In a bid to increase the rate of testing amid the Coronavirus pandemic and ensure that testing facilities reach far flung areas of the country, the Union Government has launched a country's first mobile laboratory for testing. A great feature is that this lab can be lifted from automotive chassis and can be put on goods train for sending to any location in the country. The lab was flagged off by Union Minister of Health and family welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan in Delhi.
The lab can be lifted from automotive chassis and be put on goods train
The mobile lab is a result of joint efforts made by the Department of biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, a Vizag based enterprise that promotes medical device manufacturing in the country. Known as the infectious disease diagnostic lab or I-lab it was created in a record time of 8 days. Apart from Covid, the lab is also equipped to carry out additional tests for other diseases like TB and HIV. It will be used to test other infectious diseases beyond the Covid period.
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This infectious disease diagnostic lab or I-lab was created in a record time of 8 days
This mobile lab can conduct about 50 Corona tests and about 200 other tests in a day. Double set of machines can help increase the capacity to about 500 per day in 8 hours shift. According to the Government this lab has been made as per the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) certification. The minister also shared that 50 such mobile testing labs will eventually be made and deployed in remote parts of the country to help in faster and increased testing.
