Illustrative. Photo: Nati Shohat / Flash90.

Israel’s Defense, Foreign Affairs and Health Ministries will cooperate with India’s Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to test a number of new diagnostic techniques to detect the coronavirus, it was announced on Thursday.

A senior delegation from Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development will travel to India to be present during the tests.

The delegation will be accompanied by Israel’s ambassador to India, Ron Malka, who will also bring equipment donated by the Foreign Ministry and the private sector, including ventilators.

The advantage of working in India is that the volume of testable samples will be extremely large, numbering in the tens of thousands, which will greatly speed up the testing process.

India has appointed a local team of some 100 professionals and another team to set up testing sites, operated by both Israel and India.

The technology to be tested includes:

• A voice test that analyzes a human voice using artificial intelligence in order to detect respiratory problems.
• A breathalyzer test that uses terra-hertz waves analyzed by artificial intelligence.
• An isothermal test that can detect the coronavirus in a saliva sample when it is heated to 60 degrees Celsius. It yields results within 30 minutes.
• A biochemical test that uses Polyamino acids to detect virus proteins in a saliva sample. It can yield results within minutes.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement, “We hope that the research and development led by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development together with our excellent industries and academic institutions, will lead to a breakthrough that will change the way we diagnose and fight the virus, while giving the boost necessary to ‘restart’ our economy.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi commented, “I see great importance in cooperating with India in the fight against [the coronavirus].”

“This operation conveys a message of friendship and solidarity with India,” he added. “It also provides a unique opportunity for scientific and technological cooperation that can assist Israel, India, and the world in coping both with the pandemic and with the economic crisis that came with it.”