched a rapid antigen test kit for rupees 50. This is the first fully indigenous Rapid antigen test kit and has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
During the launch, Sanjay Dhotre said that "I am confident that this technology will revolutionize the Covid test availability in the country. I am glad to know that the kit has been developed entirely using the internal resources of IIT-Delhi. He also added that the kit is used for in vitro qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen meant for the qualitative determination in human nasal swabs, throat swabs and deep sputum samples. It is suitable for general population screening and diagnosis of Covid-19. He said the identification is based on the monoclonal antibodies specific for coronavirus antigen. The result obtained is qualitatively based and can be inferred Virtually with the naked eye."
The professor also revealed that the test is found to be suitable for early Ct values with 90% sensitivity, 100% specificity and 98.99 per cent accuracy. The IIT Delhi has awarded licences to two companies in the Country for its commercial rollout.
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