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October 6, 2020, Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia University has developed a saliva-based testing kit to detect the Covid-19. The technology developed by the researchers of JMI is named as MI-SEHAT (Mobile Integrated Sensitive Estimation and High- specificity Application for Testing).
The expert team of scientists at the Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Research and Studies (MCRAS) in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University has developed this salvia based COVID-19 kit.
The testing kit will be widely used as a point of care (POC) device for the detection of coronavirus in the patient. The kit can be used at home, clinic, or test centers to provide exposure to the virus.
One of the prime merits of this kit is that the results are displayed within an hour after putting the saliva sample of the infected person in the kit.
The researchers are also linking an android application to the kit so that the application will alert the person with the kit status and prevent infection of Covid-19.
Many experts including the JMI MCRAS team Dr. Tanveer Ahmad and Dr. Jawed Iqbal, Dr. Rohit Kumar from Safdarjung Hospital, Dr. Gagan Deep from Jhingan, CEO of Valerian Chem Ltd, and Dr. Mohan C Joshi collaborated on the research project.
The Co-developer of MI-SEHAT said, "At a time when the rapid diagnosis of Covid-19 remains the most-effective measure to contain and manage the viral spread, rapid testing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is crucial".
"The available standalone or integrated PCR-based detection kit remains confined to the sophisticated instrumental diagnostic laboratory setup and takes a minimum of two to three hours in providing the result with the need for error-prone RNA extraction step, he added.
According to Dr. Josh’s statement on MI-SEHAT, the device is a smartphone-enabled point of care prototype that is developed and validated with the help of synthetic SARS-COV-2 RNA. The kit displays the result in an hour without the need for any technical help.
The MCRAS team of Jamia Millia Islamia University has submitted the provisional application to the Intellectual Property India Office to patent the new technology.
Professor Najma Akhtar, the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia university stated that the Covid-19 test kit can be a game-changer in the fight against coronavirus. MI-SEHAT has set a true example of smart innovative India.
She added, "Being a user-friendly technology, MI-SEHAT will encourage home testing thus will restrict interaction and movement of Covid-19 positive patients outside the home”.
“Further, it will reduce exposure of our healthcare professionals to Covid-19 positive patients who are directly or indirectly engaged in testing".
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The Director of MCARS professor M Zulfequar stated that the COVID-19 testing kit will facilitate the rapid screening and health departments of India’s rural states.
MI-SHEAT will help the healthcare system of areas that are not as robust as urban areas, he added.
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