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A new ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device is also being used in six hospitals across the country to identify patients more quickly.
Researchers at Imperial College London have found that the results of this rapid test are very similar to the results of laboratory tests.
According to the BBC, the ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device, manufactured by the company DNANage, allows anyone capable of collecting mucus from the nose or throat to perform a coronavirus detection test.
After taking the mucus, the swab should be placed in a disposable blue cartridge; The cartridges will contain the chemicals needed to determine if the virus is present inside.
The cartridge will then be inserted into a shoebox-shaped device. Then the machine will analyze the presence of the virus.
A study from Imperial College London found that samples from 36 people were analyzed simultaneously on DNANG instruments and conventional laboratories. The study was later published in the Lancet Microbes.
“The effectiveness of this method is comparable, which is very convenient when trying to create a new technology. Most test methods take longer or the results are not as good as expected. But the test met both conditions, “said Graham Cook, a professor at Imperial College London.
The study found that laboratory tests confirmed the presence of coronavirus in the sample, but the new rapid test showed similar results in the sample.
And in those whose bodies were found to have the virus, the results of laboratory tests and rapid tests were similar in 94 percent of the cases.
The UK has already decided to buy 5,000 Nazbox machines and 5.7 million disposable cartridges, according to the BBC.
The new device also has limitations. The device cannot test multiple samples simultaneously. This means that it will not be possible to analyze more than 16 samples per day with such a device.
“This device is only effective for making quick decisions,” said Professor Cook.
Even after the epidemic, this ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device can quickly and easily detect coronavirus, influenza, and respiratory syncytial viruses in hospitals, the scientists hope.
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