TIRUCHI: A cost effective typhoid detection kit, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is likely to hit the market soon.
DRDO chief controller and Brahmos Aerospace Limited chief executive officer A Sivathanu Pillai, who was in Tiruchi on Saturday to release the commemorative stamp on Brahmos supersonic missile, said the typhoid kit had undergone rigorous testing and is waiting to go through the certification process mandatory for health-related products.
The agency for mass production of the testing kit has been identified and the product would hit the markets very soon, he said. Sivathanu Pillai indicated that the kit would cost one-fifth of the existing typhoid detection systems. Unlike the traditional approach to typhoid detection which may take a few days, the kit would help in quick diagnosis in just a few minutes, ensuring early care and control of the ailment.
The DRDO has also started working on indigenous cochlear implant. Cochlear implant costs about Rs 7 lakh in other countries presently, he said adding that the DRDO was working to cut down the cost to Rs 1 lakh. "We have developed the concept for a cochlear implant. Right now we are working on reducing the weight of the product. By December 2009, the product would be ready and would be given for certification from health agencies,'' he said.
Aspheric magnifier, aimed at increasing the vision for those suffering from partial blindness, was also ready and would hit the market in six months, Sivathanu Pillai said. The lightweight callipers, another product of DRDO would be distributed to one lakh physically disabled persons with the support of Life Insurance Corporation of India, he said.
On Brahmos, Sivathanu Pillai said test launches of the air version would be conducted in 2011 and it would subsequently be inducted into the air force in 2012. Brahmos Aerospace Limited would also embark on developing Brahmos II, the hypersonic missile that would travel at a speed of 5 to 7 Mac, he said.
