UK to roll out 2 new rapid tests, both capable of detecting COVID-19 in just 90 minutes (performance)
London:
Two new tests, both capable of detecting the new coronavirus in just 90 minutes, will be rolled out in hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories across the UK to increase testing capacity and distinguish between COVID- 19 and winter flu in the coming months, according to the Briton government said today.
One of the tests, the 90-minute LamPORE swab tests, will be provided by Oxford Nanopore, an Oxford University spin-off co-founded by Indian-born CEO Gordon Sanghera, who believes it also offers an “accessible global test solution”.
“We are honored to play a role in the fight against COVID-19 in the UK and in preparing the country for the winter virus season. Since we founded Oxford Nanopore, our mission has been to create disruptive, high-performance technology that has a profound, positive impact on society, ”said Mr. Sanghera.
Next week, Oxford Nanopore will make 450,000 90-minute LamPORE swab tests available to adult care facilities and UK laboratories. These tests will process swabs and saliva samples for the presence of COVID-19 in 60 to 90 minutes.
“LamPORE has the potential to provide a highly efficient and, most importantly, accessible global testing solution not only for COVID-19 but for a range of other pathogens. We are delighted to be working with the UK government to support and empower our communities to effectively manage testing at national and local level, ”added Sanghera.
The UK Department for Health and Social Affairs (DHSC) said the new test has the same sensitivity as the widely used swab PCR test, but can be used to process swabs in laboratories, as well as on-site via swab tests. “pop-up” laboratories.
The GridION desktop machine can process up to 15,000 tests per day, or the palm-sized MinION can process up to 2,000 tests per day for deployment to a nearby “pop-up” lab from the community.
The other new rapid test, which uses DNA to detect viruses, will be rolled out to NHS hospitals from September, with 5,000 DNA machines provided by DnaNudge to deliver 5.8 million tests in the coming months .
The ‘Nudgebox’ DNA machines will be deployed to NHS hospitals in the UK to analyze DNA in nasal swabs, providing a positive or negative result for COVID-19 in 90 minutes, at the point of care. The machines will process up to 15 tests on site each day without the need for a laboratory.
“The DnaNudge team worked with incredible speed and skill during the peak of the pandemic to provide this very accurate and rapid COVID-19 test, which requires absolutely no labs or pipettes and can be deployed anywhere with a direct sample to result in just over an hour, ”said Professor Regius Chris Toumazou FRS, CEO and co-founder of DnaNudge and founder of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London.
Both tests will detect both COVID-19 and other winter viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The DHSC said the tests do not require a trained healthcare professional to operate them, which means they can be deployed in more non-clinical settings.
“The fact that these tests can detect influenza as well as COVID-19 will be extremely beneficial as winter approaches, so that patients can follow the right advice to protect themselves and others,” the secretary said. Briton at Health, Matt Hancock.
“We are using the most innovative technologies available to fight the coronavirus. Millions of new rapid coronavirus tests will provide results on the spot in less than 90 minutes, helping us to quickly break the chains of transmission,” he said declared.
Details of positive test results will be shared with NHS Test and Trace, tracking the spread of the coronavirus as the UK tries to break out of lockdown, so close contacts can self-isolate according to government guidelines.
The Department of Health said the two tests will help “further strengthen” the response to the coronavirus later this year in the winter months, arming clinicians and the NHS Test and Trace with the ability to distinguish cases of COVID -19, which have specific self-insulation. requirements and other winter viruses.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
