‘Om’ is likely to be launched in the second week of February, after it has received approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
A team of three scientists, led by principal scientist Atul Goel and four research scholars, built the kit within two months.
This kit will cost around Rs 150 and give test results in about two hours.
‘Om’ has been tested and validated by the head of microbiology, Professor Amita Jain of King George’s College of Medicine.
Senior principal scientist, Atul Goel, said: “The biggest benefit of this kit is that patients will know if they have Omicron or Delta infection. If a person has Omicron, they won’t panic. like this variant is lighter than Delta.”
He added that as COVID continues to mutate, it becomes difficult to diagnose and treat different variants. Omicron, although the symptoms are milder, is a super-spreader. It can be controlled if identified promptly with the use of this kit.
Lead scientist, Niti Kumar, said: “Om will make detection of Omicrons quick and cost-effective compared to genome sequencing.”
CDRI director, Professor Tapas Kundu, said: “Our scientists have successfully developed INDICoV-Om to specifically detect Omicron. We are one of the few specific kits in the world. to detect Omicron. Therefore, most kits do not validate Omicron. this kit will be of great help.”
Source: IANS
