Indian doctors have modified existing loop-medicated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The test can be performed without electricity in villages and centres with low resources. The modification uses the basic isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique (NAAT) with two different genes binding to TB DNA. This increases the specificity and sensitivity of the test. Test need the patient’s DNA sample, some reagents, and incubation of the tube in hot water bath for 1 hr.
A dye is added to the tube. If the color of this dye changes to yellow, TB diagnosis is confirmed. Compared to PCR it takes lesser time (90 min) and cost less than Rs 100 since a battery-operated water bath can be used for diagnosis. Source: The Times of India
