Israel, India to test rapid Covid-19 diagnosis kits

Israel-India cooperation / Photo: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
Israel-India cooperation / Photo: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

A delegation is flying to India to try out innovative Israeli testing technologies on tens of thousands of coronavirus patients.

A delegation of Israelis led by the Ministry of Defense's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure will conduct a series of trials on technology for the rapid diagnosis of the coronavirus in cooperation with India.

This is a major project under the auspices of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Health with the Israeli delegation visiting India for the final stages of the research.

The Israeli delegation will be led by Dr. Ron Malka, Israel's Ambassador to India and will include the Israeli military attache in India Col. Assaf Meller, microbiologist and infectious diseases expert Prof. Nati Keller from the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and Itai Gordon, Head of the Ministry of Health's Innovation Department as well as engineers and technical experts from companies that have developed the innovative technologies.

The four technologies that will be tested in India involve: analyzing voice waves, respiratory identification based on terahertz waves, isothermic identification, and polyamic acids testing. What all of them have in common is the ability to swiftly diagnose the presence of Covid-19 in the body, sometimes within just a few minutes. The development of diagnosis capabilities is a national target for Israel and many countries worldwide as this is one of the most effective ways to halt the chain of infections, prevent long self-isolation and allow the global economy to reopen.

The delegation will fly to India with the Israeli technologies that have been mobilized for the job by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help India cope with the Covid-19 crisis, which is especially severe on the subcontinent. The plane will also carry ventilators which are being exported to India with special approval.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since the outbreak of the virus, the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure has examined dozens of identification and detection technologies. Some of them are ready for use and have successfully undergone trials in Israel but in order to complete the research and prove their effectiveness, they must be tried out on a broader range of patients who have tested positive for the disease. Such trials would be difficult to complete in Israel within a very short time. Collaboration between Israel and India will enable the delegation to gather tens of thousands of samples within just 10 days and feed them through AI based computer systems. Such a massive sample will shorten the process and push forward approval for the technologies. All the tests will be carried out with the assistance of PCR tests.

The Indian government will allocate a team of 100 local professionals to support the trials and dozens more people to set up the testing centers where join Israeli-Indian teams will work.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 23, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Israel-India cooperation / Photo: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
Israel-India cooperation / Photo: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
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