Today, COVID-19 cases are spreading at an alarming rate. But many fear that the number is a whole lot more since many aren¡¯t even tested for the novel coronavirus yet.?
One of the main reasons for it is that they¡¯re time-consuming taking hours to deliver results, along with the long process of collecting samples, getting them delivered to the lab and then testing them.
However, now, German engineering company Bosch has created a novel COVID-19 swab test that completely eliminates the need to send samples to the laboratory.?
The device is called Vivalytic Analyser. It basically takes a swap sample from a patient (either nose or a throat), places it in a cartridge. This is then put in a machine that automatically does the work and gives a result within three hours.
The machine conducts molecular diagnostic testing where it looks at a patient¡¯s genes for biomarkers of the novel coronavirus. The device is capable of distinguishing between COVID-19 and nine other respiratory viruses including flu (influenza A and B), to generate accurate results.?
The machine can be placed in a hospital or a medical centre where tests can be conducted there and then, without needing someone to head to a lab to submit samples and receive results.
According to Bosch, each machine can do 10 tests in 24 hours, with a stellar accuracy of 95 percent. Dr Volkmar Denner, chairman of management of Robert Bosch GmbH said, ¡°We want the Bosch rapid COVID-19 test to play a part in containing the coronavirus pandemic as quickly as possible. It will speed up the identification and isolation of infected patients.¡±
The machine will first make its way to medical centres in Germany starting next month, with other countries in Europe and Asia to join the list.