India, Israel conduct trials for technologies to detect coronavirus in 30 seconds

New Delhi, Aug 01: Israel and India are conducting trials here on a large sample of patients for four different kinds of technologies that have the potential to detect COVID-19 in about 30 seconds, including a breath analyser and a voice test, according to an Israeli statement.

Israeli Ambassador to India Ron Malka on Friday visited the special testing site created at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital to witness the ongoing trials being conducted since the last three days for rapid COVID-19 testing, the Israeli release on his visit said.

The rapid testing is being jointly developed in cooperation with the Defense Research and Development Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Principal Scientific Advisor, India - coordinated by the ministries of foreign affairs of Israel and India.

Malka was accompanied by Professor K Vijay Raghavan, who is the principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister.

Noting that Israel and India share collaborations in every area of science, Raghavan said the friendship and trust between the two countries that has developed over the years have made the ongoing studies happen with speed and quality.

"I am sure that some of these will be successful and result in great value to our countries and to humanity," VijayRaghavan was quoted as saying by the statement.

"RML hospital is one of the testing sites which has started trials of four different kinds of technologies that have the potential to detect coronavirus in as less as 30 seconds," the statement said.

These simple, non-invasive technologies include a voice test that uses artificial intelligence to identify changes in the patient's voice and a breath analyser test which requires the patient to blow into a tube and it detects the virus using terra-hertz waves, it said.

There is also isothermal testing that enables identification of the coronavirus in a saliva sample and a test using polyamino acids that seeks to isolate proteins related to COVID-19, the statement said.