A rapid new coronavirus test, which provides results in just 39 minutes, is now available on the Vivalytic, a point-of-care platform brought to market by Randox Laboratories and Bosch.
The test for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen is currently the fastest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test worldwide, and is predestined for decentralised use in mobile test centres at service stations or in airports, so that people who take the test can obtain a reliable result while at the testing site. Available now in Europe, the CE-approved test, which has a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 100%, helps avoid time in quarantine, relieves laboratories, and makes travel and work safer again.
Randox and Bosch launched the first rapid test for the Vivalytic analyser at the end of March, after just six weeks’ development. As a multiplex test, it simultaneously checks samples for the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as nine other respiratory diseases in two and a half hours, whereas the new accelerated test is exclusively for SARS-CoV-2.
And development work on the Vivalytic is ongoing: as of early October 2020, by pooling samples together it will be possible to evaluate five samples simultaneously in one test cartridge and at a comparable speed. This will increase available testing capacity, by enabling fully automated processing of more than 160 samples a day using a Vivalytic device.
The advantages of the rapid SARS-CoV-2 test on Vivalytic lie not only in speedy analysis, but also in ease of use. A sample is taken from the nose or throat using a swab, and placed in the test cartridge. Then the cartridge, which contains all the reagents required for the test, is inserted into the Vivalytic device for automated analysis.
The development of the new Vivalytic PCR singleplex test is part of a research and development project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
More information is available by email to Randox.