India today imports a large numbe r of diag nostic medical devices. Despite the growth of the indigenous diagnostic industry, the imports in this sector have risen by nearly 41% in the last 2 years. What is the reason for this rise? Two parts of the growing rapid diagnostic industry are - the rapid card assays and their corresponding assay reading devices. Rapid card assays are based on antigen–antibody reaction principles. This reaction produces colour, which indicates qualitative test results – positive or negative. For a long time diagnostics labs have used them (for a long time) as a preliminary test to see the presence of an analyte before the traditional testing method (Since traditional testing is expensive and time-consuming). Doing a card test helped diagnostic labs provide a quick (positive/ negative) response to doctors, who could start patient treatment earlier. The innovation of assay readers has helped quantify the qualitative results obtained from rapid card tests. So t