New 90-minute COVID-19 Test Gives Highly Accurate Results

New coronavirus test developed in the UK produces "highly accurate" results in just 90 minutes and is hailed as a potential gamechanger in controlling the pandemic. The findings of the study are published in the journal Lancet Microbe. The test uses throat or nasal swabs, which are put on a cartridge that goes into a shoebox-sized machine called NudgeBox for analysis.

The test, called CovidNudge, has produced nearly perfect results when used by NHS staff and patients during the pandemic's peak. It has been successfully trialed in 3 NHS hospitals, and experts hope once further checks are finished, it can be rolled out for mass testing, with care homes, GP surgeries, and schools included.

The high-speed tests can be performed in cartridges smaller than a mobile phone. The Lab-in-Cartridge rapid testing device can be performed at a patient's bedside. It was shown to have over 100 percent specificity and 94 percent sensitivity, which indicates that it has a high level of accuracy. The device scans for traces of genetic material belonging to the coronavirus.

This test is particularly well suited in a healthcare setting, where you require an urgent test to either select on a patient's management or try to determine where a patient goes to a hospital. However, further research of real-world effectiveness in non-clinical settings would be needed before widespread deployment.

Source-Medindia