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Understand in 12 minutes if it is positive for coronavirus and at the same time, in record time, know if the subject has developed antibodies against SarsCov2 and give an indication of their viral load, to immediately identify the most infectious patients. This is what the new Menarini Diagnostics antigen detection test can do.
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The instrumentation used is the Afias platform, easy to transport and easy to use even outside the laboratories. In practice, the sample is taken from the patient with a nasopharyngeal swab: in case of infection, Afias will detect the presence of the antigen and will also highlight the viral load. The same instrumentation can also be used for serological research, measuring the amount of IgM and IgG antibodies present in the patient’s blood. In practice, the platform allows both tests to be performed: swab and serological test.
How does it work
These tests differ from those of molecular biology because, although the means used to take the sample is always the nasopharyngeal swab, the antigenic tests do not look for the genetic material of the virus, but rather detect the presence of the antigen and therefore any infection, by searching for specific viral proteins. And they do it through equipment that is easy to transport and use, “faster, less expensive and with equally reliable results.” Are currently available two models: Afias 1, which allows you to run one test at a time, and Afias 6, which allows you to examine 6 samples simultaneously. With the same platform it is also possible to perform serological tests, detecting the presence and quantity of Igm and Igg antibodies from a patient’s blood sample. With the use of Afias 6, for example, three patients can have simultaneously, in 12 minutes, the results of the serological and antigen test.
Reliability
“It is extremely important to provide reliable tests that allow large-scale screening and rapid detection of positive cases to contain the spread of Covid-19 – said Fabio Piazzalunga, Global Director of Menarini Diagnostics – Ultimately, life and economies will be increasingly linked to the availability and effectiveness of these diagnostic tools. ”But how does it work? The healthcare professional takes the patient’s sample with a nasopharyngeal swab and, through a series of steps, introduces it into the Afias platform, which, if necessary infection, it will detect the presence of the t antigen through a fluorescent signal. The more intense the fluorescence, the higher the viral load. The same instrumentation, with a different application, can be used for serological investigation. The procedure is the same, only the type of sample to be analyzed differs, which, in this case, will be collected by finger puncture (capillary sampling) or by venous sampling. Last updated: 20:26 © REPRODUCTION RESERVED
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