A sophisticated COVID-19 testing machine has been installed by the ICMR at the Patna’s Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) for carrying out faster testing of samples.
The new COBAS 6800 machine, capable of conducting up to 1,500 tests per day, and it is anticipated that the machine would help ramp up a testing facility in Patna.
The machine, enabled with robotics, minimizes the chance of contamination as well as the risk of infection to healthcare workers since it can be operated remotely with limited human intervention.
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“This is the first facility of its kind in Bihar and will help in capacity building of COVID-19 diagnostic laboratory in the institute,” Prof Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, said in the release.
After the COVID-19 spread is controlled, the machine can also be used to detect other pathogens such as viral hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), cytomegalovirus (CMV), chlamydia, Neisseria and dengue.
The RMRIMS, so far, has tested close to 65,000 samples.
