The State Health Department will soon be introducing TrueNat MTB, a diagnostic tool for tuberculosis (TB), in primary health centres across the State, said J. Radhakrishnan, Health Secretary, at an event in the city.
He added that they would be trying out this machine on a pilot basis at the PHCs. “The machine was being tested at the Indian Council of Medical Research. We have found that it can be used as a substitute for our current tools,” he said. The device uses sputum samples and takes about 25 minutes for DNA extraction.
It takes about 30 minutes to diagnose the bacterial disease.