Accra, April 28, GNA – Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has congratulated the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Incas Diagnostics for their breakthrough in developing a Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) for COVID-19.
In a tweet, Dr. Bawumia said: “Uniquely, this KNUST RDT is able to detect asymptomatic cases and takes up to 15-20 minutes to produce results.
“I’m proud of our Ghanaian students for this breakthrough”.
It is expected that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) would critically examine the medical device and approve it for mass testing for COVID-19 soon.
This is to enhance surveillance testing for COVID-19 towards ending the respiratory disease in the country.
The innovation comes on the heels of a recent announcement by the same institution that it has produced a ventilator.
The College of Engineering of KNUST has already held a demonstration exercise to explain the working operation of the home-made prototype ventilator.
The medical equipment, which is in the advanced stages of development, is a collaborative work between the College’s Computer Engineering Department and Michigan Technological University.
Ghana’s confirmed cases for COVID-19 stand at 1,550 as of Sunday, April 25, with 155 recoveries and 11 deaths, after 100,622 sample test results.
GNA