Scientists from Imperial College London have revealed a new coronavirus test that only needs 90 minutes to provide an accurate diagnosis of the novel virus, BBC News reports.
- The tests do not need to be sent to a laboratory, either.
- The test, which features a “lab-on-a-chip,” gave results similar to those at actual testing stations.
- The test can be used by anyone who can take a swab of the nose or throat.
- So far, eight hospitals in the U.K. are using the new test for patients.
- “The performance was comparable, which is very reassuring when you’re trying to bring in a new technology,” said Graham Cooke, a professor from Imperial College London, according to BBC News. “Many tests involve a trade-off between speed and accuracy, but this test manages to achieve both.”
By the numbers:
- The amount of times the rapid test and the coronavirus test identified that a patient had COVID-19: 94%.
- The amount of times the rapid test and coronavirus test agreed on negative test results: 100%.
Another simple COVID-19 test
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In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved a rapid COVID-19 test that takes 15 minutes to run, as I wrote about for Deseret.com.
- President Donald Trump was expected to announce a $750 million deal for the U.S. to buy 150 million of those tests, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- The test — called BinaxNOW, developed by health care company Abbott — is similar to a pregnancy test as it shows results in minutes to determine if someone has COVID-19.