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UPSC PRELIMS_POWER PLAY- SCIENCE &TECH SERIES_HEALTH (COVIRAP)

 

COVIRAP

It is a cuboid-shaped portable testing device that can deliver results in an hour, making it an effective tool to scale up coronavirus screening in peripheral and rural areas

Who developed it?

A new diagnostic test for Covid-19 called COVIRAP was developed by IIT Kharagpur 

How does it work?

  • COVIRA has an automated pre-programmable temperature control unit, a special detection unit on genomic analysis, and a customised smartphone app for results.
  • Three master mixes work as markers of different genes to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2
  • Samples collected react with these mixes. 
  • When paper strips are dipped into these reaction products, coloured lines indicate the presence of the virus.

Why is it unique?

  • Current tests include RT-PCR, which are highly accurate but require advanced lab infrastructure, and antigen tests that can give results in minutes but have a lower accuracy.
  • COVIRAP process is completed within an hour
  • The test is conducted in a ultra-low-cost portable unit that can be handled by unskilled operators outside the lab environment and is an alternative to high-end RTPCR machines. It can test samples even on open fields. 
  • The same unit can be used for a large number of tests on replacement of the paper cartridge after each test.
  • This means that other than COVID-19 testing, many other tests, falling under the category of isothermal nucleic acid-based tests (INAT), can be performed in the same machine
  • For instance it can perform tests beyond Covid-19, for influenza, malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, TB etc, under the category of isothermal nucleic acid-based tests.


Advantages of using COVIRAP:

  • This innovation has made high-quality and accurate COVID testing affordable for the common people with a testing cost of around Rs 500 which can further be reduced through government intervention. 
  • This machine can be developed at a cost of less than Rs 10,000 with minimal infrastructural requirement making the technology affordable to common people. 
  • The testing process in this new machine is completed within one hour

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