The new Covid-19 test method designed in Canterbury could reduce the wait times for the covid-19 test.

A new Covid-19 test method could reduce the waiting time for results to a few minutes.

AgResearch, with the support of colleagues at the Crown Research Institute ESR, is leading the study on the new method that uses specialized machines to rapidly measure hundreds of molecules in saliva samples.

Lead researcher Alastair Ross said his goal is to determine if this new Covid-19 detection method can be used in the next six months.

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“Another advantage of this new rapid detection test would be the simple and frequent monitoring of the groups most at risk of contracting the virus, such as those working in quarantine facilities or in hospitals or other categories of essential workers.”

They anticipate that this new method will support current testing methods used in New Zealand, Ross said.

“Our goal is to determine if this new approach to detecting Covid-19 will be viable within six months of starting this project.”

The research is being funded by the government’s Covid-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund

Dr. Ross said that the scientific literature shows that viral infections lead to metabolic changes that can be detected in the blood using laboratory mass spectrometers.

A new generation of much smaller and more portable mass spectrometers is now available to find the “metabolic fingerprints” of samples within seconds after measurement.

“In this case, we will use mass spectrometry to measure saliva for metabolic markers related to the virus and the subsequent immune response of the body.

“Saliva, being close to the airways, is close to where the virus that causes Covid-19 has the greatest impact, and the samples are easily accessible and not problematic for most people.”

This research is independent of another AgResearch-led project on Covid-19 testing, in which scientists seek to develop a test that can detect infection much earlier using microRNA molecules as an indicator.