IISc. team comes up with one-minute Covid-19 test

Users can record their voice through a smartphone, tablet or a computer by logging onto webpage of Coswara, a sound-based Covid-19 diagnostic tool developed by Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) researchers. Once data is uploaded, the tool will display the probability score (whether Covid-19 positive or not)

Covid-19 positivity rate might be receding day by day, but the fear of contracting the virus and the urge to know that one is safe has not diminished. The only way to ensure this is through testing.

Some of the commonly used Covid-19 testing methods to detect the virus are-RT-PCR, Rapid Antigen Detection Test and Antibody Rapid Test.

However, these can be time consuming. What if the virus can be detected within a minute, and also free of cost?

This can be done through Coswara, a sound-based Covid-19 diagnostic tool developed by Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) researchers. Initiated by the institute as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, researchers have been working on developing a remote, fast, inexpensive and scalable tool for screening the virus.

Now two-and-a-half-years later, after collecting data from more than 3,000 participants across India, the Coswara tool went live a few months ago.

Users can record their voice through a smartphone, tablet or a computer by logging onto Coswara's webpage (https://coswara.iisc.ac.in). Once data is uploaded, the tool will display the probability score (whether Covid-19 positive or not). The probability score ranges between 0 and 1.