New Delhi: Scientists from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed a paper based detection strip ‘Feluda’ for COVID-19.
A completely indigenous scientific invention, ‘Feluda’ has been named after the fictional detective created by Bengali filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray.
A seven-member team led by two Bengali-origin scientists Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty, working at CSIR’s Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in New Delhi, developed the paper based kit for mitigating the ongoing Covid-19 situation and to cater to mass testing.
“Feluda’s sensitivity and specificity are as good as RT-PCR Test, it is 3-4 times cheaper than RT-PCR test kit and takes just 30 minutes. Now, we have to approach regulatory authority for approval. It should be in market in next 3-4 weeks,” Debojyoti Chakraborty, head of the team, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“It’s very similar to pregnancy test kit. Feluda doesn’t compromise on its accuracy,” he added.
The CSIR-IGIB and TATA Sons have signed a MoU for licensing the know-how related to “development of a kit for rapid and accurate diagnosis” of Covid-19.
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